I won't say anymore about that tune today, but here's a post I wrote about it some years back. I will, however, share with you my review of the time I saw him live, on his farewell tour back in 2011 (this taken from my old blog, Sunset Over Slawit)...
It's long been my dream to see my all time favourite song performed live by the singer who made it famous. Friday at the Salford Lowry was my last chance to make that dream a reality. Unlike many "Farewell Tours" where you suspect the artist may well be "quitting" only to sell more tickets (before next year's inevitable "reunion tour"), Glen Campbell really will be hanging up his mike and guitar once this tour is done. You may have read how the 75 year-old star, famous in his younger days for his baby-faced looks and country choirboy vocals, was diagnosed with Alzheimer's late last year. His return to the road is seen by many as not just a farewell to fans but also a brave effort to publicise a disease which celebrities rarely make public.
It's clear when Campbell takes to the stage that this is not a man in the prime of health. Although joyful and enthusiastic, he does at times appear confused and his legendary guitar playing is no longer at its flawless best. Fortunately he's supported by a band that includes three of his kids: Cal, Ashley and Shannon who help keep him focused throughout the show. And what a show... all the hits that made him famous (many composed by the divine Jimmy Webb), topped off by a showstopping, standing ovation double bill of Wichita Lineman and Rhinestone Cowboy. It was impossible not to be moved to tears by the former, a song that's meant so much to me for so many years and now sounds more bittersweet than ever.
Glen died 6 years later, but he's a mainstay on my jukebox, and the Celebrity Jukebox honours him today with these choice tunes...
Every time I hear Glen Campbell, I think about you
And in that moment I can always find
"Southern Nights" coming up the hallway
And I’m home again in such a simpler time
Back when the world was ever "Gentle On My Mind"
Now some days I feel like an engagement ring
Resting on the ocean floor
Yet others just like that same Glen Campbell record
Found in every second hand store
Darren Hanlon - Scenes From a Separation
Here's a song about a young man who plays a Yamaha guitar in the Slee Cowboy Orchestra and knows all the lyrics to Glen's biggest hits... in French, I bet...
C'était un garçon des cantons
Avec son étui plein d'chansons
On pouvait l'voir tous les samedis
Avec l'orchestre de cowboys Slee
Y avait une guitare Yamaha
Et un habit aux opéras
Y connaissait toutes les paroles
Des dernières tounes de Glen Campbell
Daniel Lavoie - Garçon des Cantons
When he got out of prison, country music outlaw David Allan Coe lived in a red Cadillac hearse parked in front of the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. He was clearly more of a badass than Glen Campbell, and I'm sure Glen would have agreed.
I've always been the Rhinestone Cowboy
I don't care what Glen Campbell has to say
David Allan Coe - Ride 'Em Cowboy
James Reyne is quite a big deal down under, first as lead singer of Australian Crawl, then as as successful solo artist. Glen's influence travels far and wide...
Couldn't tell if I was dreaming
When I woke before the dawn
Thought I heard Glen Campbell screaming
Where have all the flowers gone?
Canadian pop punks Chixdiggit win the prize for Band Name of the Week...
I can't be with you tonight, it ain't right
Got home, one message for me, our song was on the machine
Now I got a song in my head, a mix of Glen Campbell and Queen
Chixdiggit - Going to the Peelers?
Jeremy Warmsley is from London. He's in the band Summer Camp, writes soundtrack music, and releases his own stuff. This is a pretty perfect 60's pastiche...
To answer your question, it was. I saw Any Trouble in 2015 when they were promoting that album and Clive Gregson confirmed that was the case.
ReplyDeleteI was also lucky enough to see Glen back in 1988 at the Royal Albert Hall. He was supporting someone called Johnny Cash, who you and your readers may have heard of. Probably the best double bill I've ever seen, but as neither of them had been 'rediscovered' at that point the venue wasn't even full.
There were also guest spots by Mr Cash's then son-in-laws Rodney Crowell and Nick Lowe (no, me neither).
Wow. That was quite a line-up.
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