Comments on: Eddy Arnold: After All These Years

Eddy Arnold: After All These Years

dawson — Thu, 08 May 2008 08:56:36 -0800

Eddy Arnold, one of Country Music's all time greats died early this morning just days short of his 90th birthday.

Known for songs such as Richest Man in all the World, Make The World Go Away, What's He Doing In My World and Cattle Call, Arnold made his first radio appearance in 1936 and from 1945 through 1983 he had 145 charted songs, including 28 number-one hits (wiki).

By: hojoki

hojoki — Thu, 08 May 2008 08:58:44 -0800

By: ornate insect

ornate insect — Thu, 08 May 2008 09:06:53 -0800

Just saw this here. Glad you posted it; here are two songs I like by him: Texarkana Baby I Walk Alone From the first link I just posted: Folksy yet sophisticated, he became a pioneer of "The Nashville Sound," also called "countrypolitan," a mixture of country and pop styles. His crossover success paved the way for later singers such as Kenny Rogers. "I sing a little country, I sing a little pop and I sing a little folk, and it all goes together," he said in 1970.... ....The late Dinah Shore once described his voice as like "warm butter and syrup being poured over wonderful buttermilk pancakes." In the 1960s he revitalized his career by performing pop that had as much in common with Tony Bennett as it did with Hank Williams (I've said it before I'll say it: American popular music is far less compartmentalized than is often recognized) , but it was invariably well-crafted and good, and he and Chet Atkins changed Nashville's approach to music.

By: NoMich

NoMich — Thu, 08 May 2008 09:07:18 -0800

The man who brought country music to the city. As Frank Booth would say, "what a suave motherfucker." . (I'm going to have that song stuck in my head for a few days now.)

By: dawson

dawson — Thu, 08 May 2008 09:07:43 -0800

and of course my third 'more inside' link should go here. sorry for the double.

By: notsnot

notsnot — Thu, 08 May 2008 09:20:59 -0800

By: Mike D

Mike D — Thu, 08 May 2008 09:28:23 -0800

My parents were huge fans and, for the four years we lived overseas while Dad served a French base posting with the RCAF, the Loew-Opta stereo was pretty well our only electronic entertainment and Eddy Arnold albums were a regular play. I can still manage a passable recollection of the lyrics to "The Red-Headed Stranger". "Don't cross him; don't boss him He's wild in his sorrow. He's ridin' and hidin' his pain. Don't fight him; don't spite him Just wait 'til tomorrow And maybe he'll ride on again." But the yellow-haired woman who "cast greedy eyes on the bay" didn't listen; they never do.

By: Senator

Senator — Thu, 08 May 2008 09:40:10 -0800

Somewhere out there someone is typing, "I guess he made the world go away".

By: StopMakingSense

StopMakingSense — Thu, 08 May 2008 09:43:09 -0800

Used to great effect here.

By: hortense

hortense — Thu, 08 May 2008 09:43:55 -0800

By: fourcheesemac

fourcheesemac — Thu, 08 May 2008 09:55:19 -0800

Happy trails, ploughboy

By: PeterMcDermott

PeterMcDermott — Thu, 08 May 2008 09:59:10 -0800

At least now he'll never go short of water. Cool water.

By: WCityMike

WCityMike — Thu, 08 May 2008 10:03:43 -0800

Out of 11 posts thus far, only three adding-nothing-to-discussion period-posts. Amazing.

By: MapGuy

MapGuy — Thu, 08 May 2008 10:04:53 -0800

There are moments we remember, or maybe we just think we do. As soon as I hear a song the memories just come flooding back. I remember riding on a Greyhound from Jacksonville to Fitzgerald as a boy with Ella's version of Misty Blue running through my head. I remember parking in a field in Illinois as a teenager with Michelle in the back seat listening to Willie croon You Don't Know Me. Tonight, I will pour then raise a glass of Scotch and turn up Make the World Go Away. Thanks Eddy For those three and many more. '

By: dawson

dawson — Thu, 08 May 2008 10:46:29 -0800

Strangely enough, perhaps, Eddy was one of my first acts of independence. We are all influenced by our parents musical tastes (I would argue) and yet, when I was a young'un in the 70's- mid 80's, while dad and I agreed on most 'country' music (he never liked my AC/DC, Queen, Lynard, but we did agree on Springsteen, Paul Simon and Dylan), he scoffed at Arnold as ' slick country-pop'. But for the probably first time, I insisted that he was wrong, Eddy was awesome! Sure enough he tends to agree with me now. I wish there were more video from the 'ambassador of county music'. These recollections sure are nice though.

By: MikeMc

MikeMc — Thu, 08 May 2008 11:40:09 -0800

From the other day... Confession time. When I was a kid I made my parents buy me an Eddie Arnold album from a TV commercial. It came with an "autographed" picture of Eddie (which I promptly framed and kept on my dresser for years). I'll be 40 in a few months and I still get shit about Eddie and I can still sing "Make the World Go Away" and "Cattle Call" posted by MikeMc at 11:24 PM on May 1 [+] [!] So long Eddy...

By: Smart Dalek

Smart Dalek — Thu, 08 May 2008 14:08:31 -0800

♪

By: grounded

grounded — Thu, 08 May 2008 14:58:14 -0800

I couldn't believe it was true.

By: dhammond

dhammond — Thu, 08 May 2008 15:41:37 -0800

I was listening to "Cattle Call" just the other day and remarking to myself how cool it was that he was still alive. Oh well. Rest in peace, buddy.

By: hortense

hortense — Thu, 08 May 2008 22:08:51 -0800

After the grandchildren finished singing You Are My Sunshine we played The Cattle Call at my fathers funeral. Dad was a cowboy who grew up on a dryland farm in Colorado.