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Glen Campbell has passed away

PostPosted: Tue Aug 08, 2017 7:22 pm
by mgaryblock
After many fake news stories lately concerning his death, Rolling Stone magazine has confirmed that Glen passed away this morning at the age of 81 in Nashville.

Re: Glen Campbell has passed away

PostPosted: Wed Aug 09, 2017 5:40 pm
by Jiff
The documentary, I'll Be Me, which follows his last tour, is a good look at his battle with alzheimer's. 

One of my favorite singer guitarists. A fine singer and one of the greatest guitarists, playing bluegrass, country, rock and pop.  He didn't write much, just seven songs, including five co-writes.  None were hits.  In a 1997 interview he was asked why he's not a writer, "I just didn't want to take the time to learn.  I'm an interpreter, and I'm more interested in playing the guitar.  There are more writers out there than artists.  I want to be in front of the camera."  Campbell was a world class "interpreter" but I think there are way more interpreters than writers.

Thanks primarily to writer Jimmie Webb, he recorded some wonderful hit songs in the 60s and 70s, like Galveston, Gentle On My Mind, By The Time I Get To Phoenix, Wichita Lineman, Rhinestone Cowboy, Southern Nights, The Dreams Of The Everyday Housewife, etc. 

Besides being a great concert act, he also appeared in movies, hosted a TV show, was a touring bassist with The Beach Boys and a session player in the Wrecking Crew.  You can hear his guitar in Phil Spector's Wall Of Sound and songs by The Monkees, Elvis, Sinatra, The Association, Haggard, Bobby Darin, Ricky Nelson (Hello Marylou), etc.  He was a big draw at his own theater in Branson.  Not bad for one of a poor Arkansas sharecropper's twelve kids.

I saw him once, at the Monroe WA Fair in 1998.  Excellent show with a superb band.  Pretty cool that he played Mull Of McKintyre on a bagpipe.

Thanks to his many TV appearances there's a wealth of videos displaying his personality and playing with other stars, including sparring with pickers like Roy Clark and Jerry Reed.  Following video is his first hit, Gentle On My Mind (written by John Harford).  Here, on TNN, the stars are just watching:  Bobby Bare, Waylon, Willie, Clark, Chet Atkins, BJ Thomas, Crystal Gayle, Ray Stevens, Ralph Emory:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETkzK9pXMio

A sampling of his guitar work:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fqN4zgqf78