Cowboy

Eddy Arnold's approach to country and his rich, expressive baritone voice always seemed closer to pop singers like Bing Crosby and Perry Como than it did to more rustic country stars like Hank Snow and Ernest Tubb, and he worked with pop songwriters out of New York as much or more than he used Nashville ones. His approach reaped dividends, certainly, and he charted countless hits in an a truly astounding seven-decade career, and if he was never fully embraced by the public as a pop singer, he brought a kind of urbane dignity and grace to country music in the bargain, prefiguring the so-called Nashville countrypolitan sound as early as 1955. This expansive seven-disc, 166-track box charts Arnold's RCA Victor years from 1951 to 1955, and it reveals a fascinating transformation from Arnold's... Less

Many of the songs on this three-CD box set appear on other albums, but not in these versions. These are transcriptions from Autry's Melody Ranch radio show, which aired from 1940 to 1956. As such, they offer up some powerful nostalgia, even to listeners who weren't alive then. Happily, though, the music's just as potent on its own terms. Hollywood's singing cowboys (and their music) had little to do with real cowboys (and their music), but it's hard to debate authenticity while Autry is so agreeably crooning Back in the Saddle Again, You Are My Sunshine, and Don't Fence Me In to the friends and neighbors out there in radio land. --John Morthland

Release Date: 1994-09-20, Audio CD, Rhino / Wea

20 great tracks.

Release Date: 1994-10-03, Audio CD, Bear Family (Ger)

Release Date: 1998-05-12, Audio CD, Varese Sarabande

Release Date: 1994-06-27, Audio CD, Bear Family