Episode 34: Glen Campbell
Most of the time, when I get an interview, my mother’s response is usually something along the lines of, “You did a good job, but I have no idea who this person is.” But when I told her I was getting Glen Campbell on the show, well, she just about hit the ceiling.
I only had 15 minutes with him (he had a pressing tee time), so it’s a shorter show than usual. I could have padded it out by using all 18:36 of Isaac Hayes’ version of By The Time I Get To Phoenix, but that would have been gratuitous.
MUSIC:
Rhinestone Cowboy, Gentle On My Mind, By The Time I Get To Phoenix, Southern Nights, Galveston, and Wichita Lineman from Glen Campbell: 20 Greatest Hits
Cryin’ Time from the Glen Campbell Good Times Again DVD
That’s Not Me and Sloop John B from Pet Sounds by The Beach Boys
As always, you can download the episode (25:00, 22.9 MB) by right-clicking here and selecting “Save Target As…” or by subscribing using the buttons on the right.
Great interview Dave. I pestered my Mom for some of her Glen Campbell CD’s and she’s bringing them up from SC in a couple weeks. I forgot how great he is. It was nice hearing these songs again in the interview.
Me and Ms LB loved this episode — she’s got that 12 string Martin so she loves any 12 string player. these songs come from a very fertile musical period when we were in high school and college. Thanks Dave — keep up the good work
Great show Dave – I know you could have done another 30 minutes with Glen just on his studio days alone. A while back I saw him on the CMT Top 100 song show. “Galveston” was somewhere in the Top 10 and he just blew the roof off that dump with his solo – probably about double time of the hit single version.
Thanks, guys.
Bill and LB – I think there’s a lot of great AM pop from that era that’s been lost in the shuffle. Classic rock radio has defined the music of the late-60s, early-70s as all about revolution. But there was also music that was a reaction to that, as well, and no less defining of the era, which is why I asked that question. As much as it was the era of All In The Family, it was also the era of Happy Days.
Thankfully, ever since the mid-90s, when Jimmy Webb (and fellow melodic genius Burt Bacharach) developed a hipster cache, there’s been a re-evaluation of Campbell’s career, because he’s so closely associated with him.
Kevin – There are some really good solos on this DVD. When you come down here next month I’ll lend it to you.
Excellent interview. I had forgotten how much I listened to those songs while growing up.