[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 44 (Wednesday, March 19, 2003)]
[House]
[Page H2104]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
HONORING EDDY ARNOLD
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the
gentlewoman from Tennessee (Mrs. Blackburn) is recognized for 5
minutes.
Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to honor a true Tennessee
legend and a national treasure. Eddy Arnold is the most successful
country music singer of the 20th century. His body of work, including
28 number one singles, spent more weeks at the top of the country music
charts than any other artist in the field.
This March, the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville
honored the Ambassador of Country Music for donating his personal
effects and memorabilia. This selfless donation constituted the largest
collection dedicated to a single individual ever received by the
museum. The ``Tennessee Plowboy'' generously offered more than 2,000
photographs, 5,000 radio recordings, tuxedos, guitars, and his coveted
Entertainer of the Year Award from 1967.
In a brilliant career that spans 7 decades as a guitarist, songwriter
and singer, Eddy Arnold has made immeasurable contributions to the
popularity of country music with such hits as ``I Hold You in My
Heart'' and, my favorite, ``Make the World Go Away.'' Now he has made
an immeasurable contribution to the Country Music Hall of Fame and
Museum. For that, Tennesseans and, no doubt, country music fans across
the country, are deeply grateful.
Eddy Arnold, a living country music legend and my constituent, has
enhanced his genre and the culture of America. I want to thank him for
his dedication to the arts and for his invaluable gifts to the Country
Music Hall of Fame and Museum.
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