Country music legend Glen
Campbell passed away yesterday after a long battle with Alzheimer’s.
One of the giants of country
music has died. Glen Campbell passed away yesterday at the age of 81 after a six
year battle with Alzheimer’s. His family released this statement: “It is with
the heaviest of hearts that we announce the passing of our beloved husband,
father, grandfather, and legendary singer and guitarist, Glen Travis Campbell.”
Although he’ll always be known as
a country artist, that’s really selling him short. Glen could do everything. He
started as a guitarist who joined the wrecking crew in 1961. They were a group
of L.A. session musicians that worked nonstop.
In 1963 alone Glen played on 586
songs. The list of artists he played with through the years included Frank
Sinatra, Merle Haggard, Dean Martin, Nat King Cole, Elvis Presley, the Mamas
and the Papas, and the Beach Boys. He even toured with the Beach Boys in 1964
when Brian Wilson went on hiatus. Singing is what made him famous. His first
hit was “Gentle on my Mind” in 1967. And then the hits kept coming: “By the
Time I Get to Phoenix”, “Wichita Lineman”, “Galveston”, “Southern Nights”, and
“Rhinestone Cowboy”.
He became a TV star in 1969 when
he hosted “The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour”. He did a little acting too,
co-starring with John Wayne in the original “True Grit”, and he played himself
in Clint Eastwood’s “Any Which Way You Can”. Campbell also sang the title track
to Any Which Way You Can which appeared on the soundtrack album and was also
released as a single. The song was a Top-10 hit on the country music charts.
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| Campbell in Any which way you can (1980) |
Glen sold over 45 million
records, received 11 Grammys, and was inducted into the Country Music Hall of
Fame in 2005.
Even his Alzheimer’s diagnosis in 2011 didn’t stop him. He
decided to bring light to the disease by doing interviews, making appearances,
and launching his Goodbye Tour. His final studio album, “Adios”, was released
in June.
Our thoughts and deepest sympathy
go out to his family.
The Clint Eastwood Archive
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| Clint with Glen Campbell February 2000 at the AT&T Pro-Am golf tour Pebble Beach from Country Weekly Magazine |
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