Charley Pride 'loved Ireland', says O'Donnell

American country singer Charley Pride "will never be forgotten" in Ireland, according to his "fan and friend" Daniel O'Donnell.

The Grammy-award winning star died on Saturday aged 86 following complications from Covid-19.

O'Donnell, who recorded Crystal Chandeliers with Charley Pride, said his death was a "very, very sad loss".

Pride was one of the few international singers who regularly toured Northern Ireland during The Troubles.

"I loved Charley's music from my earliest memory," Daniel O'Donnell told BBC Radio Ulster's Good Morning Ulster programme.

"I was lucky enough then to get to know him when I started singing myself. He was a lovely man."

The Donegal-born performer said Pride "loved Ireland" and "came religiously north and south".

"We loved him in Ireland," he added.

Pride, born in Sledge, Mississippi, in 1934, was inducted as a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2000.

Before turning to music he served in the US army, played baseball and worked in a smelting plant.

Daniel O'Donnell said he had "so many great songs"; of which 52 made the country music Top 10.

Tracks such as Kiss an Angel Good Mornin' and Is Anybody Goin' to San Antone helped Pride cross-over to a wider audience, gaining him popularity outside of the US.

Regularly performing at the same shows in America, O'Donnell said he "can't begin to tell you the joy" he felt the first time he saw their names together on a bill.

"He was fantastic, he wasn't one of these people that had everything rehearsed, he just loved the music," he continued.

"He belied his age really and up until recently he was in great form."

Fellow country music stars have paid tribute to Pride since news emerged of his death.

Dolly Parton said she was "heartbroken", while Billy Ray Cyrus described him as a "legend and true trailblazer".

Singer Dominic Kirwan said he had the "great honour" to tour with Pride in 1990, describing him as a "true gentleman of country music".

Posting on social media, the singer from Omagh said: "He showed me how to respect and support up and coming acts as I was then as he spent a lot of personal time getting to know me and my band.

"I will never forget that and indeed the great man.

"Thank you Charley for the music and the memories."

BBC Radio Ulster presenter Hugo Duncan, who met and worked with Charley Pride a number of times, said he was a "lovely gentleman" who treated everyone "the same as friends he had left over at home".

"He was a star, but he didn't act a star; a lot of people could take a good lesson from that," he told listeners to his radio show on Monday.

"There's an old saying the singer's gone, but the song goes on.

"Charley's gone now, but his voice will go on all the time."