James F. Arnold, 72; Original Member of Four Lads Group
James F. Arnold, 72, an original member of the Four Lads vocal group, died June 15 in Sacramento of lung cancer.
The son of a concert pianist, Arnold was born in Toronto. He and three school friends formed a quartet that evolved into the Four Lads. The group began performing in Toronto in 1950 and signed a recording contract in 1952. Their hits included “Standing on the Corner,” “Moments to Remember,” “No, Not Much” and “Istanbul.”
Frank Busseri, another Four Lads member, said Arnold’s tenor voice was the group’s key to stardom.
“The amazing thing about Jimmy Arnold, he had a very, very powerful voice,” Busseri said. “It was because of his voice that we became as popular as we did. He had a beautiful voice, almost angelic.”
Arnold retired after 30 years with the group. He moved to Sacramento in the 1980s and began teaching at the James Arnold School of Voice.
Last September, he and the other original Four Lads members were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in Sharon, Pa.
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