At 16 years old, Arnold performed at the Apollo Theater with the Georgie Auld Orchestra with singer Billy Eckstine.

Following this he played with Joe Marsala, Will Osborne (singer), Herbie Fields, Buddy Rich.

In 1951 he began playing again, touring with Buddy DeFranco, then worked with Jerry Wald, Tex Beneke, Elliot Lawrence, Stan Kenton, and Neal Hefti.

In 1958, he was imprisoned for attempted burglary but returned in 1960 after his sentence ended to play, record and tour with the Stan Kenton Orchestra and the Tommy Dorsey ghost band.

In the 1980s, he dropped out of music due to another prison sentence stemming from his addictions; upon his release he co-founded, with his second wife, Carole Fields (and the assistance of John Branca), an organization called the Musicians' Assistance Program or MAP for musicians with drug abuse problems.