Country Music Legend of the Week, Eddy Arnold [VIDEOS]

Richard Edward Arnold, May 15, 1918 – May 8, 2008, known professionally as Eddy Arnold, was an American country music singer who performed for six decades.

He was a so-called Nashville sound, country/popular music, innovator of the late 1950s, and scored 147 songs on the Billboard country music charts, second only to George Jones.

He sold more than 85 million records. A member of the Grand Ole Opry, beginning 1943 and the Country Music Hall of Fame ,beginning 1966, Arnold ranked 22nd on Country Music Television's 2003 list of "The 40 Greatest Men of Country Music." He co-wrote the country and pop standard "You Don't Know Me".

Arnold was born on May 15, 1918 on a farm near Henderson, Tennessee. His father, a sharecropper, played the fiddle, while his mother played guitar.

The Cattle Call

As a boy Arnold helped on the farm, which later gained him his nickname—the Tennessee Plowboy. Arnold attended Pinson High School in Pinson, Tennessee, where he played guitar for school functions and events.

I'll Hold You in My Heart

He quit before graduation to help with the farm work, but continued performing, often arriving on a mule with his guitar hung on his back. Arnold also worked part time as an assistant at a mortuary.

Arnold signed a contract with the company RCA Victor, with manager Colonel Tom Parker, who later managed Elvis Presley. Arnold's first single was little noticed, but the next, "Each Minute Seems a Million Years", scored No. 5 on the country charts during 1945.

You Don't Know Me

Its success began a decade of unprecedented chart performance; Arnold's next 57 singles all scored the Top Ten, including 19 number one scoring successes.
During 1946, Arnold scored his first major success with "That's How Much I Love You". During 1948, he had five successful songs on the charts simultaneously.

That year he had nine songs score the top 10; five of these scored No. 1 and scored #1 for 40 of the year's 52 weeks. With Parker's management, Arnold continued to dominate, with 13 of the 20 best-scoring country music songs of 1947–1948.

Make The World Go Away

He became the host of Mutual Radio's Purina-sponsored segment of the Opry, and of Mutual’s Checkerboard Jamboree, a midday program shared with Ernest Tubb that was broadcast from a Nashville theater. Recorded radio programs increased Arnold’s popularity, as did the CBS Radio series Hometown Reunion with the Duke of Paducah.

Boquet of Roses 1948

Arnold quit the Opry during 1948, and his Hometown Reunion briefly broadcasted in competition with the Opry on Saturday nights. During 1949 and 1950, he performed in the Columbia movies Feudin’ Rhythm and Hoedown.

What's He Doing In My World

To Life (Special Version)
mages of Eddy Arnold set to a special version of "To Life". This was released on 5-12-08 and charted. This makes Eddy Arnold the only artist in history to chart records during seven decades.