By Paul Freeman [June 2012 Interview]

Eighteen months ago, Glen Campbell was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. But it’s clear from the outpouring of love that he’s receiving on his final tour, Campbell’s music will never be forgotten.

He’s handling the difficult path with humor, as well as grace and courage. Campbell has quipped that there are plenty of things he’d rather forget anyway.

If Campbell, 76, falters momentarily on stage, forgetting a lyric snippet, their three children, now part of his band, smoothly ease him back on track. Cal, 28, plays drums, Shannon, 27, guitar, and daughter Ashley, 25, keyboards and banjo.

Campbell enjoyed playing guitar from early childhood in Delight, Arkansas. When he moved to Los Angeles, Campbell became a top session musician as part of the legendary Wrecking Crew.

As an in-demand studio guitarist, Campbell played on hits by such greats as Elvis, Frank Sinatra, Ray Charles, Ricky Nelson, Jan & Dean, Nat King Cole, Merle Haggard, The Monkees and Bobby Darin.

Campbell was on many of producer Phil Spector’s recording dates, including “He’s A Rebel,” “Be My Baby” and “You’ve Lost That Lovin Feeling.”

In addition to playing on Beach Boys albums like “Pet Sounds,” Campbell toured as a group member, in 1964 and 1965, thumping bass and singing falsetto, when Brian Wilson tired of the road.

Eventually, Campbell began racking up his own hits. Jimmy Webb’s “By The Time I Get to Phoenix” established him as a superstar vocalist.

Campbell also had smashes with Webb’s “Galveston” and “Wichita Lineman,” as well as John Hartford’s “Gentle On My Mind,” Larry Weiss’ “Rhinestone Cowboy” and Allen Toussaint’s “Southern Nights.”

Campbell could gets laughs, as well, as star of a summer replacement series for The Smothers Brothers, which led to his own “Goodtime Hour” hit CBS variety series.

John Wayne chose him as his co-star in “True Grit.” And Campbell turned the theme song into a chart success.

He recently received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement honor. “Ghost on the Canvas,” his 61st and final studio album, ranks among his finest works. Campbell co-wrote several of the poignant songs with producer Julian Raymond and interprets compositions penned by Paul Westerberg, Jakob Dylan and Guided By Voices’ Robert Pollard. Guests include Dick Dale, Chris Isaak, Brian Setzer, Rick Nielsen, The Dandy Warhols, Billy Corgan and Jellyfish’s Jason Falkner and Roger Manning Jr.

Campbell spoke with Pop Culture Classics by phone from his Malibu home. His devoted wife of 30 years, Kim, is always close by. In fact, he frequently turns to her during the interview, to help him grab onto faded memories.

POP CULTURE CLASSICS:
It must be wonderful, every stop on your tour, seeing such an outpouring of love and appreciation.

GLEN CAMPBELL:
Yes, it is. I guess they knew me more for television. You know, we had ‘The Goodtime Hour.’ And everybody just kind of comes out. It’s wonderful. They’re wonderful people. I can tell you that.

PCC:
‘Ghosts on the Canvas,’ it’s got to be very satisfying to have created one of your finest albums at this stage in your career.

CAMPBELL:
Oh, yeah. It is. My wife even likes it. [Chuckles]

PCC:
It must be wonderful to have your family on tour with you, to have the three children in your band.

CAMPBELL:
Yes, that is really something, isn’t it? We have this touring bus set up by a guy in Nashville. And it’s fun.

PCC:
Is it just hereditary, their musical gifts?

CAMPBELL:
Oh, yeah. Well, I started them, when they couldn’t even walk. They’d be settin’ around, banging on something and laughing and looking up at me. When Cal was playing drums, he would look at me and go, ding-ding-ding-ding-ding. And then he’d smile real big. He was the cutest kid. But they all liked playing and singing.

PCC:
Do you feel that it’s important to make music a part of any kid’s life, even if they aren’t going to go on to make music their careers?

CAMPBELL:
Oh, yes. I would. It’s just wonderful, especially where we’re at here, in the world these days. I very much egged them all on to play and play and play. And they did. And they really enjoyed it.

PCC:
And once they decided that they were going to go into it professionally, did you have advice for them?

CAMPBELL:
Yeah. Practice.

PCC:
And the life on the road, is that something you’d like to see them follow?

CAMPBELL:
I’ve just seen so many different places. And they’re all wonderful. And so different. It’s amazing. I kind of enjoy that. My wife enjoys traveling.

PCC:
And she travels with you now. It must be great to have that kind of support team with you.

CAMPBELL:
Oh, yeah. It is. We’ve got the kids with us. [to his wife] How many we got? Three! [Laughs] I like to kid her. Yeah, they’re with us all the time.

PCC:
And you’ve been married 30 years now...

CAMPBELL:
Thirty years. Wow! Seems like a lifetime.

PCC:
How much of an impact did Kim have on changing your life for the better?

CAMPBELL:
Oh, she was awesome. I met her Dad and he was a wonderful guy. I talked to him a lot. Kim asked her Dad if I was too old. He said, ‘No, no, no, honey. He’s perfect.’ And it is. It’s perfect. He’s really a nice guy.

PCC:
You had a chance to perform at a congressional event recently. Is it important to you to raise awareness about the need for Alzheimer’s research?

CAMPBELL:
I would think so, yes. I think it is important for us. They don’t have any cure for it. I’ll just get my own then.

PCC:
How did you come to terms with the diagnosis and continue with positive life?

CAMPBELL:
God, he don’t handle this a week at a time. He gets it a day at a time. I just go for a day at a time... ain’t nothin’ you can do about it [laughs].

PCC:
So you just enjoy the moment?

CAMPBELL:
Yeah. Exactly. That is correct.

PCC:
Do you have to deal with a lot of the illness’ effects on the road, on stage? Is that taken care of by having the family there for you?

CAMPBELL:
Oh, yeah. It don’t bother me.

PCC:
You’ve been able to maintain a sense of humor throughout it all. It must be a help to be able to have a sense of humor through troubled times.

CAMPBELL:
Yeah, it is. But my wife and I, we just go where we go and take the kids with us and do songs. And it’s fun.

PCC:
The music itself must be therapeutic.

CAMPBELL:
Uh-huh. It is. It really is. We sit on the tour bus and we play. Have you always found that music is healing?

Yeah, it is. It makes you not look at yourself so much. When we’re singing and playing, the kids are with us, I don’t think anything about it. I just don’t think about it.

PCC:
Did you always know that music was going to be your path in life?

CAMPBELL:
Yes, it’s when I could get out of them cotton fields [Laughs]. We didn’t have electricity. We had to watch TV by candlelight. [Chuckles]

PCC:
When you got your first Sears three-quarter sized guitar, did that seem like you had found your calling?

CAMPBELL:
Yeah. Dad bought me one. I could play guitar at a very early age. It beat the hell out of cotton pickin’ [Laughs]

PCC:
When you were growing up, who were the players who most impressed you?

CAMPBELL:
Django Reinhardt. The Hot Club of France. Best guitar player ever in the world, I think.

PCC:
Getting into the group The Champs, was that an important early step for you?

CAMPBELL:
Yeah, ‘Tequila.’ We made some rounds, got up to New York. I come back, as early as I could [Laughs].

PCC:
The Wrecking Crew, working with all those amazing musicians was that another education in itself?

CAMPBELL:
It really was. I’d put a capo on and it’d drive them nuts [Laughs]. My Dad showed me how to use the capo. And that would drive those guys nuts. And that’s really where I got my start, doing the studio work. I could put a capo on there and play an E-flat and it would sound open and ringing and that’s what they wanted. I did all the Righteous Brothers stuff, like [sings] ‘You never close your eyes anymore...’ I got a lot of playing out of that kind of sound. It was wonderful.

PCC:
When you’re dealing with all those top-notch people like Steve Douglas and Hal Blaine and Carol Kaye, does that raise the level of your game?

CAMPBELL:
Yes, it did. And the one that I enjoyed most was, I got to play on all the sessions of Ray Charles, for his ‘Sings Country’ album. That was an incredible experience. He was wonderful. And probably one of the best musicians I’ve ever heard. And he was blind.

PCC:
What about working with Phil Spector? He could be very demanding.

CAMPBELL:
Yes, he was. He knew how to get things done. That’s about the only way I can put it. He knew where to go, musically. He was a big, big, big help.

PCC:
The satisfaction of being one of the top session musicians, was that enough at the time? Or did you always want to make your mark as a solo artist?

CAMPBELL:
Oh, no, because I could make more money playing the sessions [chuckles], because nobody was hiring Glen Campbell at that time, except as a studio musician. It was great. I really enjoyed that period of time, because I got to play on all the stuff, all The Beach Boys, all the best singers. I got to play with the best guys. It was just wonderful. I got really good lessons out of that.

PCC:
Working with Elvis, was that intimidating?

CAMPBELL:
Oh, no. I really liked him. We became good friends. He was just awesome.

PCC:
And Sinatra?

CAMPBELL:
Oh, yeah, Frank. I called him ‘Not-so-hotra.’ Just to kid him [Laughs]. He was fine. He respected the musicians, because he didn’t play an instrument. He really looked up to the musicians. If they leave him, he ain’t got nobody to play it.

PCC:
And Rick Nelson, you worked him quite a bit.

CAMPBELL:
He was really, really, really wonderful. [sings] ‘Hello Mary Lou, goodbye heart.’ A lot of things. That brings back a lot of memories.

PCC:
You played on some of the same sessions as James Burton?

CAMPBELL:
Oh, yeah. He was wonderful, a truly great player.

PCC:
When you hear some of these classic licks you created, like on ‘Strangers in the Night’ or ‘I’m A Believer,’ it must be a great feeling.

CAMPBELL:
[Laughs] Yeah, well it is. But I didn’t know it at the time, especially if I was doing what we called ‘take-offs,’ in other words, not reading charts or anything, just playing like you feel. That’s another reason I got work, because I could do those take-offs. Some of those, you couldn’t write them down, literally. Well, you could, but it would sure be hard to play. [chuckles]. I really liked to play that free-form stuff.

Basically, I played more rhythm than anything [laughs], because I was the only one who knew how to use that capo. And I could put an E-flat in C-position, you know what I mean? You had to get that clamp down to get that open, ringing sound. That got me more work than any other thing. I could play an open, ringing chord in any key.

If a kid wants to play, I’d tell them, ‘Go and get the capo and learn to play all the way up the neck with all the chords. And you can play it in any key and in any position.

PCC:
In addition to playing on their sessions, you actually toured as one of The Beach Boys, when Brian Wilson left the road. Was that an adventure for you?

CAMPBELL:
Yeah, it really was. I really enjoyed that. A lot of fun. A lot of silly things. We got in that old bus we were touring in and it was a lot of fun for me, because I was a session player. Going out on the road was a lot of fun.

PCC:
‘By The Time I Get To Phoenix,’ when you heard that, did you realize it was the song you’d been waiting for?

CAMPBELL:
Yeah, a song like that, yeah.

PCC:
Did you know it was going to hit for you?

CAMPBELL:
No, I just really liked it. I’d sing, ‘By the time, I get to Phoenix, she’ll be rising,’ and it was like going home and people could relate that to any city or county or whatever. By the time I get to... wherever they were going. ‘When I make Albuquerque...’ People relating to that, I think that’s probably why that was such a big hit.

PCC:
And then did you approach Jimmy for more songs?

CAMPBELL:
Yeah, I just told him, ‘I want some more songs.’ I spent time with Jimmy and, boy, he’s just a great writer.

PCC:
What is the special magic of Jimmy Webb, as a songwriter?

CAMPBELL:
He can put two and nine together [Laughs]. He’s just wonderful at it. He read. He was just wonderful.

PCC:
And The Smothers Brothers, that was a great opportunity, hosting a summer replacement variety show for them.

CAMPBELL:
Yes, television, the timing on that was just wonderful. It couldn’t have got any better. It seemed like everything just fell into place. We were just something that they were looking for. I was very blessed with that.

PCC:
Had The Smothers Brothers been fans of yours for a while?

CAMPBELL:
Yeah. They were wonderful. I went out and did a live album with them. That’s what really got it started good for me. Well, for them, too, I guess. It was a huge hit for them. It was just off the cuff.

PCC:
TV, did that come naturally to you? Was that a matter of being yourself and having fun?

CAMPBELL:
Yeah, you can’t be afraid of anything, really. And I really got that when I started playing with The Wrecking Crew. We didn’t have an audience. And we kidded each other all the time. And we laughed a lot. It was just really wonderful. It was just great to come into a session and play with guys who would just play their brains out. [Chuckles] And they could read backwards, forwards.

[Laughs] Once they put the chart on there upside down and they started off with Tommy Tedesco and he started playing it backwards. They said, ‘What are you doing?’ He said, ‘Well, I thought you wanted it played like that.’ [Laughs]

PCC:
Going into movies, it must have been a thrill to work with John Wayne.

CAMPBELL:
Oh, boy, was it ever. John Wayne was my idol, from when I was a kid. He was just flat incredible. Good guy. Great guy.

PCC:
Since that was your first film, did he guide you through the process?

CAMPBELL:
Oh, yeah, he really helped me a lot. I wasn’t a good actor anyway. That was Glen Campbell up there on the screen.

PCC:
You became friends with Ronald Reagan over the years?

CAMPBELL:
Oh, yeah. He was a good guy.

PCC:
Were you interested in politics?

CAMPBELL:
No, I wasn’t. Ronald Reagan was just a really, really wonderful guy. He was just like he was. And for a politician...

PCC:
Looking back what have been the most rewarding aspects of your career?

CAMPBELL:
I think, meeting my wife Kim and that’s when everything wonderful started to happen. She was just awesome, just as person. It seemed like she knew what she was doing all the time. She went through college and I didn’t. But I did know about the regular, real world, which was good.

PCC:
So she helped you focus and find the right priorities?

CAMPBELL:
Yes, she did. And she still is.

PCC:
But, as far as the career, and the recording, what stands out as the most satisfying thing you’ve accomplished?

CAMPBELL:
I tried to play the best songs that I could find. I did things that I wanted to sing and wanted to play, wanted to hear. And it seemed to work. In other words, I wanted to satisfy myself.

I still like what I played. Especially playing with the sessions. And the musicians, we’d all say, ‘Well, how would you like to do this one?’ and ‘How would you like to do that one?’ That was when I was doing the studio work. Then when I got into doing the Glen Campbell records, I got more ribbin’ than anybody in the world, because I had the same musicians that I played with. And they’d say, ‘Oh, here’s the big star, you guys. We’re going to get to play with him today.’ [Laughs] They ribbed me all the time. ‘Did you learn any more songs?,’ they said. Stuff like that. ‘Any more hits? We need the work.’ The musicians would just mouth off all the time. It was funny, though.

PCC:
Finally reaching individual stardom, were you ready? Or was that difficult to adjust to, after being a session player?

CAMPBELL:
Having had that experience helped a lot. It really cleared out everything in terms of me being nervous or anything like that, ‘cause, when you play with those guys, they’re the best players in the world. After playing with them guys, I wasn’t afraid of anybody then, as far as playing goes or singing goes. I was just trying to do it the best way that I can. And one of the last things I did was the Ray Charles album. I really enjoyed doing that, boy.

PCC:
You must constantly hear, now, how much your own records have meant in people’s lives.

CAMPBELL:
Oh, that’s wonderful. ‘Oh, Mr. Campbell, blah-blah-blah’ And I say, ‘No, call me Glen.’ It was just a wonderful, wonderful place for me. I just couldn’t wait to get to the studio, because I was really learning something. And I really enjoyed it.

PCC:
Who are the current musicians who most impress you?

CAMPBELL:
Keith Urban, Brad Paisley, Vince Gill, Glen Campbell... [Laughs] They’re very good guitar players.

PCC:
Looking back on the career, any regrets?

CAMPBELL:
No, none that I know of. I just did what I did and treated people the way I wanted them to treat me. And the people were just wonderful.

PCC:
Your musical roots come from the church, don’t they?

CAMPBELL:
Yeah. My folks went to Church of Christ. They didn’t have any music, so I’d go down to the Baptist church and play. They had a guitar there. Church of Christ didn’t have any instruments. And I offered wondered about that. They didn’t have any music playing, except singing. They’d have to use a pitch pipe. I’d go the Baptist church, man, and have a good time playing my guitar. Why would they not want music instruments in the Church of Christ? I don’t understand that.

PCC:
Now you’re involved in Messianic Judaism. Do you get a lot of comfort from that?

CAMPBELL:
Yeah. I read the bible and I get what I can from that and I listen to the preachers, when we go to church. And it’s wonderful. It seems like everybody else, it’s restrict this, restrict that.

PCC:
The Grammy Life Achievement Award, to have that kind of validation from your peers, that must have been the icing on the cake.

CAMPBELL:
Yeah, I really enjoyed that. And I have to give a lot of credit to those musicians from the sessions, the best musicians, to me, in the world. I mean, if you can read backwards... [Laughs] Tommy Tedesco was awesome, man. He just started playing it backwards. And Jan Berry, he was the one in the studio, he said, ‘What are you doing?’ And he was just playing it upside-down.

PCC:
And the guitar, do still enjoy playing that at home, exploring, finding new licks?

CAMPBELL:
Oh, yeah. I’ve got a guitar, laying right there. But I usually don’t pick it up that much now. I’ll just pick up my golf clubs. I know how to play guitar. But I don’t know how to play golf.

PCC:
Do you still get as much joy out of performing?

CAMPBELL:
Oh, yeah. I do enjoy playing. And my kids, we’ve got the drummer, Cal. Ashley, my daughter, plays banjo, keyboards and guitar. Shannon plays guitar. The band is my kiddos. That way I can pay them less, fortunately. [Laughs]

But it’s so wonderful to see them doing this. I’ve been so blessed.

For tour dates and news, visit glencampbellmusic.com