Country music star Eddy Arnold dies

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 morning, days short of his 90th birthday.

Arnold died at a care facility near Nashville, said Don Cusic, a professor at Belmont University and author of the biography “Eddy Arnold: I’ll Hold You in My Heart.” His wife of 66 years, Sally, had died in March, and in the same month, Arnold fell outside his home, injuring his hip.

Arnold’s vocals on songs like the 1965 “Make the World Go Away,” a top 10 pop hit as well as a No. 1 country hit, made him one of the most successful country singers in history.

Folksy yet sophisticated, he became a pioneer of “The Nashville Sound,” also called “countrypolitan,” a mixture of country and pop styles. His crossover success paved the way for later singers, such as Kenny Rogers.

“I sing a little country, I sing a little pop and I sing a little folk, and it all goes together,” he said in 1970.

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.

Mariah Carey spills wedding beans

New York – Mariah Carey really did get married to Nick Cannon in the Bahamas last week – and they have the tattoos to prove it.

The 38-year-old singer and the 27-year-old actor confirmed to People magazine that they tied the knot at Carey’s Bahamian estate April 30 after a courtship that began in late March.

In an interview from the magazine’s May 19 issue, Cannon said they clicked instantly when Carey cast him as a lover in the video for her new single, “Bye Bye.”

“From the first time we sat down to discuss the video at the Beverly Hills Hotel, we connected,” Cannon said. “We had so much in common spiritually, and we laugh at the same things. I didn’t have to put on my Mac Daddy suave mode. I was able to be myself with her. We are both eternally 12 years old.”

They began a whirlwind romance, and raised eyebrows when Carey was seen sporting a huge diamond ring on her finger at the Tribeca Film Festival premiere of her movie “Tennessee,” in which she plays a waitress. Carey said she told “only about four people” about the wedding.

Were Carey’s friends surprised?

“Some were, but some weren’t,” she said. “One thing (few people) knew was we got tattoos a few weeks earlier. So anyone who saw my (Mrs. Cannon) tattoo wasn’t surprised.”

Chiming in, Cannon said, “To me rings are special and exciting, but tattoos mean more than anything. They’re forever and ever. They professed our love.”

‘CSI’ star charged with felony drug possession

Palm Springs, Calif. – “CSI” co-star Gary Dourdan has been charged with felony possession of heroin, cocaine and ecstasy stemming from his arrest last month, prosecutors said.

The 41-year-old actor was arrested after police found him asleep in his car in Palm Springs on April 28. He was allegedly parked on the wrong side of the street with the car’s interior light on.

Prosecutors said Dourdan is scheduled to appear in court in Indio, about 130 miles east of Los Angeles, on May 28. The criminal complaint was dated Tuesday.

A call to Dourdan’s attorneys wasn’t immediately returned early Thursday.

Dourdan has played crime scene investigator Warrick Brown on CBS’ “CSI” since 2000.

Portrait of Heath Ledger wins award

Sydney, Australia – A portrait of Hollywood star Heath Ledger painted weeks before his death has won an Australian art award.

The painting features a bare-chested Ledger staring from the canvas as two images of the actor whisper into his ears.

On Thursday, it was awarded a secondary prize by the Art Gallery of New South Wales in its annual national portrait competition. Sydney artist Del Kathryn Barton won first prize with her self-portrait.

“Heath” by Vincent Fantauzzo was the popular choice among the 32,000 who saw the exhibition.

Ledger died of an accidental prescription drug overdose in January. He was 28.

Ne-Yo focusing on foster care system

Atlanta – When he was younger, Ne-Yo watched from afar as his friends hugged their fathers – and he wondered where his dad might be.

“A lot of aggravation was inside me,” the 28-year-old singer-songwriter told The Associated Press. “Dad stuck around for a minute and decided it wasn’t for him. But I credit my mom for being so positive, putting the pen in my hand.

“It’s single women like her who don’t get enough recognition.”

Now Ne-Yo, whose real name is Shaffer C. Smith, is honoring moms like his own.

On Sunday, he’ll host a brunch for 50 single and foster mothers from the metro Atlanta area to raise awareness of the need for reform of the foster care system in the United States.

“They need something special,” he said. “So with the success I’ve been given, through the blessings I have, how could I not use it for good? This is a way to help people who deserve it – for both the mothers and children.”