Charley Pride
Net Worth: $40 million
Venture: Baseball
Charley Pride is certainly a huge source of pride for many Americans because he exemplifies the pursuit of happiness perfectly. This talented individual somehow managed to become a successful country singer while also turning into one of the nation’s most popular and beloved African American baseball stars. Pride was born in 1934 in Sledge, Mississippi and saw his greatest musical success in the ’70s when he became one of RCA Records’ best selling artists since Elvis.
He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2000. Since then, Pride uses his small fortune to become a minority owner in the Texas Rangers MLB club as part of his long activity in the sport. Pride is currently estimated to be worth around $40 million. What makes it even more impressive is that he did it as an African American during a time way before our modern push towards equality when a lot of the deck was stacked against him. His famous song “Just Between You and Me” is to this day one of the most iconic and unforgettable songs in country music’s history.
Mac Davis
Net Worth: $12 million
Venture: The Mac Davis Show
Popular retro singer, songwriter, and actor, Morris Mac Davis began his career in the music and entertainment industries as a songwriter for Nancy Sinatra's company, Boots Enterprises. He worked there for several years, contributing greatly to many of Sinatra's recordings. David eventually found his way to writing songs for the king of rock and roll, Elvis Presley. He was responsible for classics such as "In the Ghetto", "Friend, Lover, Woman, Wife", "Home", "It's Such a Lonely Time of Year", and "Memories."
Following his success as a songwriter, Davis went off on a solo path, pursuing a singing career which ended up becoming a very successful endeavor. He was awarded the Academy of Country Music's Entertainer of the Year award in 1974 and proceeded to become an actor that same year. Davis hosted his own TV show on NBC called The Mac Davis Show and from there began to act in various films and TV shows such as North Dallas Forty and Cheaper to Keep Her.
David Nail
Net Worth: $500,000
Venture: MCA Net
David Nail is a 40-year-old country singer-songwriter with a fairly modest musical career. He has released a total of four studio albums: I'm About to Come Alive, The Sound of a Million Dreams, I'm a Fire, and Fighter, with a combined total of mid-6-figures in album sales. His last two albums both reached number three in the United States country billboards. Nail describes himself as "an artist following his muse, making music without rules or regulations".
He has been signed by Mercury Nashville and MCA Nashville in recent years and is originally from Kennett, Missouri. The singer took a brief break between 2002 and 2007 but has since returned full force into the music industry. If you’re interested in listening to some of Nail’s best songs, we recommend you check out “Let It Rain” and “Whatever She’s Got”, both these songs reached number-one on the country charts.
Martina McBride
Net Worth: $38 million
Venture: Love Unleashed Tour
Most country singers eventually crossover to pop and more mainstream versions of country once they have attained a certain level of fame and success. Crossing over helps musical artists expand into much bigger audiences and multiply a singer’s fan base. In Martina McBride’s case, she crossed over to pop a few times, long before achieving her current popularity and acclaim.
The Kansas-born singer is highly talented and plays everything from piano to harmonica and even the tambourine. Her first major single “The Time Has Come” didn’t achieve the popularity she hoped, but with many tweaks to her musical style and approach, she seems to have found her groove and managed to stay relevant and hot in the billboards for almost three decades since. McBride is currently signed to RCA and her tour Love Unleashed has proven to be very successful.
Billy Currington
Net Worth: $4.5 million
Venture: Shotgun Rider Tour
With over two-million Facebook likes and over 650,000 Twitter followers, Billy Currington has managed to leverage social media to achieve commercial acclaim in the country genre. In 2017, his number-one single "Do I Make You Wanna" broke records by overtaking the number-two song by almost ten million sales. Currington has recently one the hilarious Hottest Video of the Year — "Must Be Doin' Somethin’ Right" award from CMT.
Currington has released six albums since 2003 with over one-million sales. Eight of his singles have reached Gold and Platinum status, including "Pretty Good at Drinkin' Beer," "Hey Girl," and "Do I Make You Wanna." In 2013, Currington was indicted of felony criminal charges including making terrorist threats and inflicting mental anguish on an elder person, after allegedly berating and threatening boat captain Charles Harvey Ferrelle that same year. He was sentenced to 5 years' probation, a $1000 fine, and anger management counseling.