Glen Campbell.....
He was my idol when I was younger! I loved his music and I thought he was the bomb! My father worked about 50 miles from our country home when I was in the 5th Grade. We wound up moving to the town where he worked and we would go home most weekends. The ride took about an hour and during this hour mom, dad and I would listen to an
8 track of Glen Campbell all the way home! Songs such as: "Rhinestone Cowboy", "Galveston", and my all time favorite "Homeward Bound".
Here are some pictures of how he looked way back then in the 70's!
Glen Campbell was born April 22, 1936, in Delight, Ark., as the seventh son in a family of 12 children. He came from a musical family (that made its living as sharecroppers) and began his career with his uncle's Dick Bills Band in 1954, before forming Glen Campbell and the Western Wranglers four years later. By the end of the '50s, he had moved to Los Angeles where he became a renowned session player and one of the finest guitarists in Hollywood. His sessions included work for the Mamas and the Papas, Ricky Nelson, Frank Sinatra, Merle Haggard and Bobby Darin, among others.
After briefly joining the Champs -- an instrumental band best known for the hit "Tequila" -- he released a solo single, "Too Late to Worry, Too Blue to Cry," which crept into the charts. He also briefly replaced Brian Wilson on the Beach Boys' tours. However, Campbell's period as a Beach Boy was short-lived, and he soon returned to session work and recording, even enjoying a minor hit with Buffy Sainte-Marie's "The Universal Soldier.
By 1967, Capitol Records were seriously promoting Campbell as an artist in his own right. Having already spent five years on the label, the breakthrough came with an accomplished version of John Hartford's "Gentle on My Mind," which won a Grammy in 1967. (It only reached No. 30 on the Billboard country singles chart.) In 1968, he won the CMA's male vocalist and entertainer of the year awards. A trilogy of hits written by Jimmy Webb -- "By the Time I Get to Phoenix," "Wichita Lineman" and "Galveston" -- kept Campbell on the charts through the close of the 1960s. Other memorable hits from that era include "I Wanna Live" and "Dreams of the Everyday Housewife."
By this stage of his career, Campbell was actively pursuing television work. He hosted the TV variety series The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour from 1968 to 1972 and starred with John Wayne in the 1969 movie True Grit. He also paired with Bobbie Gentry for the hit duets of the Everly Brothers' "Let It Be Me" and "All I Have to Do Is Dream."
For a few years in the early 1970s, his chart momentum cooled, until the Urban Cowboy craze catapulted "Rhinestone Cowboy" to No. 1 in 1975. The anthem became his signature hit, and he reached No. 1 again in 1977 with "Southern Nights." Throughout the 1980s, he notched a handful of Top 10 hits but struggled with drug addictions, three divorces and a scandalous romance with Tanya Tucker, who was then in her early 20s.
Campbell published Rhinestone Cowboy: An Autobiography in 1994 and has recorded several gospel albums.
Glen Campbell released the following albums including Hey, Little One/A New Place in the Sun (2009), Duets (2009), Greatest Hits (2009), Live In Concert (2008), Meet Glen Campbell (2008), Live (2008), Old Home Town (2008), Classic Campbell (2006), Sings the Best of Jimmy Webb 1967-1992 (2006), Love Is the Answer: 24 Songs of Faith, Hope and Love (2004), The Legacy (1961-2002) (2003),Southern Nights/Basic (2003), All-Time Favorite Hits (2003), Show Me Your Way (2003), All the Best (2003), Rhinestone Cowboy: Bloodline (2002), Reunion: The Songs of Jimmy Webb (2001), By the Time I Get to Phoenix (2001), Wichita Lineman (2001), Gentle on My Mind (2001), Galveston (2001),Glen Campbell Christmas (2000), Glenn Campbell Christmas (2000), Glen Campbell - 20 Greatest Hits (2000), Glen Campbell 20 Greatest Hits (2000), Love Songs (2000), Capitol Years 65/77 (1999), The Glen Campbell Collection (1962-1989): Gentle on My Mind (1997), Jesus and ME (1997), Classics Collection (1995), Christmas with Glen Campbell (1995), The Best of Glen Campbell (Ten Best Series) (1995), Glen Campbell Live! His Greatest Hits (1994), Very Best of Glen Campbell (1990) and Glen Campbell - Greatest Country Hits (1990).
Following is a picture of Glen Campbell as he appears today, in 2011. What a difference these years have made to the appearance of my one-time idol. 
Glen Campbell attends the 2011 NAMM Show on day 4
at the Anaheim Convention Center in this Jan. 15, 2011
file photo. (David Livingston/Getty Images)
Glen Campbell Reveals He Has Alzheimer's
Country music icon Glen Campbell has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, the singer and his wife revealed Wednesday, prompting the "Rhinestone Cowboy" to plan a farewell tour.
"Glen is still an awesome guitar player and singer," the musician's wife, Kim Campbell, told People magazine. "But if he flubs a lyric or gets confused onstage, I wouldn't want people to think, 'What's the matter with him? Is he drunk?'"
Campbell goes on tour this fall to support what his website touts as his final studio album, called "Ghost on the Canvas".
Campbell, 75, was diagnosed six months ago with the degenerative disease.
Alzheimer's symptoms typically surface when a person is in their late 70s and early 80s. By age 85, 30 to 50 percent of adults show signs of the disease.
Campbell's career spans five decades. He's had 81 songs on the charts and has made his mark on music history with such hits as "Rhinestone Cowboy" and "Galveston."
Even though he said he's coming to terms with his disease, Campbell said he wanted to embark on one final tour for his fans, to say thanks.
"I still love performing for my fans," he said. "I'd like to thank them for sticking with me through thick and thin."
By: ALYSSA NEWCOMB
June 22, 2011
ABC News
************************************************************
I have to admit this news about Campbell has really touched my heart. I have been contemplating time and age a lot lately as I edge closer to the big 50. I think this news also has me feeling my age!
My nephew who has always been musically talented, recently listened to Campbell's newest album titled "Ghost on the Canvas" and his words concerning it were:
"The newest and said to be final record from Glen Campbell (Ghost on the Canvas) has completely knocked me off of my feet and made me think about songwriting again. That's right. I said it. Glen Campbell record."
Wow! These words come from a man who never knew Campbell in his heyday and certainly never considered him an 'Idol'!!
I know I probably got carried away with this post, but Campbell's music touched my heart, lifted my spirits, and always made me smile! He certainly deserves a large place on my blog, and my prayers will include him as he tackles this devastating disease.
"Homeward Bound"
I'm sittin' in the railway station got a ticket for my destination
On a tour of one night stands my suitcase and guitar in hand
Every stop is neatly planned for a poet and a one man band
Homeward bound I wish I was homeward bound
Home where my thought's escaping home where the music's playing
Home where my love was waitin' silently for me.
Now every day's an endless stream of cigarettes and magazines
And each town looks the same to me for movies and the factories
And every stranger's face I see reminds me that I long to be
Homeward bound...
Homeward bound I wish I was homeward bound
Home where my thought's escaping home where the music's playing
Home where my love was waitin' silently for me.
[Strings]
Tonight I'll sing my songs again I'll play the game and pretend
But all my words come back to me in shades of mediocrity
Like emptiness and harmony I need someone to comfort me
Homeward bound...
Homeward bound I wish I was homeward bound
Home where my thought's escaping home where the music's playing
Home where my love was waitin' silently for me.
YES, Campbell's music still touches my heart!!
