The Harden Trio, Bobby Harden with his sisters, Arlene (born Arleen) and Robbie (born Fern) was formed in
England, Arkansas. They began performing as teenagers on the
Ozark Jubilee and the
Louisiana Hayride. Robbie moved to Nashville first as part of
the Browns, filling in for Bonnie Brown on the
Grand Ole Opry and most road dates. The two families had grown up in the same area and worked together on the
Ozark Jubilee. Bobby and Arlene soon followed, and the trio was reformed. In 1964, the trio signed with
Columbia Records and released their debut single "Poor Boy", followed by their break-through crossover single "Tippy Toeing", both penned by Bobby Harden. "Tippy Toeing" spent 21 weeks on the
Hot Country Songs charts and peaked at number two, in addition to peaking at number 44 on the
Billboard Hot 100. The Harden Trio charted four more singles and released three albums before the trio disbanded in mid-1968. Arlene and Robbie charted a final single as the Hardens on Columbia Records in 1968 with "Who Loves Who". Bobby briefly formed a new trio with Karen Wheeler and Shirley Michaels before going solo and recording for
Starday Records,
Mega Records, and
United Artists Records through the mid-1970s, with several chart singles. Bobby last charted the number-48 country music single "One Step" on United Artists Records in 1975. His greatest success, however, was as a songwriter until his unexpected death on May 30, 2006, with two minor hits for
Loretta Lynn, one for
Reba McEntire, and two for
Mark Chesnutt. Arlene Harden also went solo and released two albums for Columbia Records as Arlene Harden and one for Capitol Records, reverting to the original spelling Arleen. She had 18 singles for Columbia Records, Capitol Records, and
Elektra Records between 1967 and 1978, 15 of which were on Columbia. Her biggest chart success came with the female version of the
Roy Orbison hit "
Oh Pretty Woman", "Lovin' Man (Oh Pretty Woman)", in 1970. Also notable was "True Love Is Greater than Friendship" written for Arlene by
Carl Perkins and used in the
Robert Redford movie "
Little Fauss and Big Halsy" the same year. Robbie Harden joined the
Johnny Cash Show in 1969 as part of the Carter Family, freeing
June Carter to work front and center with
Johnny Cash, as June became pregnant with their only child
John Carter Cash. Together and individually, the Harden Trio provided backup vocals for other artists. Bobby Harden co-wrote Mark Chesnutt's singles "Too Cold at Home" (1990) and "Ol' Country" (1992). ==Discography==