Country · Pop · Crossover
The Rhinestone Cowboy — a Wrecking Crew guitarist turned countrypolitan superstar.
The session ace who became a superstar
Glen Campbell played on everybody else’s hits before he made his own. As a member of Los Angeles’s legendary Wrecking Crew, his guitar is woven through hundreds of sixties records — the Beach Boys, Frank Sinatra, the Monkees, Elvis. He could play anything, read anything, and sing while doing it. That rare combination made him, briefly, the most valuable utility player in pop music.
Then came the Jimmy Webb songs. “Gentle on My Mind,” “By the Time I Get to Phoenix,” “Wichita Lineman” — between 1967 and 1969, Campbell turned the songwriter’s elegant, lonesome visions into crossover gold, winning a shelf of Grammys and hosting The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour on television. He was country’s ambassador to pop, and pop’s to country, with a grin that made the whole negotiation look easy.
The seventies brought the second act: “Galveston,” then the sequined triumph of “Rhinestone Cowboy” — a number one on both the country and pop charts in 1975 — and “Southern Nights” in 1977. Campbell’s warm baritone and effortless guitar made every genre feel like home.
Diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2011, Campbell turned his farewell into one of the most moving final chapters in popular music, touring and recording until he no longer could. He died in 2017, leaving behind a catalog that bridges Nashville and Hollywood like no one else’s.