Country radio stations across the nation joined together with RCA Records in Nashville this past week to offer a remarkable tribute to Country Music Hall of Fame member and music legend, Eddy Arnold. RCA had set in motion a plan to ask radio stations to play Eddy’s song, “To Life” – from his 2005 album, After All These Years – as a 90th birthday salute to the man who recorded such classics as “Make the World Go Away”…and the birthday tribute took on a special poignancy when Eddy passed away on May 8, just seven days shy of his landmark day. This week, “To Life” appeared on Billboard magazine’s Hot Country Songs chart, giving Eddy – thanks to country radio – the 147th chart single of his career. Eddy’s career legacy now includes his status as the only artist in country history to have chart success in each of the past seven decades. He also earns the distinction of having the longest span of charted country singles, from June 1945 to present – nearly 63 years. At the time Eddy recorded “To Life” in 2005, he offered some thoughts about his music and his career in an interview with RCA, offering appreciation for his fans and for the opportunity to do what he truly loved as a career. “I want the people that hear my voice to know that I’ve had a good life,” he said. “The public’s been good to me. I have no gripes. None. I just want to sing a good song, and I want somebody to enjoy it.” (AUDIO INFO BELOW)

• Eddy Arnold was honored with a public service at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium on May 14. This past weekend, the Academy of Country Music Awards telecast included a special tribute to the 1983 ACM Pioneer Award honoree, with Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood performing Eddy’s classic, “Make the World Go Away.”
• A towering figure in the history of country music, Eddy was the Country Music Association’s first Entertainer of the Year in 1967 and was presented with a GRAMMY Lifetime Achievement Award in 2005.
• In a career with sales of more than 85 million albums, Eddy earned more Top 10 hits – 92 of them – and more consecutive Top 10s – 67 in all – than anyone in country history. He’s ranked as Billboard magazine’s number-one country artist of all time.
• Eddy’s 28 number-one singles spent an amazing 145 weeks at the top of the charts – an accomplishment unmatched to this day.

 The late Eddy Arnold, in an interview from 2005, looks back with fond appreciation for his fans and the career he enjoyed so much. (:22)
“I want the people that hear my voice to know that I’ve had a good life. The public’s been good to me. I have no gripes. None. I just want to sing a good song, and I want somebody to enjoy it.”