Eddy Arnold

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Eddy Arnold
Birth name	Richard Edward Arnold
Also known as	Tennessee Plowboy
Born	May 15 1918(1918-05-15)
Origin	Henderson, Tennessee, USA
Died	May 8 2008
Genre(s)	Country Music Pop Music
Occupation(s)	Singer
Instrument(s)	Guitar
Years active	1946 – Present
Label(s)	RCA Records MGM Records
Website	www.eddyarnold.com

Eddy Arnold (May 15, 1918 - May 8, 2008) was an American country music singer who is the all-time leader in the overall country rankings for hits and their time on the charts. From 1945 through 1983, Arnold had 145 songs on the charts, including 28 number-one country hits. With such classics as "Make The World Go Away" and "What's He Doing In My World," Arnold was known for his smooth, easy-going style, that allowed many of his records to cross over the the pop market, as well as topping the country charts.

After an initial period of struggling, Arnold got his first break in 1940 as a singer with the Golden West Cowboys, resulting in regular appearances on the Grand Ole Opry. In 1943, he hosted his own program on WSM radio, followed by a recording contract and a coveted role as a regular host on the Grand Ole Opry. The cowboy yodel "Cattle Call" became his signature song, followed by a long line of hits, including one period (November 1947 through January 1949) where he had six songs at number one on the country charts and six songs in the Top 10 at the same time.

In the mid-1960s, Arnold turned to lush, heavily orchestrated recordings that reinvigorated his career, winning him an expanded audience for his style of country music. He continued to record and look after his numerous business interests. Arnold died on May 8, 2008, in Franklin, Tennessee, just one week short of his ninetieth birthday.

Early years

Born Richard Edward Arnold in Henderson, Tennessee, Arnold made his first radio appearance in 1936. During his childhood, he lost both his father and the family farm. When he turned 18 he left home to try to break into the music business. Besides singing anywhere he could, the young Arnold worked and slept in a funeral parlor. Eventually, he landed a job as the lead male vocalist for the Pee Wee King band.

By 1943, Arnold had become a solo artist on the Grand Ole Opry. He was then signed by RCA Victor. In December of 1944, he cut his first record. Although his early records sold well, his first big hit did not come until 1946 with "That's How Much I Love You." In common with many other country and western singers of the time, he had a folksy nickname: "The Tennessee Plowboy."

Managed by "Colonel" Tom Parker Arnold began to dominate the country music business in terms of commercial success. Parker himself would go on to win fame by managing the career of Elvis Presley. In 1947-1948 the 20 top-selling songs included 13 by Arnold. He also made a successful transition from radio to television. In 1955, Arnold traveled to New York and record with the sophisticated Hugo Winterhalter Orchestra. This move was greeted with disdain by country traditionalists, including many in the country music business establishment. However, his pop-oriented renditions of earlier country hits clearly expanded his appeal. Within a few years, the Nashville establishment was striving to mimic his success.

In the late 50s, after the advent of rock and roll, Arnold's record sales began to fall. Along with label-mate Jim Reeves, he continued to try to court a wider audience by using pop-sounding, string-laced arrangements, a style that would come to be known as the Nashville sound.

Second career

Arnold soon embarked on a "second career" that surpassed even the success of his first one after Jerry Purcell became his manager in 1964. In the process, Arnold achieved in his ambition of bringing his music to a much more diverse audience. His smash hit "Make The World Go Away" had been recorded earlier by several other artists, but reached a universal dimension when recorded by Arnold. Produced in the slick, updated Nashville style of Chet Atkins and backed by pianist Floyd Cramer and the Anita Kerr Singers, Arnold's version became an international hit.

Arranger Bill Russell provided intricate settings for 16 straight Arnold hits through the late 1960s. Arnold started performing with symphony orchestras in virtually every major American city. New Yorkers jammed the prestigious Carnegie Hall for two concerts. Arnold also appeared before the Hollywood crowd at the Coconut Grove and had long, sold-out engagements in Las Vegas and Lake Tahoe.

After having recorded for RCA Victor since the 1940s, Arnold left the label to record four albums for MGM Records in the 1970s, posting one hit ("If The Whole World Stopped Lovin'"). He then returned to RCA Victor with both the album Eddy, and the hit single "Cowboy," which evoked stylistic memories of his classic "Cattle Call." After a few more RCA releases, he retired from active singing; however, he did release a new RCA album, After All These Years in 2005 at the age of 87.

A style for success

From the beginning, Eddy Arnold stood out from his contemporaries in the world of country singers. He never wore gaudy, glittering outfits, and sang from his diaphragm, not through his nose. He avoided the standard honky-tonk themes, preferring instead to sing songs that explored the intricacies of love.

Arnold also benefited from his association with excellent musicians. Steel guitar player Roy Wiggins highlighted most of his early recordings, while Charles Green played bass. Green had earlier been employed by the Glenn Miller Orchestra, and it was he who created Arnold's early arrangements, adding the smooth strains of violins (not country "fiddles") in 1956. Guitarist Chet Atkins played on many of Arnold's records, not to mention producing his records in the sophisticated "Nashville sound" style that irritated traditionalists but clearly gave Arnold a wider audience. Bassist Bob Moore, called the most recorded musician in history, first performed on the road with Eddy Arnold on the 1954 "RCA Caravan" and later performed on most of Arnold's hit recordings. Arnold also benefited from the management of "Colonel" Tom Parker, who guided his first career, and Jerry Purcell, who masterminded the second.

The most important factor in Eddy Arnold's success, however, was his voice. Arnold was a natural singer, whose voice has been compared to such performers as Bing Crosby and Enrico Caruso. Arnold's longevity was exceptional, with his career spanning more than 50 years. Only a few other performers have survived the changing popular musical tastes as successfully. His later concerts were notable in that they often attracted three generations of fans.

In his personal life, Arnold served as a role model to many fans. His career was absent of the taint of alcohol and drugs and his marriage to his wife, Sally Gayhart Arnold, lasted from 1941 until her death on March 11, 2008.

Arnold died on May 8 of the same year, in Franklin, Tennessee, just one week short of his ninetieth birthday. Eddy and Sally Arnold were survived by their children, "Dickie" and Jo Ann, as well as two grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

Legacy

While Arnold's later style of country music was sometimes criticized by the more traditional performers, it is undoubtedly a fact that Arnold helped introduce Nashville and country music to the world. Over his career, Arnold sold over 85 million records and had 147 songs on the charts, including 28 number-one hits on Billboard's "Country Singles" chart. Among his recordings are songs for mothers and children, hymns, show tunes, and novelty numbers. However, Arnold is best known for his way with a love song.

• Eddy Arnold was elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1966.
• He was named the Country Music Association's (CMT's) Entertainer of the Year in 1967.
• In 2003, Arnold ranked number 22 in CMT's 40 Greatest Men of Country Music.
• In the same year, he donated hundreds of his career-related items to the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum which placed them on a special exhibit.

Selected Albums

Album	Year "One More Time" 1962
Cattle Call	1963
My World	1965
I Want to Go With You	1966
Lonely Again	1967
The Everlovin' World of Eddy Arnold	1968
Songs of the Young World	1969
Love and Guitars	1970
Portrait of My Woman	1971
Lonely People	1972
Eddy	1976
A Legend and His Lady	1980

References

ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

• Arnold, Eddy. It's A Long Way From Chester County. Old Tappan, N.J. Hewitt House. OCLC 13352
• Cusic, Don. Eddy Arnold: I'll Hold You in My Heart. Nashville, Tenn.: Rutledge Hall Press, 1997. ISBN 978-1558534926
• Freda, Michael D. Eddy Arnold Discography, 1944-1996. Greenwood Press, 1997. ISBN 9780313303883
• Rumble, John. "Eddy Arnold." In The Encyclopedia of Country Music. Paul Kingsbury, Editor. New York: Oxford University Press, 1998. ISBN 978-0195116717
• Streissquth, Michael. Eddy Arnold: Pioneer of the Nashville Sound. New York: Schirmer Books, 1997. ISBN 978-0028647197

External links

• Official Website. www.eddyarnold.com. Retrieved May 14, 2008.

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