Wendy Riddell - June 29,2003
Homepage: http://www.powercashadvance.com
Hometown: AZ
Comments:
I really enjoyed looking through your site. As an amateur web designer, I've put one together as well

Dennis Yates
130 Car Bank St.
Atherton-Manchester
M460HZ
ENGLAND

Don:  Many thanks for your kindness.   I still grieve for Eldred everyday.  Bill Comer

Just plain ol' Eddy Arnold

LARRY MCCORMACK / STAFF
Eddy Arnold says he's one of the few folks who remembers how to tie the ''early American string ties'' he used as a part of his performing attire. That's why the guy who sold 85-million-plus records went to the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum to actually do the tying on one of the stage tuxedoes used in his exhibit. Hall of Fame and Museum preparator Annie Freeman, who is responsible for restoring and setting up artifacts for display, and director Kyle Young look on.

By TIM GHIANNI
Senior Writer
Amid a room filled with memories and pictures of dogs, the Tennessee Plowboy stares at the television.
''Life you have been good to me/Why have you chosen me to give your blessings to . . . I dedicate this song to life.''
Eddy Arnold watches himself sing the bittersweet words that both toast and bid adieu to life.
The song and video is To Life, a simple acknowledgment that, at 85, this fellow, whose ''country-politan'' performance style helped give Music City its first real pop crossover success, knows each moment should be embraced.
''That video's going to be in the display at the Hall of Fame,'' says Eddy (he insists on that rather than ''Mr. Arnold.'')
The display he refers to is the I'll Hold You in My Heart: The Eddy Arnold Collection exhibit opening to the public Friday at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. Last March, Eddy and his wife, Sally, gave the museum its largest-ever donation representing a single life and career .
''It fits with what we're trying to do down there. I'm having a good display,'' he says.
This video is Eddy's way of taking care of his fans, making sure that as long as anyone wants to see the Tennessee Plowboy perform, they will have that opportunity.
''I haven't done any singing in quite some time,'' he says, as he edges away from the TV and eases his lanky frame into a wooden chair. ''I don't sing as well as I did. Should I do something else, I'd have to get in shape for it.
''And I'd have to realize that it's not going to make the charts. Still, there's nothing wrong with hearing a good song performed.''
Finding good in past, present
This takes us onto one of the many side trips of a lazy, memorable morning spent in the memory-crammed Brentwood office he has occupied, and filled with mementoes, since Brentwood was a sleepy, rural crossroads. It has been his headquarters during a career that saw him chart 145 singles, produce 28 No. 1 songs and sell more than 85 million records.
''I like some of the country music now. The songs I can understand. I like that guy, Alan, oh, what's his name, the one who wrote that beautiful song about Sept. 11? Alan Jackson! Now, he really sings good songs.'' He pauses. ''Alan sings songs!''
But most of what he hears on radio aren't songs as well crafted as the ones sung during his own glorious career or even during Jackson's relatively brief career.
''It's kind of like Johnny Cash,'' says Eddy, breaking into an easy laugh. ''He just keeps recording and he can't get on the radio. Two or three years ago, he won a Grammy for one of his records that no one would put on the radio.
''He bought this big ad in Billboard 'thanking' radio for its support. Remember this?'' Eddy does his best impression of the memorable picture of a clench-jawed Cash ''flipping off'' the industry that failed to support one of its greatest artists.
''When I saw that, I called Johnny down in Jamaica. Of course, he's not well. I was told he was taking a nap. But then they asked who was calling and the next thing I know, Johnny's on the phone.
''I said: 'I just want to congratulate you for this.' ''
Eddy's high-pitched laughter overpowers even the clickety-clack of the typewriter staffed by ''just call me Roberta,'' his long-time secretary/assistant. ''She still takes shorthand and uses a typewriter,'' Eddy says.
''I won't use a computer,'' Roberta Edging interjects.
The clattering typewriter fits well in this business bastion of a man who stubbornly refuses to abandon what is good about the past, be it music or life, simply to ''fit in'' with what's current.
Of course, at 85, there is more past than future. And it is that admission that led to Eddy's massive donation of items from his career to the hall of fame.
The official, invitation-only ceremony marking the opening of that display is tomorrow.
''I even got a new suit for that,'' says Eddy. ''Dark suit. I'm like Henry Ford: You can have whatever color you want as long as it's black.''
Hobbies and habits
He returns to describing his life's mission these days: to take care of his fans and his family well into the future.
''I feel OK. I'm still walking. I walk about 1½ miles, five days a week.'' The walking helps him stay in shape, keeps his heart doctor from harping on him. ''He's a friend. I can talk to him. It's important when a doctor is interested in talking with a patient.
''I walk in a park now. I used to walk down the street, but people would recognize me and keep stopping, asking if I need a ride. I'd say 'No, no, no, no, no.' '' The nose are delivered in a quick, likely subconscious break into song, followed by buoyant laughter.
Eddy comes to this office five days a week, unless he and his wife are enjoying some off time in their sleek Sally K. luxury boat.
''My wife's name is Sally Katherine,'' says Eddy, proffering a color photo of himself peeking from the boat's cabin during a voyage on Lake Barkley.
''We've taken that boat all the way to Florida,'' he says. ''Fellas like me need a hobby and that's a good hobby.''
Dogs are another passion.
He shows off a wall of photos, postcards and newspaper clippings depicting canines.
''People send me these. They know I love dogs.''
He describes each photo, including why he clipped some of them from the newspaper. Finally, his finger comes to a photo of Mr. Nuggles.
''That was my last dog,'' he says, explaining the dog died because of an accident in the driveway of his 60-acre hideaway. ''We sure thought the world of him.''
The Arnolds have not even considered getting another dog, for one reason: ''They bark and scare the deer away. Since we haven't had a dog, the deer come walking right up to the house every day.
''I have a mineral block right by the house and they come there to lick it and to stare at us.''
Other animals finding their ways from the woods and fields surrounding the home Eddy and Sally share include wild turkey hens, a white skunk and a possum who share the same food scraps.
A gift to family and fans
Hoss Cartwright ''appears'' in the room.
''Paw, them fellas gonna hurt Little Joe.'' Actually, it's Eddy Arnold, this consummate entertainer, breaking into an impression of the Dan Blocker character from Bonanza, the moralistic old cowpoke show whose reruns Eddy watches with passion. ''That's a good show. I met Hoss. Met Little Joe. Met the actor that played Paw, too — Lorne Greene — when he was trying to make some records.''
A friend of Gene Autry and a student of the Old West, Eddy finds joy in the old show that was the ''must-see-TV'' of its day.
''Paw, them fellas gonna hurt Little Joe,'' Eddy says again in his Hoss voice, to the delight of both the entertainer and his guest.
Hoss leaves the room when Eddy settles back into the chair and turns to the serious side of life.
''Truth is, I spend a lot of time working on my estate. I want to have all of my affairs in shape. I have some real estate and other things and I want to make sure I have it taken care of,'' he shares.
That planning is to take care of his wife, his children, his grandchildren, his two great-grandchildren.
It's another type of estate planning that has helped spur him to donate so many items to the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.
''I have a whole lot of stuff,'' he says. And this office, filled with memories of a life well spent, contains a mere fraction of the ''stuff.''
A lot of the rest of it has gone to the hall for its exhibit as Eddy's gift to his fans.
''A big part of it is, I can do something about what is done with my things now. I'll know where it's going, who's got it. The fans can look at it.
''When I'm dead and gone, I can't do anything about it.''
Just how important is Eddy Arnold?
Well, he has charted 145 singles, sending 28 of those songs to the top of the charts.
He has sold 85 million records (and counting, because his classic music continues to sell).
Among his best-known songs are Make the World Go Away, Take Me in Your Arms and Hold Me, There's Been a Change in Me, I Wanna Play House With You, Cattle Call, I Want To Go With You, Turn the World Around and Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye.
About the exhibit
The formal opening of I'll Hold You In My Heart: The Eddy Arnold Collection is an invitation-only affair tomorrow evening at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. The official public opening is Friday, when a series of family and adult programs related to the display begin, including a Q&A and autograph session with Arnold at 1 p.m.
Taking its name from Arnold's 1947 hit I'll Hold You in My Heart (Till I Can Hold You in My Arms), the exhibit is drawn from the donation made by the country legend and his wife, Sally. It was the largest donation representing a single life and career in the museum's history.
Among the items on display: 5,000 recorded radio shows, 2,000 photographs, 2,000 cans of film from Arnold's syndicated television series, 32 file-cabinet drawers of press clippings, 1,000 pieces of sheet music, industry awards, gold records, business documents, personal correspondence, and handcrafted presents from fans.
The museum is at 222 Fifth Ave. S. in downtown Nashville, and is open 10 a.m.-6 p.m. daily. The Museum Store is open10:30 a.m.-6:30 p.m. and the Sobro Grill is open 11 a.m.-2:30 p.m. A snack bar is open 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
Admission is $15.95 ($24.95 for a two-day pass), $7.95 for children ages 6-17 ($12.95 for a two-day pass), and free for children under 6. The museum offers discounted admission ($13.95) to seniors (55 and older), the military and students (with valid IDs). Group rates are available.
Don't miss . . .
Among the exhibit highlights:
• A 1947 Gibson J-200 guitar, customized with Arnold's name inlaid into the fret board;
• A framed oil portrait of Arnold painted by East Tennessee artist Marvin Thompson as a Christmas gift for Arnold in 1982;
• A two-piece black tuxedo custom-made for Arnold by Frankie Vairo of Beverly Hills, along with a lace-trimmed shirt by  Nat Wise of London/Sunset Strip, California, and a pair of formal shoes and custom-made string tie;
• A selection of photos given to Arnold by Col. Tom Parker, his first manager;
• A toy wagon with red steel wheels and wood trim reading ''The Tennessee Plowboy,'' a handmade gift from a fan commemorating a dream toy Arnold wanted as a child but never received;
• Arnold's 1967 entertainer of the year award, the first ever presented by the Country Music Association;
• Audiovisual monitors that will feature highlights from Arnold's stage, screen and recording career, including excerpts from his syndicated television show Eddy Arnold Time.
Tim Ghianni is a senior writer and columnist for The Tennessean. He may be reached at 259-8048 or tghianni@tennessean.com.
TENNESSEAN.COM

THE OXFORD TOUCH...produced by Everett Corbin, with most songs penned by Corbin

Yesterday I recieved an email reply from noted musicologist Joel Whitburns office.This in response to my wanting to know his top ten list of country artist.WEll the info I recieved settles the whole CMT fiasco.Based on Mr.Whitburns point system where each artists singles are given points awarded for "Top Country Sales Hits and total weeks the singles charted are also added in.BIllboard Magazine is used to be precise.Heres the top ten:
1.Eddy Arnold
2.George Jones
3.Johnny Cash
4.Conway Twitty
5.Merle Haggard
6.George Strait
7.Dolly Parton
8.Webb Pierce
9.Ray Price
10.Willie Nelson
Mr.Whitburns office is the one USA Today,Entertainment Tonight,Entertainment Weekly,and all the others call when they want the cold hard facts!!Hes the best.His many books on all genres of music are second to none.
Its interesteing that other than George Strait all the other top ten artist named are from the greatest era of country music.I believe like Eddy Arnold there music and talent are timeless .ASk any body who WEbb Pierce is today and your likely to get the same reply as if asking who Eddy Arnold is?At any rate Eddy has had a career that will never be eclipsed.His records of being the only artist to have 145 career weeks at number one ,charting in 5 seperate categorys,and charting in 7 decades in a row merit Guiness Book Of World Records listings.I am working on these.