Baritone Eddy Arnold Dies at 89 - Charlie Chase

Eddy Arnold, the famous crooner, died of natural causes Thursday morning at a local health care facility.

He was 89.

Arnold is one of the most successful singers in history, recording a hundred albums.

He sold 85 million records and had 28 number one hits.

Fox 17's Charlie Chase sat down with Arnold in 2006, to talk about his music, his life, and his very distinguished career.

The country legend known as the "Tennessee Plowboy" was born Richard Edward Arnold on May 15, 1918 in Henderson, Tennessee.

As the youngest in a family of 14 children growing up in very rural West Tennessee, Eddy had to work hard. And life wasn't always easy.

'My father died the day I turned eleven years old"

Forced to learn a hard lesson at a young age, Arnold found a friend and a mentor in his grandfather, Dick Wright.

"My grandfather was an old confederate soldier...he went blind...I was his eyes as a little boy...he was a great old fellow."

Arnold may have been his grandfather's eyes but his grandfather was one of the first people to truly "see" the talent in young Eddy Arnold when he first started playing a guitar:

"A lot of me can be attributed to him...he'd say "Son that's great"..I wasn't great but he'd tell me I was good and I'd keep trying."

Arnold left home at age eighteen with guitar in hand determined to make it in the music business.

Like many other struggling musicians, he quickly learned the music industry was not as glamorous as it sounded on the radio.


"I was living and working in a funeral home and singing on the radio ..cause I didn't make any money."

Arnold was first heard on the airways in 1936 and became a familiar voice on the Grand Ole' Opry in 1943.

He signed with RCA Victor Records that same year but still struggled to get a top-selling record.

"The first records were not hits but they had life."

But that all changed in 1946 when Arnold recorded "That''s how much I love you."

"If I had a nickel I know what I would do. I'd spend it all on candy and give it all to you...cause that's how much I love you."

A rising star on the country charts, Arnold quickly caught the attention of a tough talking and fast thinking manager, Colonel Tom Parker.

The same Tom Parker who later managed Elvis Presley.

"He was an uneducated man but sharp and he knew where all the bodies were buried."

Under the Colonel's direction, Arnold quickly made the transition from radio to television, with his own TV show called "Eddy Arnold Time".

He even rocked the country boat by recording in New York City in front of a live orchestra.

And through the success of hits like "Make The World Go Away" Eddy Arnold became one of the first major crossover artists in history.

"I like love songs. I really like love songs."

And it is here where Arnold's life truly imitated art.

Eddy was married to wife Sally for 66 years.

He credits her with carrying most of the burdens of raising their children and coping with a husband spending too much time on the road.

"She did have to put up with a lot. She was with the children more than I was and I'm sorry about that but if you have a career and you're going to follow it and be successful you have to follow your career."

Eddy was introduced in to the Country Music Hall Of Fame in 1966, he was the first Entertainer Of The Year and he was given The Pioneer Award.

He's sold more than eighty-five million records and had 147 songs on the charts including 28 number one hits at one point, he had 58 top 10 hits in a row.

Arnold's wife, Sally, died in march.

Eddy wasn't able to attend his wife's funeral because he'd just had hip replacement surgery.

Eddy Arnold would have turned 90 next Thursday.