George Croft’s American Music Show

About George Croft’s American Music Show

George Croft dives into history and stories about classic American music spanning the decades.

Publisher

georgecroftmusic

Category

music

Language

en

Explicit

Yes

First episode

25 Feb 2025

Latest episode

5 Sept 2026

Latest episodes

55 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   5 Sept 2026

   GCAMS Episode 60: Zach Neil

   Zach Neil is the 2022 Texas Country Music Association Male Artist of the Year and has earned 5 consecutive Top 40 Texas Country singles - not bad for someone who planned to follow in his dads footsteps and farm. Farming is the family business, but Zach decided take that work ethic and apply it to a career in music. As a singer, songwriter and live performer, Zach uniquely  puts his own twist on country music.

2. 

   25 May 2026

   GCAMS Episode 59: Eddy Arnold

   Eddy Arnold was a Tennessee farm boy who became one of country music’s smoothest crossover stars, helping shape the Nashville Sound and charting hits for more than four decades. Early years Eddy Arnold was born Richard Edward Arnold on May 15, 1918, on a farm near Henderson/Chester County, Tennessee, the youngest in a large farming family. His father died when he was eleven, the family farm was lost, and the Arnolds became sharecroppers during the Depression, experiences that later inspired his “Tennessee Plowboy” image. He learned guitar from his family, played local dances as a teenager, and began working in small radio jobs in Jackson, Memphis, and St. Louis, mixing singing with comic routines and odd jobs to help support his family. By the late 1930s and early 1940s he was appearing regularly on the radio and building a regional reputation as a singer. Breakthrough and “Tennessee Plowboy” Arnold’s big break came when he joined Pee Wee King’s Golden West Cowboys around 1940, which brought him to the Grand Ole Opry and on military-base tours during World War II. In 1943 he left to go solo in Nashville, performing on WSM and the Opry and attracting the attention of RCA Victor. He signed with RCA in 1944, cutting early sides like “Cattle Call,” which became one of his signature songs. Branded as “The Tennessee Plowboy,” he scored a long run of country hits in the late 1940s, including “That’s How Much I Love You,” “I’ll Hold You in My Heart,” “Anytime,” and “Bouquet of Roses.” Nashville Sound and pop crossover In the 1950s Arnold worked with manager Col. Tom Parker, later famous for managing Elvis Presley, and became a major recording and touring star. When honky-tonk and rockabilly reshaped country in the late 1950s and his sales dipped, he reinvented himself with smoother arrangements and strings, helping pioneer the countrypolitan “Nashville Sound.” This new style brought him substantial pop crossover success in the 1960s, and by mid‑career he had scored 147 entries on the Billboard country chart and sold tens of millions of records worldwide. His songs collectively spent more than 100 weeks at number one on the country charts, and at one point his total sales rivaled stars like Bing Crosby, Elvis Presley, and the Beatles. Honors and later life Arnold became a member of the Grand Ole Opry in the 1940s and was elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1966, one of its youngest inductees. He later received major honors including the CMA Entertainer of the Year award, the ACM Pioneer Award, the National Medal of Arts, and a Recording Academy Lifetime Achievement Award. He continued to record and perform into the 1980s, with his last concert coming the day after his 80th birthday in 1998, and he released a final RCA album, “After All These Years,” in the 2000s. Eddy Arnold died on May 8, 2008, in the Nashville area, just a week shy of his 90th birthday, leaving a legacy as one of country music’s most successful and influential vocal stylists

3. 

   22 Apr 2026

   GCAMS Episode 58: John Lomax and Leadbelly

   John A. Lomax, a pioneering folklorist, discovered blues musician Huddie Ledbetter (Lead Belly) in 1933 while recording inmates at Angola Prison in Louisiana, alongside his son Alan Lomax. John helped secure Lead Belly's parole and hired him as a driver, assistant, and performer, signing a management contract in 1935 that later soured due to disputes over money and control, leading to a settlement. Alan Lomax maintained a closer, more collaborative friendship with Lead Belly, assisting him legally in 1939 and working together on recordings and performances for years after #GCAMS #musichistory #podcast

Who has been a guest on George Croft’s American Music Show

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• Clarence White
• Tyler Johnson
• Porter Wagoner
• Chet Atkins
• Ritch Shefke

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

4.2 / 5

5 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

5 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 30 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

48

Social presence

0

YouTube

0

Engagement

31

Contact George Croft’s American Music Show

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.

Questions about George Croft’s American Music Show