Against overwhelming odds, Winnie Simms’s efforts to get her song into the hands of country music star Charley Pride had succeeded, and Pride had recruited John Swheers to add music to Winnie’s words.

The result was a gospel hymn called “I Don’t Deserve a Mansion.” Pride recorded the song in a Nashville studio in 1974 with backing vocals provided by the well-known group, The Jordanaires.

Two years later, Pride released his second gospel album, “Sunday Morning with Charley Pride,” which featured “Mansion” as the first song on the “A” side of the disk.

When Pride, soon thereafter, released “Mans...