COUNTRY MUSIC’S GLEN CAMPBELL DIES:
‘Rhinestone Cowboy’ Campbell dies at 81
GLEN CAMPBELL, who cemented his place as a legend in the country music realm with hits like “Rhinestone Cowboy” and “Gentle on My Mind,” has died following a years-long battle with Alzheimer’s disease.
“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,” his family said in a statement.
His daughter Ashley also confirmed her father’s death on Twitter with an emotional note and a photo of the pair holding hands.
“Heartbroken. I owe him everything I am, and everything I ever will be,” she wrote. “He will be remembered so well and with so much love.”
Campbell’s country music career stretched back nearly five decades, and included six Grammy wins and 20 nominations. His 1968 Album of the Year award for “By the Time I Get to Phoenix” earned him the distinction of being the first country artist to ever win the award.
In recent years, Campbell was open about his struggle with Alzheimer’s and its devastating effect on his life and his music.
A 2014 documentary, “I’ll Be Me,” chronicled his final tour and his battle with the disease. A song he wrote for the film, “I’m Not Gonna Miss You,” earned him an Oscar nomination for Best Original Song. His performance of the title song from “True Grit,” in which he also had a role, was also Oscar-nominated.
Campbell’s legacy stretches back to a small town in southwest Arkansas, where he was born the seventh of 12 children. In the early ’60s, he moved to Los Angeles in pursuit of a music career, and enjoyed early success as a session musician, playing with big names like Bobby Darin, Frank Sinatra and Merle Haggard.
He contributed guitar to the Beach Boys’ iconic album “Pet Sounds,” and briefly stepped in to play for an absent Brian Wilson on tour with the group in 1965.
Campbell broke through to his own success in 1967 with “Burning Bridges.” He secured his first No. 1 on the Billboard Country Albums chart with “Gentle on My Mind” in 1967. The popularity of that album and “By the Time I Get to Phoenix,” released the same year, earned him four Grammy awards. His recording of the wistful “Wichita Lineman” in 1968 went gold.
Not content with his massive success as a country artist, Campbell expanded his repertoire and became a double threat as he embraced an acting career in the late ’60s. His role as La Boeuf in 1969’s “True Grit” earned him a Most Promising Newcomer Golden Globe nomination.
His greatest success on screen, however, came in 1969 when he signed on to host the variety show “The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour” on CBS. The show lasted for four seasons.
Campbell’s “Rhinestone Cowboy” became his personal anthem. Written and recorded by Larry Weiss in 1974, it received little attention until Campbell heard it on the radio and quickly related to the story of a veteran performer who triumphs over despair and hardship.