Eddy Arnold
Richard Edward "Eddy" Arnold (born May 15, 1918 in Henderson , Tennessee , † May 8, 2008 in Nashville ) was an American country and pop singer who was successful from the 1940s to the 1960s. It reached number one on the country charts 27 times and sold more than 85 million records.
Life
Beginnings
Eddy Arnold came from a music-loving family who ran a small farm on the verge of subsistence in Tennessee . After the early death of his father, he had to drop out of school. It was the time of the economic depression when the family struggled to survive after the inevitable loss of the farm. Arnold, who has been playing guitar since he was ten, took every opportunity to make musical appearances. His radio career began in 1936 at the WTJS station in Jackson, Tennessee . He then worked for six years at WMPS in Memphis .
In August 1941, the RJ Reynolds Tobacco Company put together a country show that visited countless military facilities on a nationwide tour for troop support. The main attractions of the "Camel Caravan" were Minnie Pearl and Pee Wee King with his backing band, the Golden West Cowboys. Eddy Arnold was also a member of the 20-strong group. After the end of the war, he joined the Golden West Cowboys as lead singer, giving him the opportunity to make his first appearances in the center of country music, the Grand Ole Opry . As a "Tennessee Plowboy" he quickly gained popularity.
Career
Thanks to his pleasant, warm voice, he soon managed to arouse the interest of record companies. In 1944 he was signed by RCA Victor . In the same year his first single Mommy Stay Home With Me was released . In 1945 he played the first version of one of his most famous songs, Cattle Call , which he would record over and over again over the years. Each Minute Seems a Million Years made it into the top 10 a little later. A year later That's How Much I Love You reached number two on the country charts, and Arnold had two more top ten in 1946 with All Alone In This World Without You (# 7) and Chained To A Memory (# 3). Hits.
His successful streak of several decades began in 1947. First, What Is Life Without You and It 'a Sin reached number one in the country charts . The biggest country hit of the decade followed: I'll Hold You in My Heart stayed at the top of the country charts for almost half a year. The producer and A&R manager Steve Sholes from RCA and the steel guitarist Roy Wiggins, who brought a country feeling into the romantic songs, played a major role in Arnold's success .
In 1948, five more number one hits followed, including Bouquet of Roses , which was number one on the C&W charts for 19 weeks . That same year Colonel Tom Parker became Arnold's manager. Because of obscure machinations, Parker was fired after a few years and from then on looked after Elvis Presley .
Eddy Arnold left the Grand Ole Opry in 1948 and focused on touring nationwide. He had numerous radio appearances and acted in several films. In the early 1950s, he became the first country singer to have his own television show. Meanwhile, rockabilly and rock 'n' roll had plunged country music into an existence-threatening crisis. The genre lost much of its youthful following almost overnight. In response, Chet Atkins , Owen Bradley, and others developed the smooth, pop-oriented Nashville sound . Thanks to his vocal qualities, Arnold became one of the most successful representatives of this new style. Unlike many other established stars, he hadn't the slightest trouble adjusting his style (he usually appeared on stage in a tuxedo during those years). With ballads like What's He Doing in My World or Make The World Go Away , he had conquered the top of the C&W charts again in 1965. From 1966 to 1969, 13 more top 10 hits followed.
In 1966 he was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame . A year later he became the first CMA "Entertainer of the Year". He was credited with gaining new audiences for country music. His albums My World and The Best Of Eddy Arnold were awarded gold records .
Because of its exposed position, it also became a proxy for other main targets of overt and covert attacks. Traditionalist (and thus unsuccessful in those years) circles blamed him primarily for watering down country music. At the 1969 Grammy Awards, for example, he was treated with derogatory remarks by the audience on the way to the stage.
Later years
Arnold's successes slowly waned in the 1970s. In 1972 he switched to the MGM label, but returned to RCA a little later. He achieved several top 10 placements. Even in the 1980s he was able to place a few songs in the top 20. In 1999 he achieved another hit parade with Cattle Call , which he sang in a duet with LeAnn Rimes .
Eddy Arnold set the final musical end of one of the longest and most successful careers in music history in 2005 when he recorded his hundredth album at the age of 87. It only contains new songs that he has never interpreted before. The co-producer was 74-year-old Jack Clement . In the same year he was awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award .
death
In March 2008 Arnold's wife Sally Gayhart, with whom he was married for more than 65 years, died. Eddy Arnold died in May 2008, shortly before his 90th birthday. He left two grown children. After his death, Christoph Edward Tanner claimed to be Arnold's illegitimate son. Arnold's family denies this and refuses a DNA test .
Discography albums (selection)
| year | album | Best placement | Label | RIAA award | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US albums | US Country | ||||
| 1948 | All Time Hits from the Hills | 5 | - | RCA Victor | - |
| 1949 | To mother | 2 | - | RCA Victor | - |
| 1950 | Eddy Arnold Sings | 5 | - | RCA Victor | - |
| 1955 | Anytime | - | - | RCA Victor | - |
| 1955 | The Chapel on the Hill | - | - | RCA Victor | - |
| 1955 | Wanderer | - | - | RCA Victor | - |
| 1956 | A Little on the Lonely Side | - | - | RCA Victor | - |
| 1957 | My darling, my darling | - | - | RCA Victor | - |
| 1957 | When They Were Young | - | - | RCA Victor | - |
| 1958 | Praise Him, Praise Him | - | - | RCA Victor | - |
| 1959 | Have Guitar, Will Travel | - | - | RCA Victor | - |
| 1959 | Thereby Hangs a Tale | - | - | RCA Victor | - |
| 1960 | Eddy Arnold Sings Them Again | - | - | RCA Victor | - |
| 1960 | More Eddy Arnold | - | - | Camden / RCA Victor | - |
| 1960 | You Gotta Have Love | - | - | RCA Victor | - |
| 1961 | Christmas with Eddy Arnold | 27 X | - | RCA | - |
| 1961 | Let's Make Memories Tonight | - | - | RCA Victor | - |
| 1961 | One more time | - | - | RCA Victor | - |
| 1962 | Our Man Down South | - | - | RCA Victor | - |
| 1963 | Cattle call | 131 | 16 | RCA Victor | - |
| 1963 | Faithfully yours | - | 8th | RCA Victor | - |
| 1964 | Folk Song Book | - | 4th | RCA Victor | - |
| 1964 | Sometimes I'm Happy, Sometimes I'm Blue | - | - | RCA Victor | - |
| 1965 | My World | 7th | 1 | RCA Victor | gold |
| 1965 | The easy way | - | 1 | RCA Victor | - |
| 1966 | I want to go with you | 26th | 1 | RCA Victor | - |
| 1966 | The Last Word in Lonesome | 46 | 1 | RCA Victor | - |
| 1966 | Somebody Like Me | 36 | 1 | RCA Victor | - |
| 1967 | Lonely Again | 57 | 1 | RCA Victor | - |
| 1967 | Turn the world around | 34 | 1 | RCA Victor | - |
| 1968 | The Everlovin 'World of Eddy Arnold | 122 | 1 | RCA Victor | - |
| 1968 | The Romantic World of Eddy Arnold | 56 | 2 | RCA Victor | - |
| 1968 | Walkin 'in Love Land | 70 | 2 | RCA Victor | - |
| 1969 | Songs of the Young World | 77 | 11 | RCA Victor | - |
| 1969 | The Glory of Love | 167 | 27 | RCA Victor | - |
| 1969 | The Warmth of Eddy | 116 | 11 | RCA Victor | - |
| 1970 | Love & Guitars | 191 | 30th | RCA Victor | - |
| 1970 | Standing alone | - | 43 | RCA Victor | - |
| 1971 | Loving Her Was Easier | - | - | RCA Victor | - |
| 1971 | Portrait of My Woman | 141 | 17th | RCA Victor | - |
| 1971 | Welcome to My World | - | 18th | RCA Victor | Double platinum |
| 1972 | Eddy Arnold Sings for Housewives & Other Lovers | - | 39 | RCA Victor | - |
| 1972 | Lonely People | - | 38 | RCA Victor | - |
| 1973 | The World of Eddy Arnold | - | 43 | RCA Victor | - |
| 1974 | I Wish That I Had Loved You Better | - | 36 | MGM | - |
| 1974 | She's Got Everything I Need | - | 25th | MGM | - |
| 1975 | The Wonderful World of Eddy Arnold | - | 40 | MGM | - |
| 1976 | Eddy | - | 26th | RCA Victor | - |
| 1977 | I need you all the time | - | 33 | RCA Victor | - |
| 1985 | Many Tears Ago | - | - | Capitol | - |
| 1990 | Hand holdin 'songs | - | - | RCA | - |
| 1991 | You don't miss a thing | - | - | RCA | - |
| 2005 | After All These Years | - | - | RCA | - |
literature
- Irwin Stambler, Grelun Landon: Encyclopedia Of Folk, Country And Western Music . St. Martin's Press, New York / London 1969, pp. 12-14.
- Melvin Shestack: The Country Music Encyclopaedia . Omnibus Press, London 1977, pp. 10-12.
- Fred Dellar, Roy Thompson: The Illustrated Encyclopedia Of Country Music . Foreword by Roy Acuff. 2nd Edition. Salamander Books, London 1979, p. 13.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Joel Whitburn: The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Hits . 7th revised and expanded edition. Billboard Books, New York City 2005, p. 29
- ↑ Joel Whitburn: The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Hits . 7th revised and expanded edition. Billboard Books, New York City 2005, p. 31
- ↑ RCA catalog number 3466, published in September 1965, "Goldene Schallplatte" was awarded on May 12, 1966
- ↑ RCA catalog number 3565, published April 1967, "Goldene Schallplatte" was awarded on March 28, 1968
- ^ Adam White: The Billboard Book Of Gold And Platinum Records . 2nd revised edition. Omnibus Press, London 1990, p. 16
- ↑ US chart positions: Billboard Pop Hits Singles & Albums 1940-1954 by Joel Whitburn , Record Research 2002, ISBN 0-89820-198-5 / The Billboard Albums by Joel Whitburn , 6th Edition, Record Research 2006, ISBN 0-89820- 166-7 .
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Arnold, Eddy |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Arnold, Richard Edward |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American country and pop singer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | May 15, 1918 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Henderson , Tennessee, United States |
| DATE OF DEATH | May 8, 2008 |
| Place of death | Nashville , Tennessee, United States |