EDDY ARNOLD: From Tennessee Plowboy to Country Star

by Michael Streissguth ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 1, 1997

Streissguth, a television producer, offers a carefully researched and affectionate study of the rise and decline and rise of Eddy Arnold, an amiable singer with, clearly, great patience and a steely determination to succeed. Arnold, who began performing in the late 1930s, was one of country music's most popular performers for several decades before seeing his career overshadowed by the rise of such country rock performers as Elvis Presley (Col. Tom Parker, Arnold's manager, dropped him to steer Elvis's meteoric career). Arnold reinvented himself as a mainstream singer in the 1960s, achieving great success with such crossover hits as ""Make the World Go Away,"" and he enjoyed steady success in the 1970s and '80s as one of country music's elder statesmen. Fans of Arnold's mellow music will appreciate the intensely detailed record of his private life and public career. Others may find the vivid picture of country music's early decades (the many small-town radio stations and deejays that supported the music, the backroads tours, the struggling record labels) quite intriguing.

Pub Date: July 1, 1997

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: 304

Publisher: Schirmer

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1997

Categories: NONFICTION