The Plowboy

"When I was born," says Eddy Arnold in a rich, ripe Tennessee twang, "Dad hung up his riddle and never played any more. Don't know why exactly, but that was the way folks did things there."

When Eddy was seven, his kinfolk left him an old Sears, Roebuck guitar and he learned to pluck a few chords and sing a few songs. When he got bigger, he started playing Saturday-night dances for 75-c- in Henderson, Tenn. Eddy could then afford to spark the girls to the extent of 50-c-. "And man, you spend that much on a girl where I come from, and she wants you to come back."

Last week, Eddy, who calls himself the Tennessee Plowboy, was in Manhattan, the one place in the U.S. where he doesn't seem to be a big hit. Says he: "Dawgonnit, this is the only place my records don't sell." But elsewhere, Eddy's records were selling fast enough for RCA Victor to rush out a few more before Petrillo puts a stop to it (see above).

Last week, three out of the five top "folk" best-sellers on Billboard's weekly jukebox poll were sung by 29-year-old Eddy. His specialties are simple ballads like It's a Sin, I'll Hold You in My Heart, and Mollie Darling. He far outsells the more artful Burl Ives, a man he greatly admires.

Since he left the farm eleven years ago, Eddy has toured the U.S., making personal appearances (for as high as $5,000), plugging his own records. He is a regular on NBC's Grand Ole Opry, now has his own five-day-a-week transcription programs. In Manhattan a reporter asked him whether he really had been a plowboy. Said he: "Boy, I sure did plow. That's why I wanted to learn to play that guitar, so I wouldn't have to keep plowin' all my life."

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