Distinctly Montana Magazine

22 D I S T I N C T LY M O N TA N A M A G A Z I N E • S U M M E R 2 0 2 4 Red Foley's initial response was telling. An old-fashioned man from a quickly receding era, Pride said that Foley "looked at me warily and asked, 'Is this something pertaining to civil rights?'" Tiny Stokes stepped in. According to Pride's account, Stokes told Foley, "'No, no. This guy is for real... I want you to hear him. It's got nothing to do with civil rights. He sings locally here.'" Foley, evasive, shook Pride's hand and said, "I see." Then he simply walked away. Stokes told Pride that he thought he could still arrange it so that Foley heard Charley play. He told Charley to await a signal that would indicate when to go backstage and perform a quick song. When no signal came, Charley took the initiative himself. At intermission, he let himself into the performers' area and asked for some of their autographs. Then he picked up a guitar and began to strum, but it wasn't turned for the bar chords, which required great grip strength and skill. The sound it produced, he said, was something like "ching... ching... ching..." Backstage, all eyes were now on this mysterious stranger presently tuning a guitar—not his own—and clearing his throat. When he had the frets the way he wanted them, he spoke up. "Can I play now?" No one said anything. When the silence had become almost unbearable, and the tension seemed torrential, he decided to just start playing, breaking out into a Ray Price hit and a Hank Williams standard. When he was done, Red Foley couldn't quite bring himself to express admiration. Instead, Pride remembers him turning to the other Red and saying, "'Boy, that's different.'" Red Sovine, however, wore a big smile. According to Pride's book, he told the young country-western singer, "'I don't believe it. You ought to go to Nashville. I don't care what color you are.'" In 1963, coming from an old school country-western guy like Red Sovine, that was saying something. Charley ended up playing a few songs in front of the crowd that night. Many of them had already seen him perform around town, or at their favorite local bar, and had grown to appreciate his music. But few of them realized that they had just witnessed the origin story of a great American singer. Pride credited Red Sovine with giving him the push he needed to pursue in earnest a career in music, rather than baseball. But there was still to be one more unlucky season trying to attend a Mets training camp. When he got there, he was roundly rejected and given a one-way bus ticket to anywhere he wanted. He decided to take Sovine's advice, called his wife, and told her that he was on his way home—with a stop in Nashville along the way. WELCOME! WE ARE ANACONDA'S NEW TEX-MEX RESTAURANT serving BREAKFAST ALL DAY, LUNCH, DINNER, home-made cocktails and more! VISIT US TODAY! JordisCantina.com • (406) 563-0134 627 East Park Avenue • Anaconda VOTE FOR US WIN $500 FOR YOUR CHANCE TO of B E S T M O N TA N A A S V O T E D B Y R E A D E R S O F 2023 W I N N E R ! Check our Facebook page for live music & special events • 10 big TVs and NFL Sunday Ticket! • (406) 596-0843 Find us on Facebook 119 West Broadway Street Philipsburg, Montana Now sold at Drizzle Sips + Scoops in Butte! VOTE FOR US WIN $500 FOR YOUR CHANCE TO 2024 of B E S T M O N TA N A A S V O T E D B Y R E A D E R S O F

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