RIP Glen Campbell

donegaLroad

a great guitar player and also songwriter, himself and JJ Cale came in under the radar as guitar players

Declan A Walsh

I am not a big fan of country music. However, there are some artists who transcended that genre and reached out to many other people. Glen Campbell was one of those exceptions. (Johnny Cash would be another.)

I am sad at the passing of Glen Campbell. I was aware of quite a bit of his stuff over the years on the airwaves - Wichita Linesman, By the Time I get To Phoenix, Galviston, Gentle on My Mind, Southern Nights, but the song that really epitomized the man for me was Rhinestone Cowboy. It's the first song I tend to think of and it fits in with his background.

I don't know if anyone saw that documentary (alluded to already in this thread) on BBC4 - appropriately called Rhinestone Cowboy! It's been on a few times before but was repeated last night in light of of his death. At the time it was being made, he had just been diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease, but he was determined to fight it and continued to perform and made another album. This was a testament to the man. As has been alluded to already, the documentary listed all the session work he did during the '60s - he was a much in demand and extremely talented guitarist. Check out the sessions that Glen Campbell played on - it's quite extraordinary. He ended up touring with The Beach Boys, replacing an unwell Brian Wilson.

Tom Dunne devoted his Newstalk show (or at least what I heard of it) to Glen Campbell on the day after he died, playing stuff that Glen played on as well as his solo stuff - for example, Strangers in the Night by Frank Sinatra. Tom Dunne's admiration for Glen says a lot about his influence way beyond his Arizona country music background. Don't forget that Tom was the singer in Dublin rock band Something Happens.

R.I.P. to a talented musician, singer, song arranger and iconic musical figure. R,I.P. to the Rhinstone Cowboy.

bobbyss

Lovely voice. RIP

Ursus Horribilis

I loathe country music, so I never had any interest in Glen Campbell. For years the song I associated with him was the dreadful Rhinestone Cowboy. I later heard the sublime Wichita Lineman but never thought to investigate further to see if he had any other nice songs. Nor did I know what a big star he was. It's only since he died that I've got to hear some lovely non-too-country songs of his on the radio and to appreciate what a talent he was.

I hope he didn't suffer too much with the dreadful affliction that is Alzheimer's. It's only when this horrible, insidious disease lands on your own doorstep that you fully understand what damage it does to everyone. It's horrendous for the person whose personality, faculties and dignity are being systematically destroyed. It's equally hard (if not harder) for the people around them who can do little to help.

Declan A Walsh

I heard some of Tom Dunne's program last night on Newstalk. It was dedicated again to Glen Campbell. When I tuned in, he was coming towards the end of By the Time I Get to Phoenix. This turned out to be one of a number of Jimmy Webb compositions performed by Glen that Tom played. He then played the following Jimmy Webb / Glen Campbell collaborations: Where's the Playground Susie (new one on me), Wichita Lineman, Galviston and McArthur Park. The latter had been covered by and been a hit for both Richard Harris and Donna Summer. As Tom said himself, this was a less well-known version.

Tom then proceeded to talk about all those sessions that Glen played guitar on (with The Wrecking Crew). Tom played a few examples including Monday Monday by The Mamas and Papas and I'm a Believer by The Monkees. But it was the next one he played that stomped him when he discovered it (and me too!) - Mr. Tambourine Man by The Byrds. I'm sure all assumed that Roger McGuinn, the group lead guitarist and the singer on this occasion, would have played those riffs. Apparently not - step up Glen Campbell!

I think we are tipping the surface with this most underrated musician. In fact we are, as Tom Dunne said that it appears that Glen Campbell had involvement in 100s of recordings in the '60s.

YFlyer

While best known as a country music star, the Arkansas native was an accomplished studio musician who even moonlighted as a member of the Beach Boys in the mid-Sixties. "He was one of the premier guitar players in rock and country. A lot of people don't know the respect he had in the rock & roll world," Cooper says. "Eddie Van Halen asked one time, he said, 'Could you get me a guitar lesson with Glen?' Most rockers would go, 'What?' That's the kind of guitar player he was. He was considered one of the five best guitar players out there."


http://www.rollingstone.com/country/news/alice-cooper-talks-unlikely-bond-with-glen-campbell-w497177

Spider Web

Wichita Lineman and By The Time I Get to Phoenix are beautiful. There is an ethereal, otherworldly Americana quality to them that I'd associate more with Roy Orbison and Nancy Sinatra/Lee Hazlewood ("cowboy psychedelia" is a term used for that ilk).

Not your generic Kenny Rogers type country at all.