Country singer Glen Campbell died on Tuesday following a long battle with Alzheimer’s disease. His album, By The Time I Get To Phoenix, was named Album of the Year at the 1968 Grammy Awards.
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His performance of the title song from the 1969 film “True Grit”, in which he played a Texas Ranger alongside Oscar victor John Wayne, received an Academy Award nomination.
As USA Today reported, Campbell had a pithy explanation for his speedy exit from the farming town where he was born.
The real highlight came when Campbell sang his signature song, “Gentle On My Mind”, written by John Hartford.
Kissel says he’ll remember Glen Campbell every time he steps on stage and thinks he’ll make room for a Glen Campbell song or two in future concerts. “Rest In Peace, Glen Campbell”.
Glen Campbell was one of Keith Urban’s musical idols, so the superstar was thrilled when he got the chance to actually jam with the legendary guitarist and singer in 2009.
There was also Campbell’s dedication to his family, friends, and fans, and his desire to entertain the people who watched their shows and leave them “feeling just a little tad better about themselves”. His 2008 album, Meet Glen Campbell, featured songs from rock bands U2, the Velvet Underground, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Green Day and Foo Fighters.
Campbell began his career as a well-regarded recording session guitarist in Los Angeles before becoming a fixture on the US music charts, radio and television in the 1960s and ’70s. I was proud to work with him & call him friend for over 40 years.
Be it that the soothing, rhapsodical and nostalgic Southern Nights with its “Have you ever noticed southern skies?/Its precious beauty lies just beyond the eye/It goes running through your soul/Like the stories told of old/Old man/He and his dog that walked the old land/Ev’ry flower touched his cold hand/As he slowly walked by/Weeping willows/Would cry for joy.”. I said ‘that’s you.’ He said ‘that’s me?
I remember being quite saddened by the news that Campbell was retiring from performing after being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. “Ride easy, Rhinestone Cowboy”. “He was so musical and charismatic, and he put it all on display with the Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour, one of my family’s favorite shows!”
“[It] just highlights the importance of continued research on not only ways of treating Alzheimer’s disease, but I certainly hope within my lifetime we can actually cure it”, Dr. Ernestine Wright, Mercy geriatrics specialist, said.
Later, he made a documentary, “Glen Campbell: I’ll Be Me”, that showcased the struggles on his final tour.
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Campbell, one of the biggest stars of American country and pop music in the late 1960s and 1970s, had hits such as Rhinestone Cowboy and Witchita Lineman.
