An American Songwriter feature spotlights three early singles from Eddy Arnold, the country star known as the "Tennessee Plowboy," presenting them as essential listening for country music fans. The piece traces the origins of each song, noting their commercial success and, in some cases, their later life as covers by other artists, underscoring Arnold's enduring influence on the genre in its formative years.

The songs are "What Is Life Without Love" (1946), Arnold's first No. 1 single, co-written with Vernice McAlpin and Owen Bradley; "Bouquet Of Roses" (1948), his first Top 15 crossover hit, later covered by artists including Marty Robbins and Clint Eastwood; and "Anytime" (1956), a chart-topping track originally written by Happy Lawson in 1925, which Patsy Cline also recorded before her death, with her version released posthumously in 1968.