NEW YORK, USA (AP) — Charley Pride, country music’s first black superstar whose rich baritone on such hits as “Kiss an Angel Good Morning” helped sell millions of records and made him the first black member of the Country Music Hall of Fame, has died. He was 86.

Pride died Saturday in Dallas of complications from COVID-19, according to Jeremy Westby of the public relations firm 2911 Media.

“I’m so heartbroken that one of my dearest and oldest friends, Charley Pride, has passed away. It’s even worse to know that he passed away from COVID-19. What a horrible, horrible virus. Charley, we will always love you,” Dolly Parton tweeted.

Pride released dozens of albums and sold more than 25 million records during a career that began in the mid-1960s. Hits besides “Kiss an Angel Good Morning” in 1971 included “Is Anybody Goin’ to San Antone,” “Burgers and Fries,” “Mountain of Love,” and “Someone Loves You Honey.”

He had three Grammy Awards, more than 30 No. 1 hits between 1969 and 1984, won the Country Music Association’s Top Male Vocalist and Entertainer of the Year awards in 1972 and was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2000.

The Smithsonian in Washington acquired memorabilia from Pride, including a pair of boots and one of his guitars, for the National Museum of African American History and Culture.

Ronnie Milsap called him a “pioneer” and said that without his encouragement, Milsap might never have gone to Nashville. “To hear this news tears out a piece of my heart,” he said in a statement.

Other black country stars came before Pride, namely DeFord Bailey, who was a Grand Ole Opry member between 1927 and 1941. But until the early 1990s, when Cleve Francis came along, Pride was the only black country singer signed to a major label. In 1993, he joined the Opry cast in Nashville.