NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Eddy Arnold, whose mellow baritone on songs like "Make the World Go Away" made him one of the most successful country singers in history, died Thursday, days short of his 90th birthday.

Mr. Arnold died at a care facility near Nashville, said Don Cusic, a professor at Belmont University in Nashville and author of the biography "Eddy Arnold: I'll Hold You in My Heart."

His wife of 66 years, Sally, had died in March. The same month, Mr. Arnold fell outside his home and injured his hip.

Mr. Arnold's vocals on songs like the 1965 smash "Make the World Go Away," one of his many No. 1 country hits and a top 10 hit on the pop charts, helped country music reach a national audience.

The singer's "The Eddy Arnold Show" ran on television from 1952 to 1956, Cusic said.

Folksy yet sophisticated, Mr. Arnold became a pioneer of "The Nashville Sound," a mixture of country and pop styles.

He was elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1966. The following year he was the first person to receive the entertainer of the year award from the Country Music Association.

The reference book "Top Country Singles 1944-1993,'" by Joel Whitburn, ranked Mr. Arnold the No. 1 country singer in terms of overall success on the Billboard country charts.

Many of his hits were made in association with famed guitarist Chet Atkins, who produced most of the recording sessions.

He revitalized his career in the 1960s by adding strings, a controversial move for a country artist then.

Over the years, he invested wisely, especially in real estate in the Nashville area, and was regarded as one of the wealthiest men in country music.

Mr. Arnold was born May 15, 1918, on a farm near Henderson, Tenn., the son of a sharecropper.

Early in his career, his manager was Col. Tom Parker, who later became Elvis Presley's manager.

Survivors include a son, Richard Edward Arnold Jr., and a daughter, Jo Ann Pollard, both of Brentwood, Tenn.

A public funeral will be held Wednesday at Ryman Auditorium, original home of the Grand Ole Opry.