Eddy Arnold, R.I.P.

Dan Gibson | May 9, 2008 10:00 am
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Eddy Arnold, the debonair crooner who dominated the “countrypolitan” era of the country charts with smooth balladry and pop stylings, died yesterday at the age of 89 in Nashville.

Arnold sold over 85 million records over his seven decades of appearances on the country charts, and by chart historian Joel Whitburn’s count, is the biggest star in the chart’s history, well ahead of George Jones and Johnny Cash. Arnold’s smooth stylngs were perfectly timed with the genre’s move out of a rural aesthetic and into the “Nashville Sound,” loaded with lush strings and sensitive ballads that contrasted with the nasal hard-livin’ tales of Hank Williams and the like. Arnold was a popular performer during Johnny Carson’s Tonight reign, and once filled in as host. When the tide changed in Nashville, Arnold made for himself an extended career in Las Vegas, filling casino theaters through the ’90s. Arnold was known as one Nashville’s most wealthy residents, yet he was also one of the town’s most likable and down to earth celebrities, accessible and seen enjoying lunch daily in local restaurants until his most recent illness.

It’s easy to admire his career’s success and longevity, even if the style of country he performed has become less appreciated since its heyday. Arnold didn’t really consider himself a country artist, and his thirty-plus hits on the pop chart are a testament to his crossover appeal. Even if Arnold wasn’t much of a country artist in retrospect, he was certainly a easy-to-like smooth operator, as seen on this undated television performance of his signature hit “Make The World Go Away” :

Country Music Hall of Fame Member Eddy Arnold Dies at Age 89 [CMT.com]

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