Eddy Arnold's roots run deep in the rich soil of Chester County, Tennessee. Born Richard Edward Arnold on May 15, 1918, into a farming family, Arnold’s early life was defined by both the rhythms of rural life and the harsh realities of the Great Depression. These formative years on the family farm earned him the nickname that would follow him into stardom—the “Tennessee Plowboy.” Music, though, was never far from Arnold’s mind. His first guitar—a Sears & Roebuck Silvertone—was a gift from a cous