Retro Spotlight: Glen Campbell

You probably heard the news this week that Glen Campbell was moved to an Alzheimer's facility because of his health decline. He's been battling this mnid robbing disease since 2011. I've thought a lot about him since hearing and decided he is our spotlight artist.

Glen Campbell has had a storied career. He broke into Country in 1962, but blew everyone away in 1967 when Gentle On My Mind  became his first top 30 hit. Campbell followed up his success with By The Time I Get to Phoenix, which landed at #2 on the charts. Glen Campbell was here to stay.

Campbell's personal life got as much attention as his music in the '80's. He and Tanya Tucker were like fire and water in their relationship. I never understood that. Luckily, he found wife Kim in 1982 and they have been together since.

I could go through Glen's stats on his songs, but then we'd miss the most important contributions he has made to the genre we love: the music itself and his influence.

The smoothness of Glen's voice (Wichita Lineman anyone?) was how so many of today's artists aspired to sound like. Keith Urban readily admits he was fully influenced by the fluid sound that came out of Glen Campbell's mouth. He was a countrified singer with a citified sound.

Glen Campbell did one thing extraordinary on television; he broke the crossover barrier with the Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour. People who never heard Country music watched.

I was so glad Glen Campbell got to go on a farewell tour. And now there is a documentary about that journey, which was released on Friday. It's called "Glen Campbell...I'll Be Me".

On a personal note, if it wasn't for Glen Campbell, I wouldn't have started looking at maps when I was young! I wanted to know where these places (Wichita, Galveston, Phoenix, LA) were when he sang about them. Thank you Glen Campbell for the terrific songs and memories.

Now for a little tidbit: back in 1987, Steve Wariner decided to work with Glen Campbell on a song that honored Moms. Many have forgotten about it, but not me. Enjoy my favorite Glen Campbell collaboration:The Hand That Rocks The Cradle (Rules The World).