Today’s classic song of the day that my parents liked and forced me to listen to as a kid is “Make the World Go Away” by country crooner Eddy Arnold. It was a huge crossover hit, hitting #1 on the Hot Country Songs list, #6 on the Billboard Hot 100, and #1 on Billboard’s Adult Contemporary chart. The single was later inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame and selected for preservation in the Library of Congress’ National Recording Register for being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.”
“Make the World Go Away” was written by Hank Cochran, whose other songs were recorded by the likes of Patsy Cline (“I Fall to Pieces”), Burl Ives (“A Little Bitty Tear”), George Strait, Keith Whitley, Merle Haggard, Ronnie Milsap, and Mickey Gilley. The song was originally recorded by Ray Price; his version went to #2 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart in 1963. Timi Yuro also recorded a version in 1963 that went to #8 on Billboard’s Adult Contemporary list.
Eddy Arnold recorded and released his version of “Make the World Go Away” two years later, in 1965. Superstar country guitarist Chet Atkins produced the recording and Floyd Cramer played piano. It was a perfect example of Atkins’ sophisticated new Nashville Sound that ruled the country airwaves in the mid-60s.
My mother really loved Eddy Arnold. He had his first success in the mid-1940s but really came into his own on the country charts in the 1950s; his biggest hit in that era was the yodeling classic, “Cattle Call.” His success continued into the 1960s as he adopted the new Nashville Sound with crossover hits like “What’s He Doing in My World,” “I Want to Go With You,” “Turn the World Around,” and “Make the World Go Away.”
Eddy Arnold’s achievements are impressive. He placed 147 songs on Billboard’s country music charts and sold more than 85 million records. He continued recording and performing well into the 1990s, and his songs spent a total of 145 weeks at the number-one position on the country charts. He passed away in 2008, aged 89.
