Singer Arnold target of paternity claim

NASHVILLE, June 15 (UPI) -- A 47-year-old man claims he is the illegitimate son of the late country music singer Eddy Arnold, a court petition in Tennessee reveals.

Christopher Edward Tanner petitioned in Davidson County Chancery Court to obtain a DNA test to determine if the "To My Sorrow" singer was his biological father, The (Nashville) Tennessean reported Saturday.

In his petition, which was filed Wednesday, Tanner alleges Arnold knew of the paternity claim before his May 8 death at the age of 89 and his estate learned of it afterward.

An attorney for the late singer's estate has rebuked Tanner's paternity claim, questioning why he waited so long to seek answers about his parentage.

"For one thing, what we've been told is that the petitioner is 47 years old, and it's pretty suspect that someone who really thought Eddy Arnold was his father would wait 47 years," attorney Bryan Howard said.

Tanner's mother, Arlene Tanner-Glynn, told The Tennessean she was romantically involved with the "Make the World Go Away" star during the late 1950s and early '60s while living in New York.