EDDY ARNOLD-THERE'S BEEN A CHANGE IN ME

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Eddy Arnold (May 15, 1918 -- May 8, 2008) was an American country music singer.

With 146 songs on the country charts -- including 28 number one hits -- Arnold ranks among the most popular country singers in U.S. history. Only George Jones had more individual hits on the country charts but, according to a formula derived by Joel Whitburn, Arnold is the all-time leader in an overall rankings for hits and their time on the charts.

Contents [hide]
1 Early years
2 Second career
3 Reasons for success
4 Private life and death
5 Discography
6 See also
7 References
8 External links

[edit] Early years
Born Richard Edward Arnold in Henderson, Tennessee, he 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 make his mark in the music world.

Arnold's formative musical years included early struggles to gain recognition until he landed a job as the lead male vocalist for the Pee Wee King band. By 1943, Arnold had become a solo star on the Grand Ole Opry. He was then signed by RCA Victor. In December 1944, he cut his first record. Although all of his early records sold well, his initial 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 (who later went on to control the career of Elvis Presley), Arnold began to dominate country music. In 1947-48, he had 13 of the top 20 songs. He successfully made the transition from radio to television, appearing frequently in the new medium.

In 1955, he upset many in the country music establishment by going to New York to record with the Hugo Winterhalter Orchestra. The pop-oriented arrangements of "Cattle Call" and "The Richest Man (in the World)", however, helped to expand his appeal beyond its country base.

With the advent of rock and roll, Arnold's record sales dipped in the late 1950s. Along with RCA Victor 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.

[edit] Second career

An Eddy Arnold album entitled "The Tip of My Fingers".After Jerry Purcell became his manager in 1964, Arnold embarked on a "second career" that surpassed the success of the first one. In the process, he succeeded in his ambition of carrying his music to a more diverse audience. Already recorded by several other artists, "Make The World Go Away" was just another song until recorded by Arnold. Under the direction of producer Chet Atkins, and showcased by Bill Walker's arrangement and the talents of the Anita Kerr Singers and pianist Floyd Cramer, Arnold's rendition of "Make the World Go Away" became an international hit.

Bill Russell's precise, intricate arrangements provided the lush background for 16 straight Arnold hits through the late 1960s. Arnold started performing with symphony orchestras in virtually every major city. New Yorkers jammed prestigious Carnegie Hall for two concerts. Arnold 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, and posting several Top 40 hits with the biggest hit of those being "I Wish That I Had Loved You Better" which was a Top 20 hit in 1974. He then successfully 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.

Eddy performed his final concert on May 16, 1999, the day after his 81st birthday, at the Hotel Orleans in Las Vegas.

In May, 2008, just a week after Arnold's death, RCA Records released "To Life", a song that appeared on his 2005 album, After All These Years, to country radio. For the week of May 31, 2008, it debuted at #49 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts, becoming Arnold's first chart entry in 25 years and also is now the oldest person in any genre to chart on the Billboard charts. Arnold now holds the record for the longest span between his first chart single and his latest chart single at 62 years and 11 months with "Each Minute Seems Like a Million Years" which debuted on June 30, 1945 and "To Life" which debuted on May 31, 2008. It also extends Arnold's career chart history to seven decades with this song.[1]

TAKEN FROM WIKIPEDIA. MORE INFORMATION IS AVAILABLE THERE.

Keywords: Arnold, country, Eddy, music