Eddy Arnold

American country music singer (1918–2008)

For other people named Eddy Arnold, see Edward Arnold (disambiguation).

Eddy Arnold

Arnold in 1969

Background information
Birth name| Richard Edward Arnold
Also known as| The Tennessee Plowboy
Born| (1918-05-15)May 15, 1918
Henderson, Tennessee, U.S.
Died| May 8, 2008(2008-05-08) (aged 89)
Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.
Genres| Country, gospel, pop
Occupation(s)| Singer-songwriter, tv host, actor
Instrument(s)| Guitar, banjo
Years active| 1934–2005
Labels| RCA Victor (1944–1972; 1976–2008)
MGM Records (1973–1976)

Musical artist

Richard Edward Arnold (May 15, 1918 – May 8, 2008) was an American country music singer. He was a Nashville sound (country/popular music) innovator of the late 1950s, and scored 147 songs on the Billboard country music charts, second only to George Jones. He sold more than 85 million records. A member of the Grand Ole Opry (beginning 1943) and the Country Music Hall of Fame (beginning 1966), Arnold ranked 22nd on Country Music Television's 2003 list of "The 40 Greatest Men of Country Music."

## Early years[edit]

Arnold was born on May 15, 1918, on a farm near Henderson, Tennessee. His father, a sharecropper, played the fiddle, while his mother played guitar. Arnold's father died when he was just 11, forcing him to leave school and begin helping on the family farm. This led to him later gaining his nickname, the Tennessee Plowboy. Arnold attended Pinson High School in Pinson, Tennessee, where he played guitar for school functions and events. He quit before graduation to help with the farm work, but continued performing, often arriving on a mule with his guitar hung on his back. Arnold also worked part-time as an assistant at a mortuary.[1]

Downtown Henderson, Tennessee, the city near which Arnold was born

In 1934, at age 16, Arnold made his debut on WTJS-AM in Jackson, Tennessee. He began performing at local nightclubs and was hired permanently by WTJS in 1937. In 1938, he was hired by WMPS-AM in Memphis, Tennessee, where he was one of its most popular performers. He soon left WMPS for KWK-AM in St. Louis, Missouri,[2] followed briefly by a spot at WHAS-AM in Louisville, Kentucky.

He performed for WSM (AM) on the Grand Ole Opry during 1943 as a solo artist.[1] In 1944, Arnold signed a contract with RCA Victor, and with manager Colonel Tom Parker who would later manage Elvis Presley. Arnold's first single was little noticed,[3] but the next, "Each Minute Seems a Million Years", scored number five on the country charts in 1945.[1] Its success began a decade of unprecedented chart performance; Arnold's next 57 singles all ranked in the top 10 in the US country charts, including 19 number-one successes.[4]

In 1946, Arnold scored his first major success with "That's How Much I Love You". In 1948, he had five successful songs on the charts simultaneously. That year, he had nine songs in the top 10; five of these were number one and scored there for 40 of the year's 52 weeks. With Parker's management, Arnold continued to dominate, with 13 of the 20 best-scoring country music songs of 1947–1948.[1] He became the host of Mutual Radio's Purina-sponsored segment of the Opry and of Mutual's Checkerboard Jamboree, a midday program shared with Ernest Tubb that was broadcast from a Nashville theater.[5] Recorded radio programs increased Arnold's popularity, as did the CBS Radio series Hometown Reunion with the Duke of Paducah. Arnold quit the Opry during 1948, and his Hometown Reunion briefly broadcast in competition with the Opry on Saturday nights. In 1949 and 1950, he performed in the Columbia movies Feudin' Rhythm and Hoedown.

Arnold began working for television in the early 1950s, hosting The Eddy Arnold Show. The summer program was broadcast successively by all three television networks, replacing the Perry Como and Dinah Shore programs.[6] He also performed as a guest and a guest host on the ABC-TV show Ozark Jubilee from 1955 to 1960.[7] Arnold featured in the syndicated Eddy Arnold Time from 1955 to 1957.[2] From 1960 to 1961, he hosted NBC-TV's Today on the Farm.[8]

## Second career: The Nashville sound[edit]

With the rise of rock and roll in the mid 1950s, Arnold's record sales began to decline, though fellow RCA Victor country recording artist Jim Reeves found a greater audience with popular-sounding string-laced arrangements. Arnold annoyed many in the country music establishment by recording with Hugo Winterhalter and his Orchestra at the RCA Victor Studios in New York. Winterhalter's pop-oriented arrangements of "The Cattle Call" and "The Richest Man (in the World)", however, helped to expand Arnold's appeal beyond its country music base.[9] This style, pioneered by Reeves and Arnold, became known as the "Nashville Sound".[9] During 1953, Arnold and Tom Parker had a dispute, and Arnold fired him.[10] From 1954 to 1963, Arnold's performances were managed by Joe Csida; in 1964, Csida was replaced by Jerry Purcell.[11]

Arnold embarked on a second career that brought his music to a more diverse audience. In the summer of 1965, he had his first number-one country song in 10 years, "What's He Doing in My World" and struck gold again six months later with the song that became his most well-known, "Make the World Go Away", accompanied by pianist Floyd Cramer on piano and featuring the Anita Kerr Singers. As a result, Arnold's rendition became an international success. "Make The World Go Away" became his only top ten pop hit.[9]

Bill Walker's orchestra arrangements provided the lush background for 16 continuous successes sung by Arnold in the late 1960s. Arnold performed with symphony orchestras in New York City, Las Vegas, and Hollywood. He performed in Carnegie Hall for two concerts, and in the Coconut Grove in Las Vegas.[9] In 1966, Arnold was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame, the youngest performer to receive the honor.[12] The following year, Arnold was voted the first-ever awarded Country Music Association's Entertainer of the Year.[13] Two years later, he released an autobiography named It's A Long Way From Chester County.[14]

Having been with RCA Victor since 1944, Arnold left the label in 1973 for MGM Records, where he recorded four albums, which included several top-40 successes. He returned to RCA in 1976 and recorded for the company for the remainder of his career.[1]

## Later years and death[edit]

During the 1980s, Arnold declared himself semi-retired, but he continued recording. In 1984, the Academy of Country Music awarded Arnold its Pioneer Award. His next album, You Don't Miss A Thing, was not released until 1991.[1] Arnold performed road tours for several more years.[15] By 1992, he had sold nearly 85 million records, and had a total of 145 weeks of number-one songs, more than any other singer.[1]

Arnold in 1998

In 1996, RCA issued an album of Arnold's main successes since 1944 as part of its 'Essential' series.[1] Arnold, then 78 years old, retired from active singing, though he still performed occasionally.[9] On May 16, 1998, the day after his 80th birthday, he announced his final retirement during a concert at the Hotel Orleans in Las Vegas.[16] That same year, the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences inducted the recording of "Make The World Go Away" into the Grammy Hall of Fame. In 2000, he was awarded the National Medal of Arts.[17] In 2005, Arnold received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Recording Academy,[18] and later that year, released a final album for RCA titled After All These Years.[19]

Arnold died from natural causes on May 8, 2008, in a care facility in Nashville, at age 89. His wife of 66 years, Sally Gayhart Arnold, had preceded him in death by two months. They are survived by two children (Richard E. Arnold, Jr., and JoAnn Arnold Pollard), two grandchildren (K. Michelle Pollard and R. Shannon Pollard, Jr.), and four great-grandchildren (Katie E. Pollard, Jack Pollard, Rowan Pollard, and Ben Johns).[20]

On May 31, 2008, RCA released "To Life" as a single from the album After All These Years. It debuted at number 49 on the Hot Country Songs charts, Arnold's first entry in 25 years and the recording by the oldest person to chart in Billboard magazine. It set the record for the longest span between a first chart single and a last: 62 years and 11 months ("Each Minute Seems Like a Million Years" debuted on June 30, 1945), and extended Arnold's career chart history to seven decades.[21]

## Discography[edit]

For a list of singles and albums, see Eddy Arnold discography.

Studio albums

* To Mother (1950)
* Wanderin' with Eddy Arnold (1955)
* Chapel on the Hill (1956)
* A Little on the Lonely Side (1957)
* When They Were Young (1957)
* My Darling, My Darling (1958)
* Praise Him, Praise Him (1958)
* Thereby Hangs a Tale (1959)
* Have Guitar Will Travel (1959)
* You Gotta Have Love (1960)
* One More Time (1962)
* Christmas with Eddy Arnold (1962)
* Our Man Down South (1963)
* Cattle Call (1963)
* Faithfully Yours (1963)
* Folk Song Book (1964)
* Sometimes I'm Happy, Sometimes I'm Blue (1964)
* Pop Hits from the Country Side (1964)
* The Easy Way (1965)
* My World (1965)
* I Want to Go with You (1966)
* The Last Word in Lonesome (1966)
* Somebody Like Me (1966)
* Lonely Again (1967)
* Turn the World Around (1967)
* The Everlovin' World of Eddy Arnold (1968)
* The Romantic World of Eddy Arnold (1968)
* Walkin' in Love Land (1968)
* Songs of the Young World (1969)
* The Glory of Love (1969)
* The Warmth of Eddy (1969)
* Love and Guitars (1970)
* Standing Alone (1970)
* Portrait of My Woman (1971)
* Welcome to My World (1971)
* Loving Her Was Easier (1971)
* Lonely People (1972)
* Eddy Arnold Sings for Housewives and Other Lovers (1972)
* So Many Ways/If the Whole World Stopped Lovin' (1973)
* She's Got Everything I Need (1973)
* I Wished That I Had Loved You Better (1974)
* The World (1975)
* Eddy (1976)
* I Need You All the Time (1977)
* Somebody Loves You (1979)
* A Legend and His Lady (1980)
* A Man For All Seasons (1981)
* Don't Give Up on Me (1982)
* Close Enough to Love (1983)
* You Don't Miss a Thing (1991)
* Christmas Time (1997)
* Seven Decades of Hits (2000)
* After All These Years (2005)

## References[edit]

1. ^ a b c d e f g h Stambler, Irwin; Grelun Landon; Lyndon Stambler (2000). Country Music: An Encyclopedia. Macmillan Publishers. pp. 17–19. ISBN 978-0-312-26487-1. Retrieved July 15, 2009.
2. ^ a b Streissguth, Michael (1997). Eddy Arnold: Pioneer of the Nashville Sound. New York: Schirmer Books. ISBN 0-02-864719-X.
3. ^ "What's Your Question?". Ask.com. Archived from the original on January 10, 2010. Retrieved May 1, 2012.
4. ^ "Heartaches By the Number", Cantwell, David & Friskics-Warren, Bill, 2003, Vanderbilt University Press, pg. 146
5. ^ Pugh, Ronnie (1998). Ernest Tubb: The Texas Troubadour. Duke University Press. ISBN 978-0-8223-2190-3.
6. ^ Brooks, Tim; Marsh, Earle (1992). The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network TV Shows. Ballantine Books. ISBN 0-345-37792-3.
7. ^ Weekly program listings (1955–1960), Triangle Publications TV Guide, Vols. 3–8
8. ^ McNeil, Alex (1996). Total Television. Penguin Books. ISBN 0-14-024916-8.
9. ^ a b c d e Rumble, John (1998). Paul Kingsbury (ed.). The Encyclopedia of Country Music. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-511671-7.
10. ^ Ward, Ed (2016). The History of Rock & Roll, volume one, 1920–1963. New York: Flatiron Books. p. 103\. ISBN 978-1-250-07116-3.
11. ^ Flippo, Chet (May 8, 2008). "NASHVILLE SKYLINE: Remembering Eddy Arnold". Country Music Television. Retrieved July 15, 2009.
12. ^ "Country legend Eddy Arnold dies". MSNBC. Associated Press. May 8, 2008. Archived from the original on May 22, 2020. Retrieved July 15, 2009.
13. ^ "CMA Awards Ceremonies". Country Music Association. 2009. Retrieved July 15, 2009.
14. ^ Arnold, Eddy (1969). It's A Long Way From Chester County. Old Tappan, New Jersey: Hewitt House.
15. ^ "Eddy Arnold resumes his singing career". Saint Petersburg Times. February 7, 1991. Retrieved July 15, 2009.
16. ^ Paskevich, Michael (May 14, 1999). "Calling It Quits". Las Vegas Review-Journal.
17. ^ Lifetime Honors – National Medal of Arts Archived July 21, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
18. ^ "Jerry Lee Lewis wins Achievement Award". USA Today. Associated Press. January 5, 2005. Retrieved July 15, 2009.
19. ^ Gormly, Kellie B. (October 2, 2005). "Arnold offers gem for traditionalists with 100th album". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Archived from the original on January 1, 2011. Retrieved July 15, 2009.
20. ^ Pugh, Ronnie (May 8, 2008). "Country Music Hall of Fame Member Eddy Arnold Dies at Age 89". Country Music Television. Retrieved July 15, 2009.
21. ^ "Eddy Arnold's "To Life" Stretches Chart Success Into Seventh Decade". Country Music Television. May 19, 2008. Retrieved July 15, 2009.

## External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Eddy Arnold.

* Pop music portal

* Eddy Arnold at Find a Grave
* The Times of London obituary
* Eddy Arnold at the Country Music Hall of Fame

* v
* t
* e

Eddy Arnold

Albums|

* Wanderin' with Eddy Arnold (1955)
* Anytime (1956)
* Have Guitar, Will Travel (1959)
* Thereby Hangs a Tale (1959)
* One More Time (1962)
* Cattle Call (1963)
* Folk Song Book (1964)
* The Easy Way (1965)
* My World (1965)
* I Want to Go with You (1966)
* The Last Word in Lonesome (1966)
* Somebody Like Me (1966)
* Lonely Again (1967)
* Turn the World Around (1967)
* The Everlovin' World of Eddy Arnold (1968)
* The Romantic World of Eddy Arnold (1968)
* Walkin' in Love Land (1968)
* So Many Ways/If the Whole World Stopped Lovin' (1973)

Singles
(1940s)|

* "The Cattle Call"
* "Each Minute Seems a Million Years"
* "That's How Much I Love You"
* "What Is Life Without Love"
* "It's a Sin"
* "I'll Hold You in My Heart"
* "To My Sorrow"
* "Anytime"
* "Bouquet of Roses"
* "Texarkana Baby"
* "Just a Little Lovin'"
* "A Heart Full of Love"
* "Don't Rob Another Man's Castle"
* "One Kiss Too Many"
* "The Echo of Your Footsteps"
* "I'm Throwing Rice"
* "Take Me in Your Arms"

Singles
(1950s)|

* "Little Angel with the Dirty Face"
* "Why Should I Cry Over You?"
* "Cuddle Buggin' Baby"
* "Enclosed One Broken Heart"
* "Lovebug Itch"
* "There's Been a Change in Me"
* "Kentucky Waltz"
* "I Wanna Play House With You"
* "Something Old, Something New"
* "Somebody's Been Beating My Time"
* "Heart Strings"
* "Easy on the Eyes"
* "A Full Time Job"
* "Eddy's Song"
* "I Really Don't Want to Know"
* "This Is the Thanks I Get"
* "Hep Cat Baby"
* "I've Been Thinking"
* "The Cattle Call"
* "Just Call Me Lonesome"
* "You Don't Know Me"
* "Tennessee Stud"

Singles
(1960s)|

* "What's He Doing in My World"
* "Make the World Go Away"
* "I Want to Go with You"
* "The Tip of My Fingers"
* "Somebody Like Me"
* "Lonely Again"
* "Misty Blue"
* "Turn the World Around"
* "Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye"

Related|

* Discography
* The Eddy Arnold Show
* Eddy Arnold Time
* Roy Wiggins

Awards for Eddy Arnold

* v
* t
* e

CMA Entertainer of the Year

* Eddy Arnold (1967)
* Glen Campbell (1968)
* Johnny Cash (1969)
* Merle Haggard (1970)
* Charley Pride (1971)
* Loretta Lynn (1972)
* Roy Clark (1973)
* Charlie Rich (1974)
* John Denver (1975)
* Mel Tillis (1976)
* Ronnie Milsap (1977)
* Dolly Parton (1978)
* Willie Nelson (1979)
* Barbara Mandrell (1980)
* Barbara Mandrell (1981)
* Alabama (1982)
* Alabama (1983)
* Alabama (1984)
* Ricky Skaggs (1985)
* Reba McEntire (1986)
* Hank Williams Jr. (1987)
* Hank Williams Jr. (1988)
* George Strait (1989)
* George Strait (1990)
* Garth Brooks (1991)
* Garth Brooks (1992)
* Vince Gill (1993)
* Vince Gill (1994)
* Alan Jackson (1995)
* Brooks & Dunn (1996)
* Garth Brooks (1997)
* Garth Brooks (1998)
* Shania Twain (1999)
* Dixie Chicks (2000)
* Tim McGraw (2001)
* Alan Jackson (2002)
* Alan Jackson (2003)
* Kenny Chesney (2004)
* Keith Urban (2005)
* Kenny Chesney (2006)
* Kenny Chesney (2007)
* Kenny Chesney (2008)
* Taylor Swift (2009)
* Brad Paisley (2010)
* Taylor Swift (2011)
* Blake Shelton (2012)
* George Strait (2013)
* Luke Bryan (2014)
* Luke Bryan (2015)
* Garth Brooks (2016)
* Garth Brooks (2017)
* Keith Urban (2018)
* Garth Brooks (2019)
* Eric Church (2020)
* Luke Combs (2021)
* Luke Combs (2022)
* Lainey Wilson (2023)

* v
* t
* e

Country Music Hall of Fame 1960s

* Jimmie Rodgers (1961)
* Fred Rose (1961)
* Hank Williams (1961)
* Roy Acuff (1962)
* none (1963)
* Tex Ritter (1964)
* Ernest Tubb (1965)
* Eddy Arnold (1966)
* James R. "Jim" Denny (1966)
* George D. Hay (1966)
* Uncle Dave Macon (1966)
* Red Foley (1967)
* J.L. (Joe) Frank (1967)
* Jim Reeves (1967)
* Stephen H. Sholes (1967)
* Bob Wills (1968)
* Gene Autry (1969)

* v
* t
* e

National Medal of Arts recipients (2000s)

2000|

* Maya Angelou
* Eddy Arnold
* Mikhail Baryshnikov
* Benny Carter
* Chuck Close
* Horton Foote
* Lewis Manilow
* National Public Radio, cultural programming division
* Claes Oldenburg
* Itzhak Perlman
* Harold Prince
* Barbra Streisand

2001|

* Alvin Ailey Dance Foundation
* Rudolfo Anaya
* Johnny Cash
* Kirk Douglas
* Helen Frankenthaler
* Judith Jamison
* Yo-Yo Ma
* Mike Nichols

2002|

* Florence Knoll Bassett
* Trisha Brown
* Philippe de Montebello
* Uta Hagen
* Lawrence Halprin
* Al Hirschfeld
* George Jones
* Ming Cho Lee
* William "Smokey" Robinson

2003|

* Austin City Limits
* Beverly Cleary
* Rafe Esquith
* Suzanne Farrell
* Buddy Guy
* Ron Howard
* Tabernacle Choir
* Leonard Slatkin
* George Strait
* Tommy Tune

2004|

* Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
* Ray Bradbury
* Carlisle Floyd
* Frederick Hart
* Anthony Hecht
* John Ruthven
* Vincent Scully
* Twyla Tharp

2005|

* Louis Auchincloss
* James DePreist
* Paquito D'Rivera
* Robert Duvall
* Leonard Garment
* Ollie Johnston
* Wynton Marsalis
* Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
* Tina Ramirez
* Dolly Parton

2006|

* William Bolcom
* Cyd Charisse
* Roy DeCarava
* Wilhelmina Holladay
* Interlochen Center for the Arts
* Erich Kunzel
* Preservation Hall Jazz Band
* Gregory Rabassa
* Viktor Schreckengost
* Ralph Stanley

2007|

* Morten Lauridsen
* N. Scott Momaday
* Craig Noel
* Roy Neuberger
* Les Paul
* Henry Z. Steinway
* George Tooker
* Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival (University of Idaho)
* Andrew Wyeth

2008|

* Stan Lee
* Richard M. Sherman
* Robert B. Sherman
* Olivia de Havilland
* Hank Jones
* Jesús Moroles
* Ford's Theatre Society
* Fisk Jubilee Singers, (Fisk University)
* José Limón Dance Foundation
* The Presser Foundation

2009|

* Bob Dylan
* Clint Eastwood
* Milton Glaser
* Maya Lin
* Rita Moreno
* Jessye Norman
* Joseph P. Riley Jr.
* Frank Stella
* Michael Tilson Thomas
* John Williams
* Oberlin Conservatory of Music
* School of American Ballet

* Complete list
* 1980s
* 1990s
* 2000s
* 2010s

* v
* t
* e

Members of the Grand Ole Opry

Current members|

* Trace Adkins
* Lauren Alaina
* Bill Anderson
* Kelsea Ballerini
* Bobby Bare
* Mandy Barnett
* Dierks Bentley
* Clint Black
* Garth Brooks
* T. Graham Brown
* Henry Cho
* Terri Clark
* Luke Combs
* John Conlee
* Dailey & Vincent
* Diamond Rio
* Sara Evans
* Larry Gatlin and the Gatlin Brothers
* Crystal Gayle
* Vince Gill
* Emmylou Harris
* The Isaacs
* Alan Jackson
* Chris Janson
* Jamey Johnson
* Alison Krauss
* Lady A
* Little Big Town
* Patty Loveless
* Dustin Lynch
* Barbara Mandrell
* Martina McBride
* Ashley McBryde
* Del McCoury
* Charlie McCoy
* Scotty McCreery
* Reba McEntire
* Ronnie Milsap
* Eddie Montgomery
* Craig Morgan
* Lorrie Morgan
* Gary Mule Deer
* The Oak Ridge Boys
* Old Crow Medicine Show
* Brad Paisley
* Jon Pardi
* Dolly Parton
* Carly Pearce
* Stu Phillips
* Jeanne Pruett
* Rascal Flatts
* Riders in the Sky
* Darius Rucker
* Don Schlitz
* Jeannie Seely
* Blake Shelton
* Ricky Van Shelton
* Ricky Skaggs
* Connie Smith
* Mike Snider
* Marty Stuart
* Pam Tillis
* Randy Travis
* Travis Tritt
* Josh Turner
* Carrie Underwood
* Keith Urban
* Rhonda Vincent
* Steve Wariner
* Gene Watson
* The Whites
* Mark Wills
* Trisha Yearwood
* Chris Young

Former members|

* Roy Acuff
* David "Stringbean" Akeman
* Jack Anglin
* Eddy Arnold
* Ernest Ashworth
* Chet Atkins
* DeFord Bailey
* Bashful Brother Oswald
* Humphrey Bate
* Binkley Brothers' Dixie Clodhoppers
* Margie Bowes
* Rod Brasfield
* Jim Ed Brown
* The Browns
* Carl Butler and Pearl
* Archie Campbell
* Bill Carlisle
* Martha Carson
* The Carter Sisters
* Maybelle Carter
* Johnny Cash
* June Carter Cash
* Roy Clark
* Zeke Clements
* Patsy Cline
* Jerry Clower
* Stoney Cooper
* Wilma Lee Cooper
* Cowboy Copas
* Charlie Daniels
* Skeeter Davis
* The Delmore Brothers
* The DeZurik Sisters
* Little Jimmy Dickens
* Joe Diffie
* Danny Dill
* Jimmy Driftwood
* Roy Drusky
* The Duke of Paducah
* Holly Dunn
* The Everly Brothers
* Lester Flatt
* Red Foley
* Curly Fox
* Lefty Frizzell
* Troy Gentry
* Don Gibson
* Billy Grammer
* Jack Greene
* The Gully Jumpers
* Theron Hale
* Tom T. Hall
* George Hamilton IV
* Sid Harkreader
* Hawkshaw Hawkins
* George D. Hay
* Hoot Hester
* Goldie Hill
* David Houston
* Jan Howard
* Ferlin Husky
* Stonewall Jackson
* Sonny James
* Norma Jean
* Jim & Jesse
* Johnnie & Jack
* George Jones
* Grandpa Jones
* The Jordanaires
* Doug Kershaw
* Hal Ketchum
* Bradley Kincaid
* Pee Wee King
* Hank Locklin
* Lonzo and Oscar
* Bobby Lord
* The Louvin Brothers
* Charlie Louvin
* Ira Louvin
* Bob Luman
* Loretta Lynn
* Uncle Dave Macon
* Rose Maddox
* Mel McDaniel
* Jesse McReynolds
* McGee Brothers
* Bill Monroe
* George Morgan
* Moon Mullican
* Willie Nelson
* Jimmy C. Newman
* Bobby Osborne
* Sonny Osborne
* Johnny Paycheck
* Minnie Pearl
* Webb Pierce
* Ray Pillow
* Ray Price
* Charley Pride
* Del Reeves
* Jim Reeves
* Leon Rhodes
* Tex Ritter
* Marty Robbins
* Johnny Russell
* Rusty and Doug
* Earl Scruggs
* Jean Shepard
* Mississippi Slim
* Carl Smith
* Fiddlin' Arthur Smith
* Hank Snow
* Red Sovine
* Ralph Stanley
* Texas Ruby
* B. J. Thomas
* Uncle Jimmy Thompson
* Mel Tillis
* Tompall & the Glaser Brothers
* Ernest Tubb
* Justin Tubb
* Leroy Van Dyke
* Porter Wagoner
* Billy Walker
* Charlie Walker
* Kitty Wells
* Dottie West
* Keith Whitley†
* Slim Whitman
* The Wilburn Brothers
* Don Williams
* Hank Williams
* Boxcar Willie
* The Willis Brothers
* Chubby Wise
* Del Wood
* Marion Worth
* Johnnie Wright
* Tammy Wynette
* Faron Young

†Honorary former member; was scheduled to be invited, but died before the invitation was extended

Pending members|

* Lainey Wilson

Authority control databases

International|

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