NANCY RICHARDSON HAS SUGGESTED WE ASK FANS TO WRITE A STATEMENT TELLING "WHY I LIKE EDDY."  I THINK IT'S AN EXCELLENT IDEA.  IF YOU WILL SIGN THE GUEST BOOK AND WRITE "WHY I LIKE EDDY" I WILL PLACE ALL THE RESPONSES INTO ONE WEBPAGE.
Bill Comer

Melanie Ware - January 16, 2004
E-Mail: nx4x@bellsouth.net
Subject:  Why I Like Eddy
When did I first hear Eddy Arnold?  I can't remember a time when I hadn’t heard him.  I guess you could call me a member of Generation X, although I certainly don't fit that mold.  By the time I was born in 1974, Eddy was already into his “second career.”
 I was born and raised in rural Middle Tennessee, surrounded by country music and culture.  Every Friday night for as long as I can remember, I went with Mama to the local square dances.  Our radio was always tuned to AM station WSM.  We watched Ralph Emery on the TV every morning and Hee Haw every weekend.  I had a record player of my own when I was a little girl and I toted that thing around everywhere.  Once, I found a box of records and one of them was Eddy Arnold.  I wore it out, listening to “Make the World Go Away” over and over again.  It’s safe to say that I was hooked.
In the late 80’s and early 90’s, country music experienced a sort of rebirth.  People like Garth Brooks entered the scene and turned Nashville on its ear.  The sound was different… some of it was country, but some of it wasn’t.  I listened to some of the music and I felt like a lot of the heart was gone.  Country had turned into “club music,” and it wasn’t a sound that I could identify with.  The mainstream seemed to embrace the philosophy of the new sounds.  Needless to say, I became rather disenchanted with country, believing that it had lost sight of its roots and its soul.
A few years ago, I purchased an Eddy Arnold cd purely for nostalgic reasons.  When I listened to the music, however, it was absolutely timeless.  The emotion of Eddy’s voice and the simplistic beauty of the arrangements were just as powerful as I imagined they were when the songs were first cut.  Believe it or not, it was refreshing to hear someone actually SING a song rather than warble around with embellishments or “scream on key,” like so many other “singers” do these days.  I felt like I had come home to an old familiar friend.
I tried to find out more about Eddy Arnold, who had been nothing more than just a familiar voice to me up until then.  I was amazed to find no dirt on this man.  How shocking!  I had been so blinded by “the industry” to think that a person had to have a tainted past to be a country superstar.  We’ve idolized so many who drank themselves to death, been in jail, married 6 or 7 times, or slept with everyone on Music Row that I had almost believed that you had to misbehave to get respected.  Yet, here was this man who had not only risen to the top but also helped (and continues to help) others along the way!  How wonderful!
I turned back to the music.  There are some artists who show emotion through the voice, and then there’s Eddy.  I do like how Webb Pierce bends the first notes of “There Stands The Glass.”  I also like Randy Gentry’s whisper-like ending to Alabama’s “In Pictures.”  I could sit and listen to Riders In The Sky’s Ranger Doug (Idol of American Youth) yodel for hours on end.  But Eddy’s got ‘em all beat.  Vern Gosden has been called “The Voice.”  He is good, I will concede that.  His “Chiseled In Stone” is a moving song.  But wait until you’ve heard Eddy sing “Nobody’s Darlin’ But Mine,” which is my all-time favorite Eddy Arnold song.  You can FEEL the begging and pleading in his voice (especially when he sings “Promise me that you will never/Be nobody’s darlin’ but mine”).  It absolutely reaches down inside you to the point that you are ready to fall down on your OWN knees!   And he does it all without screaming or growling, or warbling and embellishing the notes.  He sings it straight, and lets the song tell the story.  All you hear is the music… and pure emotion.  Eddy is THE VOICE in my book.
I have remained an Eddy Arnold fan, even though other people my age have said, “Eddy who?”  I was once talking to someone and the song “The Tip of My Fingers” came up.  They recalled that Steve Wariner had recorded it.  I said something to the effect of, “you ain’t heard nothing yet” and played Eddy Arnold’s cut of the song.  Add one more fan to the list!  I’ve surprised several people that way, and they always end up asking for more.  Timeless – that’s Eddy’s music.
Then, I stumbled upon Bill Comer’s website.  What an extensive amount of information.  Not just statistics or lists of awards, but personal stories and insight into Eddy Arnold the singer and Eddy Arnold the man.  Bill has done more than just create a tribute, he’s shown to the world that Eddy is a kind and decent man who, unlike many other music celebrities, has never “got above his raising,” as we’d say in Tennessee.  Eddy’s never forgotten where he came from or who he is.  A humble man, he treats everyone with the same kindness and respect.  He doesn’t put on airs or pretend to be something he’s not.  Believe me, just as it shows in his personal and public life, it also shows in his music.  I think that’s one of the main things that endears him to so many people around the world.
Sadly, I’ve never had the privilege to see Eddy in concert, and I’ve never been so fortunate as to meet him in person.  It’s a wonder, though.  I live very close to the homes of several country stars and have “bumped into” them on occasion in places like the grocery store.  Out here, it’s understood that they just want to be left alone, so whenever I’ve seen somebody famous, I don’t say anything, except maybe ‘hi’ in passing.
I find it rather odd that Eddy has been slighted recognition as of late.  It’s sad, but sometimes that’s how it is.  If it were up to me, I’d give him every possible award out there.  I think, though, that the awards are just “gravy” to Eddy, anyhow.  I imagine that he’d still have done things exactly the same, even if there were no awards to be won.  The best thing that we can do is to show him directly that we love him and that we think he’s great, right?  It is a given that Eddy Arnold is not only a country icon but a standard for singers of all genres.  People who enjoy any type of music can listen to Eddy for inspiration as to “here’s how you sing it from the heart.”  And long after the trophies are left on a shelf to collect dust, long after the cameras stop flashing and the red carpets are rolled away, there will still be the music, left for us to share with generations to come.
Oh, and there are two other fans you need to add to the list – my two young sons.  They’re not even in school yet and they already sing “Cattle Call” with their Mama.
Keep singing a song, Eddy.  We’re listening.
Melanie Ware, NX4X  nx4x@arrl.net
Assistant District Emergency Coordinator, Tennessee District 4
Assistant Site Director, Middle Tennessee SKYWARN Homepage  http://www.mtsh.org
 

Melanie:  Thank you so much for sharing your comments with visitors to this website.  I appreciate your contribution to the site and I hope you will continue to be a part of it.  Many thanks to Don Stewart for his efforts as well.  Bill Comer

Linda:  Many thanks for sharing your thoughts with us and also for the kind words about the website.  Bill Comer

Johnnie:  Thank you for sharing this story with us Eddy Arnold fans.  Bill Comer

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