Days before his 90th birthday, affable country music singer Eddy Arnold passed away on Thursday following a lengthy illness.

Among the most respected and beloved country music singers, Arnold, whose songs such as "Make the World Go Away" and "I Want to Go With You" made him one of the most successful singers in history, died at a senior care facility outside Nashville, Tennessee.

According to Arnold biographer and Belmont University professor Don Cusic, Arnold's grandson, Shannon Pollard, informed him of the singer's passing early Thursday morning.

"Eddy Arnold gave dignity and respect to country music at a time when it was referred to as ’hillbilly music,'" Cusic said. "The story of country music is, in many ways, the story of a fight for respect. Eddy Arnold gave it respect; he made you proud to be a country fan."

Cusic also revealed that the singer's family was with him at the time of his death, knoxnews.com reported.

In March this year, Arnold fell outside his home and injured his hip, having to undergo hip replacement surgery. His wife of 66 years, Sally, died during the same month after a short illness.

Arnold became famous for his style which often mixed elements of country and pop music, contributing to his success in urban areas where country music was less popular. He became a pioneer of "The Nashville Sound," also called "countrypolitan," a mixture of country and pop styles. Throughout his career, he sold over 85 million records, having 28 No. 1 albums, most of them with basic melodies and uncluttered lyrics.

The reference book "Top Country Singles 1944-1993,'" by Joel Whitburn, ranked Arnold the No. 1 country singer in terms of overall success on the Billboard country charts, listing his first chart-topping song as "What Is Life Without Love." In addition to "Make the World Go Away" he scored 16 other consecutive hits in the 1960s.

"Eddy Arnold has become virtually an institution in American life, with an identity that is only peripherally related to country music," wrote Bill Malone in his definitive history, "Country Music, USA." Malone went on to describe the "almost unparalleled impact that the Tennessee Plowboy has had on the country field."

Before his retirement from active singing, he released a new RCA album, "After All These Years," in 2005.