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. "Kirkus Reviews"
Illustrated with fifty-four photographs and featuring a comprehensive discography and sessionography, this book traces Eddy Arnold s origins from a cotton farm in western Tennessee to his legendary status in the world of country music. Michael Streissguth covers Arnold s success as a top-selling artist in the 1940s and 1950s and his temporary wane as listeners gravitated toward the rock & roll sound, embodied by newcomer Elvis Presley. Arnold (1918 2008) kept recording, however, and working on his craft. By the mid-60s, he reemerged as a pop crooner with his hit song Make the World Go Away. His blend of country sentiments and pop stylings created the template for Nashville s modern country music sound. Throughout his career he was a major concert attraction and a radio and television star. Few other figures can claim to have had as great an influence on contemporary country and popular arranging."