Glen Campbell

Glen Travis Campbell was born on April 22, 1936, in Billstown, a tiny community near Delight in Pike County, Arkansas, to John Wesley Campbell (a sharecropper) and Carrie Dell (née Stone) Campbell. Campbell was of Scottish descent and was the seventh son of 12 children. As a child he almost died from drowning. His family went to the Church of Christ, and Campbell's brother Lindell became a Church of Christ minister. The family lived on a farm, where they barely managed, by growing cotton, corn, watermelons and potatoes. "We had no electricity," he said, and money was scarce. "A dollar in those days looked as big as a saddle blanket." To supplement income the family picked cotton for other farmers. "I picked cotton for $1.25 a hundred pounds," Campbell said. "If you worked your tail off, you could pick 80 or 90 pounds a day." Campbell started playing guitar at age 4 after his father gave him a Sears-bought five-dollar guitar as a gift, with his uncle Boo teaching him the basics of how to play. Most of his family was musical, he said. "Back home, everybody plays and sings." By the time he was 6 he was performing on local radio stations. He dropped out of school in the 10th grade Not satisfied with that kind of work, Campbell started playing music at fairs and church picnics and singing gospel hymns in the church choir. He was able to find spots performing on local radio stations, and after his parents moved to Houston, he made some appearances at a local nightclub. He also appeared there on his uncle's radio show It was there that he met his first wife, whom he married when he was 18 and she was 16. In 1958, Campbell formed his own band, the Western Wranglers. "We worked hard," he said. "Six, sometimes seven nights a week. I didn't have my eye set on any specific goals or big dreams." ==Career==

1960–1966: Early career In 1960, Campbell moved to Los Angeles to become a session musician. That October, he joined the Champs. By January 1961, Campbell had found a daytime job at publishing company American Music, writing songs and recording demos. but reached number 7 on the Hot 100 in a 1968 Vogues cover. Campbell also formed the Gee Cees with former bandmembers from the Champs, performing at the Crossbow Inn in Van Nuys. The Gee Cees, too, released a single on Crest, the instrumental "Buzz Saw", which did not chart. In 1962, Campbell signed with Capitol Records. After minor initial success with "Too Late to Worry, Too Blue to Cry", his first single for the label, and "Kentucky Means Paradise", released by the Green River Boys featuring Glen Campbell, a string of unsuccessful singles and albums followed. By 1963 his playing and singing were heard on 586 recorded songs. From 1964 on, Campbell began to appear on television as a regular on Star Route, a syndicated series hosted by Rod Cameron, ABC's Shindig! and Hollywood Jamboree. From December 1964 to mid-May 1965, Campbell was a touring member of the Beach Boys, filling in for Brian Wilson, playing bass guitar and singing falsetto harmonies. He was then replaced on the Beach Boys' tours by new member Bruce Johnston. Brian Wilson produced and co-wrote a single for Campbell, "Guess I'm Dumb", which failed to chart despite what writer David Howard called "a surging, elegant Burt Bacharach-inspired string and horn arrangement and Campbell's forlorn Roy Orbison-like vocal.". In 1965, he had his biggest solo hit yet, reaching number 45 on the Hot 100 with a version of Buffy Sainte-Marie's "Universal Soldier". Asked about the pacifist message of the song, he said that "people who are advocating burning draft cards should be hung". Campbell continued as a session musician, playing guitar on the Beach Boys' 1966 album Pet Sounds, among other recordings. In April of that year, he joined Rick Nelson on a tour through the Far East, again playing bass. 1967–1972: Burning Bridges to The Goodtime Hour , When follow-up singles did not do well, and Capitol was considering dropping Campbell from the label in 1966, he was teamed with producer Al De Lory. Their first collaboration was "Burning Bridges", which became a top 20 country hit in early 1967, and the album of the same title. Campbell and De Lory collaborated again on 1967's "Gentle on My Mind", written by John Hartford, which was an overnight success. He won four Grammy Awards for "Gentle on My Mind" and "By the Time I Get to Phoenix". In 1967, Campbell was also the uncredited lead vocalist on "My World Fell Down" by Sagittarius, a studio group. The song reached number 70 on the Billboard Hot 100. In 1968, Campbell released "Wichita Lineman", a song written by Jimmy Webb. It was recorded with backing from members of the Wrecking Crew and appeared on his 1968 album of the same name. It reached number 3 on the US pop chart, remaining in the Top 100 for 15 weeks. In addition, the song also topped the American country music chart for two weeks, and the adult contemporary chart for six weeks. The 1969 song "True Grit" by composer Elmer Bernstein and lyricist Don Black, and sung by Campbell, who co-starred in the movie, received nominations for the Academy Award for Best Song and the Golden Globe for Best Original Song. After he hosted a 1968 summer replacement for television's The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour variety show, He also appeared on Cher, the Redd Foxx Comedy Hour, The Merv Griffin Show, The Midnight Special, DINAH!, Evening at Pops with Arthur Fiedler and The Mike Douglas Show. In the mid-1970s, he had more hits with "Rhinestone Cowboy", "Southern Nights" (both U.S. number one hits), "Rhinestone Cowboy" continues to be used in TV shows and films, including Desperate Housewives, Daddy Day Care, and High School High. It was the inspiration for the 1984 Dolly Parton/Sylvester Stallone movie Rhinestone. The main phrase of Campbell's recording was included in Dickie Goodman's Jaws movie parody song "Mr. Jaws". Campbell also made a techno/pop version of the song in 2002 with UK artists Rikki & Daz and went to the top 10 in the UK with the dance version and related music video. In January 1975, Campbell was awarded 4 gold records along with a platinum award for wholesale sales in excess of $1,000,000 in Australia. "Southern Nights", by Allen Toussaint, his other number one pop-rock-country crossover hit, was generated with the help of Jimmy Webb and Jerry Reed, who inspired the famous guitar lick introduction to the song, which was the most-played jukebox number of 1977. 1980–2010: Later career Campbell made a cameo appearance in the 1980 Clint Eastwood movie Any Which Way You Can, for which he recorded the title song. From 1982 to 1983, he hosted a 30-minute syndicated music show, The Glen Campbell Music Show. Campbell gave up smoking in March 1992 and believed it improved his singing voice. In 1991, Campbell voiced Chanticleer the rooster in Don Bluth's live action/animated film Rock-a-Doodle. In 1999 he was featured on VH1's Behind the Music and on A&E Network's Biography and a PBS "in concert" special in 2001. He also appeared on a number of CMT programs, where he ranked among their Greatest Men of Country Music. He is credited with giving Alan Jackson his first big break after Jackson recorded with Campbell's music publishing business in the early 1990s. Campbell also served as an inspiration to Keith Urban, who cites Campbell as a strong influence on his performing career. In 2005, Campbell was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. Glen was inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum in the first group of inductees alongside other members of the Wrecking Crew in 2007. It was announced in April 2008 that Campbell was returning to his signature label, Capitol, to release his new album, Meet Glen Campbell. The album was released on August 19. With this album, he branched off in a different musical direction, covering tracks from artists such as Travis, U2, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Jackson Browne, and Foo Fighters. 2011–2013: Illness and retirement In June 2011, Campbell announced he had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease six months earlier. Following his Alzheimer's diagnosis, Campbell embarked on a final "Goodbye Tour", with three of his children joining him in his backup band. He was too ill to travel to Australia and New Zealand in the summer of 2012. His final show was on November 30, 2012, in Napa, California. After the end of the tour, Campbell entered the studio in Nashville to record what would be his final album, Adiós, which would not be revealed until five years later. According to his wife Kim, he wanted to preserve "what magic was left" in what would be his final recordings. In January 2013, Campbell recorded his final song, "I'm Not Gonna Miss You", during what would be his last recording sessions. The song, which is featured in the 2014 documentary ''Glen Campbell: I'll Be Me'', was released on September 30, 2014, with the documentary following on October 24. Directed by longtime friend James Keach, the documentary examined Campbell's Alzheimer's diagnosis and how it affected his musical performances during his final tour across the United States with his family. The documentary received critical acclaim, earning a rare 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. On January 15, 2015, Campbell and fellow songwriter Julian Raymond were nominated for Best Original Song at the 87th Academy Awards. In March 2016, it was confirmed that Campbell was in the final stages of Alzheimer's disease. On August 30, 2016, during the 10th Annual ACM Honors, Keith Urban, Blake Shelton and others performed a medley of Glen Campbell's songs in tribute to him. His wife Kim accepted the Career Achievement Award on his behalf. Alice Cooper described him as being one of the five best guitar players in the music industry. Campbell's final album, Adiós, featuring twelve songs from his final 2012–13 sessions, was announced in April 2017. It was released on June 9, 2017. In 2024, Glen Campbell Duets: Ghost on the Canvas Sessions was released. It is a reworked version of Ghost on the Canvas, featuring newly recorded guest vocals performing posthumous duets with Campbell, from artists such as Carole King, Elton John, Eric Clapton, Hope Sandoval and Dolly Parton. ==Personal life==

Relationships and children Campbell was married four times and fathered six sons and three daughters: • In 1955, Campbell married Diane Marie Kirk (born January 3, 1939; died July 16, 2015) at the Bernalillo County, New Mexico, courthouse. They had two children — Glen Travis Campbell Jr., who was born two months prematurely on July 25, 1955, and died a few days later; and Deborah Kay "Debby" (born September 21, 1956). After a mandatory 12-month separation, they divorced in 1959. • On September 20, 1959, Campbell married Billie Jean Nunley (1939–1993), an Albuquerque beautician, who gave birth to Kelli Glen, William Travis, and Wesley Kane. Billie Campbell filed for divorce in 1975, and their divorce was final in 1976. • On September 2, 1976, Campbell married singer Mac Davis's second wife, Sarah Jan Davis (née Barg) in Carson City, Nevada. They had one child named Dillon and divorced in 1980. After his divorce from Sarah Barg Davis, Campbell began a relationship with fellow country artist Tanya Tucker. The relationship was marked by frequent tabloid gossip and articles. in 1982. All three joined Campbell onstage starting in 2010 as part of his touring band. Religion Campbell was raised in the Church of Christ. In the 1980s, he joined a Baptist church in Phoenix along with his wife Kim. In a 2008 interview, Campbell said that they had been adherents of Messianic Judaism for two decades. Alcoholism and drug addiction Campbell began having problems with alcoholism and cocaine addiction in the 1970s. He credited his fourth wife Kim with helping him turn his life around. Campbell eventually stopped drinking alcohol and taking drugs in 1987. However, it was evident that he had relapsed in 2003 when he pleaded guilty in Arizona to aggravated drunk driving and leaving the scene of an accident and spent 10 days in Maricopa County jail. Politics On The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour television show, Campbell avoided political topics. Around this time, in interviews he described himself as "a registered Democrat", but also said he "voted Republican a few times", and he performed in support of both Republican and Democratic politicians. Campbell performed the National Anthem at the 1980 Republican National Convention and continued to make a number of campaign appearances for Republican candidates during the 1980s. ==Death, legacy and tributes==

In June 2011, Campbell announced he had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease six months earlier. He became a patient at an Alzheimer's long-term care and treatment facility in 2014. Tributes and acclaim Following the announcement of Campbell's death, fellow musicians, friends and fans expressed their condolences and noted his music legacy. Recording Academy president Neil Portnow praised him for having been "an American treasure" whose songs, guitar work, and "dazzling showmanship shot him to superstardom in the 1960s" to make him one of the most successful music artists in history. Tributes poured in from countless others in the industry, including Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys, comedy writer and actor Steve Martin, Sheryl Crow, Dolly Parton, Lenny Kravitz, and Anne Murray. Jimmy Webb, who wrote many of Campbell's hits and worked with him throughout his life, said that Campbell could play with "any guitar player in the world, from George Benson to Eric Clapton", adding that Paul McCartney considered him among the best guitar players. "People will realize what an extraordinary genius Glen really was", Webb told ABC News. The Country Music Television Channel (CMT) aired a special about his career a few days after his death. Other networks were also "lining up to honor his life and brilliant legacy", including interviews with Keith Urban, Reba McEntire and Blake Shelton, among others. Campbell's daughter Ashley was invited to perform at The O2 Arena in London as part of the C2C: Country to Country festival. Her set was billed as a special tribute to her father and included a medley of his hits alongside "Remembering", a song she wrote about Campbell's battle with Alzheimer's. ==Discography and videography==

Campbell recorded and released 60 studio albums and six live albums between 1962 and 2017. He also lent his vocals to four soundtracks for motion pictures: True Grit (1969), Norwood (1970), Rock-a-Doodle (1992), and the 2014 documentary film ''Glen Campbell: I'll Be Me. He placed a total of 82 singles (one of which was a re-release) on either the Billboard Country Chart, the Billboard'' Hot 100, or the Adult Contemporary Chart, nine of which peaked at number one on at least one of those charts. He released 15 video albums and featured in 21 music videos. His first two music videos, "By the Time I Get to Phoenix" and "Wichita Lineman", were directed by Gene Weed in 1967 and 1968, respectively. Campbell released his final music video, "I'm Not Gonna Miss You", in 2014 to coincide with the release of the documentary ''Glen Campbell: I'll Be Me. His final studio album, Adiós'', was released on June 9, 2017. ==Filmography==

Grammy Awards Academy of Country Music American Music Awards • 1976: Favorite Pop/Rock Single – "Rhinestone Cowboy" • 1976: Favorite Country Single – "Rhinestone Cowboy" • 1977: Favorite Country Album – Rhinestone Cowboy Country Music Association Awards • 1968: Entertainer of the Year • 1968: Male Vocalist of the Year GMA Dove Awards • 1986: Album by a Secular Artist – No More Night • 1992: Southern Gospel Recorded Song of the Year – "Where Shadows Never Fall" • 1970: Golden Globe Award nomination for Best New Star of the Year - Actor in the movie "True Grit" • 1974: Country Music Association of Great Britain's Entertainer of the Year • 2005: Country Music Hall of Fame induction • 2008: Q Legend Award • 2012: Country Radio Broadcasters, Inc. Career Achievement Award • 2014: Hollywood Music in Media Awards Lifetime Achievement Award • 2014: Academy Award nomination for "I'm Not Gonna Miss You" (co-writer) • 2018: Arkansas Country Music Awards – Lifetime Achievement Award Books • • ==References==