Heartache of Glen’s girl as she reveals: I owe him everything
GLEN Campbell’s daughter yesterday paid tribute to her country music legend father, saying that she “owed everything” to him.
Campbell, whose hits included Rhinestone Cowboy and Wichita Lineman, died on Tuesday aged 81 after a long battle with Alzheimer’s.
Hours after her father’s death, Ashley Campbell posted a poignant tribute on Twitter.
Alongside a picture of the pair holding hands as he lay stricken in a hospital bed, Ashley, 30, wrote: “Heartbroken. I owe him everything I am and everything I ever will be.
“He will be remembered so well and with so much love.”
Humble
Ashley, the youngest of his eight children, followed in her father’s footsteps as a singer and songwriter.
She played banjo on his farewell tour in 2011, the same year he revealed he was suffering from Alzheimer’s.
Earlier this year she posted a touching message to him on Father’s Day, saying: “I wish you were here. I can hug you and hold you but I can’t know for sure where you are.
“I love you, dad. I’m here for you. Thank you for giving me everything.”
She wrote a song, titled Remembering, about his battle with dementia after recording an award-winning documentary, I’ll Be Me, about his battle with the disease.
Ashley was also part of her father’s final album of cover songs, Adios, which was released two months ago.
After Campbell’s death in Nashville, Tennessee, his family released a statement saying: “It is with the heaviest of hearts that we announce the passing of our beloved husband, father, grandfather and legendary singer and guitarist, Glen Travis Campbell, at the age of 81, following his long and courageous battle with Alzheimer’s disease.”
He is survived by his wife Kim, their three children, Cal, Shannon and Ashley, his children from previous marriages, Debby, Kelli, Travis, Kane and Dillon, and 10 grandchildren.
A self-taught musician, Campbell rose from humble beginnings in Arkansas to release more than 70 albums and sell 45 million records.
His first hit was 1967’s By the Time I Get to Phoenix.
He is credited with paving the way for other popular country artists such as Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton, who described him as “one of the greatest voices of all time”.
Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys said he was “very broken up” by Campbell’s death, adding that he was “an incredible musician and an even better person”.
Former President Bill Clinton said: “Glen was an iconic American artist and fellow Arkansan. His legacy will be his great talent and how he decided to live with Alzheimer’s.”