Glen Campbell
Pencil Portrait by Antonio Bosano.
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The quality of the prints are at a much higher level compared to the image shown on the left.
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Recommended listening
By the Time I Get to Phoenix LP (1967)
Wichita Lineman LP (1968)
Galveston LP (1969)
Rhinestone Cowboy LP (1975)
Southern Nights LP (1977)
Ghost on the canvas (2011)
This remarkable album would not prove to be Campbell’s last, despite the announcement of his illness during the protracted recording sessions. Yet at the time sessions began in 2009, the original intention of the star and producer Julian Raymond had been to record one final studio album of original material whilst he was in sufficiently good enough health, with Raymond taking the lead to contact other artists for possible involvement.
Extending the collaborative aspect to 2008’s “Meet Glen Campbell,” the singer would record covers of contemporary songs to introduce himself to a new audience, and if the once soaring tenor was by now a tad tremulous, then the years had replaced that once pure instrument with an added edge, ensuring the Rhinestone Cowboy would not go out softly. Expecting a collection of variable quality, I was surprised instead to find an album unfolding as a consistently cohesive rumination on Campbell’s autumnal years. The overall tone is not solely reflective though, as the upbeat “In my arms” clearly demonstrates.
Whilst there’s nothing to match “Galveston” and “Wichita Lineman,” the album never flags. We should be grateful enough for that.
Recommended viewing
I'll be me (2014)
Campbell’s documentary is an emotionally-driven, true story about the singer’s tour following his diagnosis with Alzheimer’s. Informed by his doctors that he should prepare to quit playing music, the entertainer opted instead for a farewell tour, the original five-week run extending to a 151 sold-out show itinary that would last eighteen months.
The film created a buzz, and when it premiered on CNN in June 2014, 2.76 million people tuned in to watch — a record for the network. The main song from the film, “I’m Not Gonna Miss You,” also snagged a laundry list of prestigious award nods.
It’s compelling viewing. The realisation that musicality is the last intuitive attribute to leave the striken and gifted few, remains an unceasing source of wonderment throughout the visual experience. It is rare for any programme to secure my undivided attention, but there wasn’t a pencil or musical instrument near my hands throughout the film’s UK premiere transmission on Sky Arts 1 in October 2015.
Recommended reading
Rhinestone Cowboy (1994) Glen Campbell with Tom Carter
“There’s no pillow as soft as a clear conscience.”
Well hallelujah to that, and with extraordinary candor one of music’s most popular performers tells of his sojourn amid the decadence and destructive trappings of fame – the money, the booze, the cocaine, the women – and of the religious awakening and unconditionally loving marriage that literally saved his life.
All this ‘born-again christianity’ revelation sits uncomfortably with me. A comprehensive self appraisal of his musical work, and the impact of fame upon his career and ‘image’ would have sufficed, but the public demands (or is it the publishers?) self redemption in nauseating detail. Add a healthy dose of tedium – Campbell devotes no less thsn eight full pages to his golf game (millions after all, consider the sport a ‘good walk spoilt’), another eight to his staunch anti-abortion beliefs (proselytisation can antagonise readers) – yet only four brief paragraphs to recording the yearning and timeless folk- rock hits ”Wichita Lineman” and ”Galveston.”
Yes, it’s a frustrating memoir, yet sadly the only one he will ever commit to print.
His daughter Debby comments in the Epilogue that “he thinks everyone has to live the life of a Christian.”
Well he would, wouldn’t he? – although such comments are rather patronising to millions of a different religious persuasion.
Comments
Last update: 10/08/17
Alzheimer’s is the most common cause of dementia, a physical disease that affects the brain. Symptons can include memory loss and difficulties with thinking, problem-solving or language.
During the course of the disease, proteins build up in the brain to form structures called ‘plaques’ and ‘tangles.’ This leads to the loss of connections between nerve cells, and their eventual death, in addition to the loss of brain tissue. It is a progressive disease, and gradually, over time, more parts of the brain are damaged. As this happens, the severity and frequency of symptons escalate.
‘Glen Campbell: I’ll Be Me,’ released theatrically in America in the fall of 2014, is a film which explores the devastating effects of Alzheimer’s, a disease which affects some five million Americans over the age of 65, including the 78-year-old singer. By putting the project in the capable hands of producer James Keach – who also produced the Oscar-winning 2005 Johnny Cash biopic, ‘Walk the Line’ – Campbell’s family has ensured that the conversation about the debilitating disease will both continue and evolve.
By the summer of 2015 – four years after being diagnosed with the desease – Glen Campbell was barely able to recognise his loved ones and could no longer play music or carry a conversation. His wife remained stoic;
“He still has the same essence. He still has the same twinkle in his eye. He has the same chuckle, and he’s still an entertainer,” his wife of nearly 33 years, Kim Campbell, told PEOPLE magazine.
Living full-time at a Nashville memory-care facility located minutes from the Campbell’s home, Glen, 79, was being cared for by a family friend and personal sitter named Brody, but his main caregiver remained Kim, who visited with him daily.
“We’ll split shifts a lot of times,” she explained at the time. “He’ll go for lunch and do some activities with him and I usually do the afternoon, dinner and stay with him until he goes to bed.”
The children would also visit, often playing music for him, especially his old songs. Apparently, he liked to fall asleep to that.
According to musician Carl Jackson, Glen’s longtime collaborator and friend who introduced him to Kim, the star still had that humor inside of him, breaking out, every now and then, into his Donald Duck voice. Occasionally he’ll still have an ‘I love you’ and ‘That’s my sweetie.’ The gleam in his eye was still there.
The most heartbreaking aspect to alzheimers – and I should know, since my own mother is stricken with the disease – is the way it slowly removes the ability to really communicate. Topical sentences are constantly repeated, recollection of people and events slowly dissipate, and the most elementary of tasks become a near herculean chore.