Music News
Country singer Eddy Arnold dies at 89
By M&C News
May 9, 2008, 15:25 GMT

Country singer Eddy Arnold, who sold more than 85 million recordings during seven decades in music, died Thursday at the age of 89.

Arnold died at a care facility near Nashville. The death was confirmed by the Country Music Hall of Fame & Museum.

Arnold had mega-success on the country music charts and had thirty-seven of his hits crossed over to the pop charts. One of the singer’s biggest hits was "Make the World Go" which reached the pop Top Ten during the fall of 1965.

The singer’s early peak of popularity was from 1945 to 1954 – where he enjoyed 57 consecutive singles in the country Top Ten. Nineteen of those hits went to No. 1 and two of them ("I'll Hold You in My Heart (Till I Can Hold You in My Arms)" and "I Wanna Play House with You") were later recorded by Elvis Presley – who was said to have patterned his crooning style from Mr. Arnold's.
 
Arnold was one of the first country singers to perform concerts in the casino rooms in Las Vegas and appeared at the Sahara as early as 1953. At the age of 81, Arnold hit the charts again with a remake of his 1955 hit “The Cattle Call" – which he sung with a teenage LeAnn Rimes.

Arnold was elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1966 and won the Country Music Association's first Entertainer of the Year award in 1967.

His wife of 66 years, Sally Gayhart Arnold, died on March 11 at the age of 87. He is survived by their children, Richard Edward Jr. of Nashville and Jo Ann Pollard of Brentwood, Tenn.; and two grandchildren.