Posted by Viv on 5/9/2008, 12:24 pm
Jerry Wallace, who started out in pop music before beginning a long association with country, passed away Monday (May 5) of congestive heart failure at the age of 79 at his home in Corona, California. Born in Guilford, Missouri in 1928, he was raised in Glendale, Arizona. Jerry’s father was a grocer, and traded a crate of eggs for his first guitar as a 14th birthday present. While he waited for a chance to record his own songs, Jerry honed his skills wrking for a company that released cheap soundalikes of the hits of the day. Early recordings for Allied Records in the early ‘50s went nowhere, but a switch to Challenge Records in 1958 yielded paydirt with the #11 hit, “How The Time Flies”. “Primrose Lane” the next year gave him his biggest pop hit, reaching #8. But success continued to be spotty over the next five years. The country-tinged “Shutters And Boards” (#24-1963) and “In The Misty Moonlight (#19-1964) convinced Jerry to make the switch to country music permanently, and he chalked up 35 songs on the country charts from 1965 to 1980, including “Do You Know What It’s Like To Be Lonesome” (#2-1973), “Don’t Give Up On Me” (#3-1973) and “My Wife’s House” (#9-1974) In 1972, his song “If You Leave Me Tonight, I’ll Cry” was used in an episode on TV’s “Night Gallery” and not only became a #1 country hit, but returned him to the pop top 40, as well. Jerry appeared in several television programs (including the aforementioned episode of “Night Gallery”) and was heard as the voice on many commercials, as well.
Eddy Arnold, whose long career in country included 27 number 1 hits in a recording career spanning 6 decades and membership in the Country Music Hall of Fame, died this morning at 89 in Tennessee.
Arnold, known as The Tennessee Plowboy, was part of the breed of country singers who saw the genre swing a bit from more rural and folk sounds to pop-influenced music.
Arnold was born in Henderson, Tenn. May 15, 1918 to a farming family. He was interested in music at an early age with a cousin lending him a Sears Roebuck Silvertone guitar. Growing up, he listened to Gene Autry, Bing Crosby and Jimmy Rodgers.
Arnold's father died when his son was 11, leading to the auctioning off of the family farm by creditors. During the Depression, the Arnolds were sharecroppers. Arnold sang at socials and barbecues for a dollar a night to help his family.
By the time Arnold was 17, h was working on radio and in beer halls in Jackson, Tenn. He also worked as an undertaker's driver. Arno0ld later moved to Memphis and St. Louis for radio work.
In 1950, he joined Pee Wee King's Golden West Cowboys as a featured singer. He played the Grand Ole Opry and also toured military bases in the U.S. and Central America.
He left King for a solo career in 1943. He was on key Nashville radio station during the day and later the Opry. Thanks to WSM station manager Harry Stone and Chicago publisher Fred Forster, RCA Records became aware of Arnold. He had his first recording session for RCA in December 1944, which included one of his signature songs, "Cattle Call."
Arnold was very successful from the get go - his first 57 songs reached the Billboard Top 10 between 1945 and 1954. His first release, "Each Minute Seems a Million Years," went to number 5 in 1945. His first number 1 was "What is Life Without Love" in 1947. He ruled the number 1 spot for 21 weeks in 1947 with "I'll Hold You in My Heart (Till I Can Hold You in My Arms)."
Many of Arnold's hits crossed over to the pop charts as well. He expanded his audience by hosting a segment of the Opry and the Checkerboard Jamboree with Ernest Tubb. Arnold left the Opry in 1948 over a salary dispute and then worked live for CBS Network series Hometown Reunion. He also appeared in two films, "Feudin' Rhythm" and "Hoedown" in 1949 and 1950.
Arnold had several television shows as well, hosting summer replacement series in 1952 and 1953 along with "Eddy Arnold Time" and "The Eddy Arnold Show."
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