Charley Pride’s Son Wants Out of Contract

DALLAS (CN) - The son of country music legend Charley Pride sued his manager for release, claiming in court that the company booked him for only one gig - and that the check for it bounced.

Dion Pride sued Octabrook Entertainment, of Lebanon, Tenn., in Dallas County Court.

Pride was a lead guitarist for his father, who had 39 No. 1 hits on the Billboard Hot County Songs charts and was one of the few African-American country musicians in the 1970s to have sustained success in a genre dominated by whites.

Dion Pride claims that after Octabrook representatives saw him perform in Dallas, it offered to manage him and "elevate (his) entertainment career."

Pride claims that Octabrook told him his manager would be Jason McClelland, who is not a party to the lawsuit.

"Plaintiff asserts that the only one performance obtained by defendant resulted in being paid with a nonsufficient funds check," the complaint states. "Plaintiff had to seek other means in order to actually get paid on that performance.

"Despite such a lackluster effort as a management team, defendant has taken the position that plaintiff continues to owe the nonexistent company funds for jobs which were obtained by plaintiff personally. Thus, defendant seeks to be compensated for not working."

Pride claims his contract with Octabrook is invalid, as certain terms it promised him were not included in the contract, so there was no "meeting of the minds."

He also claims that Octabrook has not validly existed under Tennessee law since Aug. 9, 2012, so it did not actually exist at the time he signed the management agreement. And he claims that McClelland is no longer with the company.

Octabrook could not be reached for comment Monday evening.

Pride seeks actual and punitive damages for breach of contract and unjust enrichment. He is represented by David Small in Dallas.

Follow @davejourno

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