US musician Glen Campbell dies
NASHVILLE : Glen Campbell, the affable superstar singer of Rhinestone Cowboy and Wichita Lineman whose appeal spanned country, pop, television and movies, has died. He was 81.
Campbell’s family said the singer died on Tuesday in Nashville. Campbell announced in June 2011 he had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.
“Glen is one of the greatest voices there ever was in the business and he was one of the greatest musicians,” said Dolly Parton. “He was a wonderful session musician as well. A lot of people don’t realize that. But he could play anything and he could play it really well.”
In the late 1960s and well into the ‘70s, the Arkansas native was seemingly everywhere with his boyish face, wavy hair and friendly tenor. He won five Grammys, sold more than 45 million records, had 12 gold albums and 75 chart hits, including No 1 songs with Rhinestone Cowboy and Southern Nights.
His performance of the title song from the 1969 film True Grit, in which he played a Texas Ranger alongside Oscar winner John Wayne, received an Academy Award nomination.
He twice won album of the year awards from the Academy of Country Music and was voted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2005. Seven years later, he received a Grammy for lifetime achievement.
His last record was Adios, released in June, featured songs that Campbell loved to sing but never recorded, including tunes made famous by Bob Dylan, Linda Ronstadt and Johnny Cash.