The Country Music Association is one of the biggest nights for country singers. As the awarding ceremony comes closer every day, the anticipation of who is going to win Entertainer of the Year becomes higher. From the first Entertainer of the Year awardee, Eddy Arnold, who will be this year’s big winner?

The nominees for this year are Garth Brooks, Eric Church, Chris Stapleton, Carrie Underwood, and Keith Urban.

Eddy Arnold’s Success in the Country Music Industry

It was back in 1967 when Eddy won the first Entertainer of the Year Award. The country singer is one of the pioneers for the ‘Nashville Sound’ and it has made his mark as one of the musicians who has countless chart-topping songs. His songs placed in the charts from the 1940s through the 1960s and scored top 10 hits as late as the 1980s.

via Billboard

One of the reasons why Eddy Arnold won in 1967 was because of his two songs namely “Somebody Like Me” and Lonely Again.” These two songs earned a top spot on the country charts and they really helped the country singer solidify his status as a country icon. He is known to be a prolific hit-making musician because he continues to write music for himself. This may only be Eddy’s one win for Entertainer of the Year but to be the first one to win such an award is really historic.

He was a member of the Grand Ole Opry, and he was also inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1966. As a musician, Eddy wrote most of his songs and that is why he was recognized by the Country Music Hall of Fame. He was also a member of the prestigious Grand Ole Opry from 1943. He sold more than 85 million copies of his records and he scored 147 songs on the Billboard Hot Country music chart.

Listen to Eddy Arnold’s 1967 hit here: