Eddy Arnold: Pioneer of the Nashville Sound

PROLOGUE

PROLOGUE Eddy Arnold stepped off a passenger airliner in New York City during the summer of 1964. The metropolis was old territory to Arnold. The singer who had dwarfed any country performer to ever bend a note could remember passing through the city on a World War II tour of military bases; he had recorded there as far back as the mid-i94os, working with legendary producer Steve Sholes. As recently as ten years before, Arnold had tapped into the best New York City had to offer—top-notch management, the best musicians, popular television shows—hoping that it would mold his country fortunes into glistening popular fame. Springboarding from America's excitement over his 1948hits "Bouquet of Roses" and "Anytime,"he jumped into the nation's entertainment establishment, acting in Hollywood films, starring on television and radio, and employing sharp Northeast songwriters to compose material to suit his new popular image. But on that humid, summer day in 1964 that all seemed a long time ago. By 1964, Eddy Arnold's fountain of hits had dried, and history's topselling country artist slumped into the deepest valley of his career. Fifteen years ago, it seemed the country chart's number-one spot belonged to Arnold, but many years had passed since he last reached the top. Sure, his records sold in adequate numbers, but not in the millions as they had in the late 19405 and early 19505. Even RCA Victor, his longtime record label, considered dropping him. Arnold had hoped to be a great singer of songs, not just a great country singer. Professional New York management and the city's sophisticated xi xii Prologue producers and arrangers could help write his ticket, he thought. But his New York efforts never gelled, and he spent most of the late 19505 and early 19605 cutting country music in Nashville and struggling to keep his name current with a public that was forgetting Eddy Arnold. In 1964, nudged by an enterprising new manager, he had come again to New York, seeking the success the city had thus far denied him. At RCA Victor's 24th Street headquarters, young producer Jim Foglesong and veteran arranger Marty Gold awaited him. With Eddy, the men sketched plans for an album of country hits recorded with light orchestral arrangements. Eddy would sing "Your Cheatin Heart" and other country classics accompanied by seven vocalists, three violas, three cellos, and twelve violins: not exactly a surefire pop winner in the summer of the British Invasion, but a strong possibility in the market of middle-aged Americans who might not know a mop-topped Beatle from a small German car. With Foglesong at the helm, Gold's arrangements meshed with Eddy's vocals to create an easy-listening sound that appealed to older pop fans who rejected rock and roll and found solace in singers like Andy Williams and Frank Sinatra. The resulting album, Pop Hits from the Country Side, sold moderately but, more importantly, marked the first ripple of Eddy Arnold's splash in the 19605 pop market. The marriage of Arnold's relaxed country vocalizing with symphonic instruments and grand, formal arrangements would carry him to audiences in the 19605 that he had tried for years to reach. He would soon score smash pop hits with songs like "Make the World Go Away" and "Somebody Like Me," and earn a regular place in front of the nation's prime-time television audiences. Before the New York session that unveiled Pop Hitsfrom the Country Side, producer Jim Foglesong knew little about Arnold. Many around the RCA executive offices and studios, of course, knew about the star's legendary past and worried that he had sagged too low. "That certainly happens with artists who have been with the label for a long time," explained Foglesong. "Nobody can stay on the top of the charts forever, and anyone who's around for a long time will have some peaks and valleys. He was in the valley." And while Foglesong wondered if Eddy's career could be revived, he worried that the Big Apple would swallow Eddy. "I'd been on dates when Prologue xiii people came in from Nashville or similar areas—rural backgrounds—and they were just totally intimidated by the whole New York scene," recalled Foglesong. "It was very fast moving. Even the accents [frightened them]. They were scared to death." Foglesong was himself...