Glen Campbell's birthday is this Friday. Since most people underestimate the quality of his guitar playing, I thought we could look at it a bit. And I selected something that is NOT country, so you won't be put off. If you hate county.
While most people, if you're old enough, remember the songs Campbell recorded that crossed over from the Country charts to the Billboard 100, such as "Wichita Lineman" and "Gentle on My Mind." He did a lot of studio work. He played on a lot (most?) of the early Beach Boys albums, and toured some with them. He played on at least one Frank Sinatra album, and a whole lot more.
I think today's song is a good representation of what Campbell could do with a guitar. This song was originally by Bill Withers, and it is probably my favorite song from Bill Withers. Campbell's version seems like soft-jazz to me.
This is "Ain't No Sunshine" by Glen Campbell, an instrumental recorded live in 1975 in London. It shows why a lot of people considered him to be one of the greatest guitar players of his generation, or the late 20th Century generally.
Glen Campbell died in 2017 after a long decline due to Alzheimer's disease.
This is an interview with Alice Cooper by a local news station upon the news of Glen Campbell's passing. The audio is not great, but the interview is great. Alice Cooper and Glen Campbell were apparently close friends and played golf about once or twice a week in Arizona. That interview is 11 minutes and change.
If you're in the mood for interviews, this is an interview that Glen Campbell did with Craig Kilborn in 2000, when Mr. Kilborn was hosting The Late Late Show. The first 8 and a half minutes consists of the two talking about the guitar and Campbell's versitility, and some of the albums he worked on and the groups he played with. The last 4 or 5 minutes is "Wichita Lineman," though it is not the best version of that song.
Damn he's good. I have always thought of him as a country crooner. I'll have to take a deeper look.
ReplyDeleten
Most of his work (under his own name anyway) was country. He was from Arkansas after all.
DeleteBut he made a living as a studio musician for quite a long time.
I fell down that rabbit hole last weekend after stumbling over an interview with The Wrecking Crew. They were the unbelievably talented studio musicians that recorded many of the popular albums of the 60's and 70's. (The Alabama version was the Swampers, at Muscle Shoals, AL). I highly recommend the documentaries 'The Wrecking Crew!' and 'Muscle Shoals'.
ReplyDeleteThe Crew once placed the sheet music for the lead guitarist upside down. He continued playing, reading the music. Glenn joked "I can hardly read a comic book, and he's reading this music!"
For virtuosity, watch Glen's live performance of the William Tell Overture, backed by an orchestra (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUBhE00h9U0).