As you know, country music legend Eddy Arnold passed away one week ago (May 8th) at the age of 89. The Country Music Hall of Famer was laid to rest Wednesday (May 14th), following a funeral tribute at Nashville’s historic Ryman Auditorium where friends, fans and family gathered to remember the man once known as “The Tennessee Plowboy.”
Today would have been Eddy Arnold’s 90th birthday, and to mark the occasion RCA Nashville was planning to release a special single – a song called “To Life,” recorded for Mr. Arnold’s 2005 album, After All These Years. Today, many radio stations nationwide will play that song to celebrate the life and career of the man whose Billboard chart success ranks him as the #1 Country Artist of All Time. (EXCLUSIVE AUDIO BELOW)
Eddy Arnold left behind a remarkable life and legacy. Some people may not recognize Eddy’s name as readily as “Johnny” or “Willie”…but they should. This man was the standard-bearer for country music before Johnny Cash and George Jones emerged in the ’50s, and yet he was still right there alongside them in the ’60s as they became fixtures in the Top 10. You may not associate his name with a “movement” like Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson and The Outlaws…but that’s because his career was virtually a movement all its own! Between 1945 and 1956, Mr. Arnold had 67 consecutive Top 10 hits – no interruptions! His 28 #1 country singles may have been surpassed by others over the years, but he has spent more weeks at #1 – 146 – than any other artist. That’s nearly three years of his career spent in the #1 spot! And in one calendar year – 1948 – all but one of the songs that reached #1 on the country chart belonged to Eddy Arnold.
There’s more – so much more. He was the first person to be named CMA Entertainer of the Year…a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame…a recipient of the ACM Pioneer Award…and a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winner. But to countless people he was simply this – the voice that gave us such classic songs as “Make the World Go Away,” “You Don’t Know Me,” “Cattle Call”…and the list goes on and on.
So…on what would have been Eddy Arnold’s 90th birthday…here’s “To Life.” As he does in the song, why not take a moment today to raise a glass “to life” — a live well-lived…a life well-spent…a life that gave us a legend.
EXCLUSIVE AUDIO — ONE LAST EDDY ARNOLD SOUNDBITE SAVED JUST FOR TODAY.
In 2005, as he prepared for the release of his 100th album (the RCA Nashville release, After All These Years), Eddy Arnold reflected on his music…his life…and his legacy. (:33)
“I want the people that hear my voice to know that I’d be thrilled if they picked up my records and played them this late in my life. 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.”