Spooner D:
My first exposure to Glen Campbell was on TV; really this
was the only media I had access to as a child of the 1980s. Hee Haw wasn’t really a
Sunday dinner time ritual as it was a way to pass the time before the
table was set. This show was beloved in the South, but both of my parents
were from the North. The Lawerence Welk
Show, which followed Hee Haw, was much more of a draw. Nevertheless,
something about Hee Haw sucked me. I
remember Glen Campbell playing “Ghost Riders in the Sky.” I am not sure who he
played with, Buck Owens or Roy Clark, but I was mesmerized by it.
Maybe it was the song, but this performance has always stuck with
me. This was the first song I learned how to plan on guitar in high school
on my friend’s Dad’s 12 string. I later learned of Glen’s connection with
the Beach Boys thru yet another TV show or special. My dad adored the Beach
Boys, and I knew more about them than I did about the Catholicism that was
forced down my throat every Wednesday and Sunday. I’m not a Glen Campbell
fan or follower but truly connect him with that time of my childhood. He
was a great guitarist, which I now know and appreciate. Many of my musical influences are
a result of a personal connection with a performance, rather than a
studious approach to dissecting an album, and Glen was definitely one
of those. RIP Glen Campbell and thank you for the memories.
PaulySure:
I didn’t really grow up listening to Glen Campbell as much
as I did all the members that made up The Highwaymen, and other more “outlaw”
style country. At that time, I mostly just knew “Rhinestone Cowboy.” Glen Campbell’s more or less someone I got
into within the last 3 years, primarily after finding out how important he was
to music through way of the most important studio band, The Wrecking Crew. With
that said, I think that makes him possibly the second most important member of
the Beach Boys.
SoDak:
When I grew up in the 1970s, Glen Campbell was everywhere.
His songs were played across the dial on AM radio stations. I fondly remember listening
to his versions of “Gentle on My Mind,” “By the Time I Get to Phoenix,” “Wichita
Lineman,” and “Galveston” while riding in the backseat of my parents’ car. Glen
Campbell’s countrypolitan music was smooth and comfortable. Along with my
mother, I would sing the chorus, while staring out across the South Dakota
plains. In 1975, his pop song, “Rhinestone Cowboy,” was a massive hit. While I
preferred his songs from the 1960s, I would also sing the sweeping chorus of “Rhinestone”
every time it was on the radio. In many ways, Glen Campbell was woven into my
childhood, as a familiar musical thread. It is only many years later that I
learned about The Wrecking Crew, the Los Angeles studio band, which played the
music on so many of the hit songs and records throughout the 1960s. Glen
Campbell was one of the members of this elite group. During the last decade, I
bought his new records as they were released, and was pleased to find many
songs that I particularly enjoyed. His contribution to the history of rock and
country is undeniable.
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