Eddy Arnold, whose long career in country included 27 number 1 hits in a recording career spanning 6 decades and membership in the Country Music Hall of Fame, died this morning at 89 in Tennessee. Arnold, known as The Tennessee Plowboy, was part of the breed of country singers who saw the genre swing a bit from more rural and folk sounds to pop-influenced music.
Arnold was born in Henderson, Tenn. May 15, 1918 to a farming family. He was interested in music at an early age with a cousin lending him a Sears Roebuck Silvertone guitar. Growing up, he listened to Gene Autry, Bing Crosby and Jimmy Rodgers.
By the time Arnold was 17, h was working on radio and in beer halls in Jackson, Tenn. He also worked as an undertaker’s driver. Arnold later moved to Memphis and St. Louis for radio work.
In 1950, he joined Pee Wee King’s Golden West Cowboys as a featured singer. He played the Grand Ole Opry and also toured military bases in the U.S. and Central America.
He left King for a solo career in 1943. He was on key Nashville radio station during the day and later the Opry. Thanks to WSM station manager Harry Stone and Chicago publisher Fred Forster, RCA Records became aware of Arnold. He had his first recording session for RCA in December 1944, which included one of his signature songs, “Cattle Call.”
Many of Arnold’s hits crossed over to the pop charts as well. He expanded his audience by hosting a segment of the Opry and the Checkerboard Jamboree with Ernest Tubb. Arnold left the Opry in 1948 over a salary dispute and then worked live for CBS Network series Hometown Reunion. He also appeared in two films, “Feudin’ Rhythm” and “Hoedown” in 1949 and 1950.
In 1966, Arnold was elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame. The following year, he won the Country Music Association’s Entertainer of the Year. While spending most of his career with RCA, he also spent a few years with MGM and Curb. He continued performing concerts and television appearances in the 1980s and 1990s. Arnold’s last top 10 song was 1980′s “Let Get It While the Getting’s Good.” His last album was “After All This Time,” released in 2005 on RCA.
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