Country music legend Charley Pride passed away on December 12, 2020. Just months prior, he was finally reunited with a long-lost guitar of his, which happened to be one of his favorites.
This guitar was a Fender Coronado. Pride played it all the time during the heyday of his career. He relied on it so often, his team described the instrument as “his constant companion” in a post on his Facebook page.
That same Facebook post describes how Pride ended up losing the guitar he loved so much.
“Following one of Charley’s tour dates back in the day, the guitar had gone missing after being shipped to the wrong address. It was never found and never returned to Pride.“
Years passed, and it seemed as though Pride would never see his beloved guitar again. But thanks to a fellow country music singer, the guitar was finally found.
Marty Stuart was the person who located Pride’s missing guitar. He “managed to track it down and reacquire[d] it” in 2019.
Stuart brought the guitar to Pride backstage at the Ryman Auditourium on January 24, 2020. They took a photo together, which Pride’s team shared on Facebook along with their story about the guitar.
After reuniting Pride with his guitar, Stuart had Pride sign the instrument. Little did he know that Pride would pass away just 11 months later.
Now, the guitar’s new home will be in a museum exhibit honoring Stuart.
“The guitar will be one of many fascinating artifacts featured in an exhibit called ‘The World of Marty Stuart’ that is tentatively scheduled to open in 2022 at the Museum of Mississippi History in Jackson, MS,” Pride’s team said.
Head below to read the full story about Pride’s guitar, how Stuart helped him reunite with it, and what will happen to the guitar now. You can also see the photo the two of them took together at the Ryman.
What an incredible story! We’re sure Pride was thankful that Stuart was able to find his favorite guitar after so many years.