MissouriPicker Posted March 26, 2013 Share Posted March 26, 2013 From all I've been able to find, Glen Campbell is not performing anymore. Hasn't since last July-early August. In January of this year, one of his kids said he had a lot of health issues and he won't be performing in public again. Anyway, here's a video of the title cut of his final CD. Bittersweet, interesting, and he does play a Gibson. On the second video (amatuer), he's making a few mistakes and you can see how the band is watching him in-case he needs some help. Kind of a sweet vignette of life as his kids and band members are watching-out for him. There's a lot of amateur video of his "goodbye tour" on YouTube and you can see how sharp he was at the start, but several months later he was having some difficulties. In some of them he's performing alone. Pretty awesome for a guy in the war he's in. Somber views of a legendary performer. Yet, these are some of the things that make him who he is. Truly sad, yet inspirational, enjoyable and rewarding. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smurfbird Posted March 26, 2013 Share Posted March 26, 2013 Glen has Alzheimer's and finished one final album and a farewell tour. Terrible ending for a great, talented man. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blindboygrunt Posted March 26, 2013 Share Posted March 26, 2013 i admire him for taking the last stand and touring before the end , wichita lineman is one of the greatest songs ever . rhinestone cowboy not so sure . hope he's stopped hitting women too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jedzep Posted March 26, 2013 Share Posted March 26, 2013 Yeah...takes courage to stand out there and fight off a brain gone awry for as long as you can. I thought, many years ago, that he was just a cowboy chord strummer with a good singing voice and a knack for writing catchy tunes. Somewhere along the way, probably on his old variety show (70's?), I saw him trade blues licks with George Benson, and got schooled on what a great and versatile picker he was. Maybe someone here with better internet service can find a vid of that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daveg Posted March 26, 2013 Share Posted March 26, 2013 He appeared on TV over here toward the end of last year and talked openly about his problem and how he was coping with it. Things seem to have moved on now. It's a pity!! A recent documentary on him was very informative and pulled no punches. Jimmy Webb appeared to be hanging in there with him. A great musician!! DG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Versatile Posted March 26, 2013 Share Posted March 26, 2013 Thankyou for a timely post... Glen has indeed touched many hearts with his fine vocals and guitar playing over many decades... Glen and humble moi go back several decades to when I purchased an Ovation 'Glen Campbell' for acoustic work... And as mentioned, Glen was up there with Chet Atkins as a versatile player, session man etc whenever a top musician was needed... We wish him all the best... V Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
passthej45 Posted March 26, 2013 Share Posted March 26, 2013 Check out the book, " The Wtecking Crew " , a must read ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidblast Posted March 26, 2013 Share Posted March 26, 2013 A true legend.. check out this interview My dad had Alzheimers -- it's a horrendous disease. devastates the family who usually try to be the care givers as long as they can, while the one who has it slowly slips into the fog, and after a while has no idea anything is wrong. I feel their pain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j45nick Posted March 26, 2013 Share Posted March 26, 2013 i admire him for taking the last stand and touring before the end , wichita lineman is one of the greatest songs ever . rhinestone cowboy not so sure . hope he's stopped hitting women too I admire Glen Campbell, too, but remember that many of the great songs we associate with him, such as Wichita Lineman, were written by Jimmy Webb, one of the most versatile popular songwriters of today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombywoof Posted March 26, 2013 Share Posted March 26, 2013 I gather Glenn's daughter went out on that last tour to keep an eye on him. I am guessing that last tour was like the last time I saw James Cotton. He really could not do much anymore but it was just a privilege to be in the same room with him. For me Glenn though was one of those guys who I thought was amazingly talented but had alot of lousy material. One of the things I respected the heck out of him for was bringing John Hartford to the public eye. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigKahune Posted March 26, 2013 Share Posted March 26, 2013 . Some time ago I saw the interview Kidblast posted. Glen was still functioning well, but you could see the heartbreaking effects of Alzheimer's taking effect. A very sad situation. It puts me in mind of Dudley Moore, whose keyboard talents I admired. He died from a terminal degenerative brain disease. Unfortunately the beginning stage of the disease causes symptoms that resemble intoxication. Before he was diagnosed, he had been accused of being drunk at times. Sorry to digress a bit. These types of wasting illness are always so sad. I've always enjoyed Glen's talents. I hope his final days go well. . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fortyearspickn Posted March 26, 2013 Share Posted March 26, 2013 He produced/played solo two albums back in the mid 60s. "Twelve String Guitar!" Volume 1 and 2. They were unbelievable. Mostly classic folk songs like "Cotton Fields" and "Wabash Cannonball". They provided the inspiration I needed and went back to many times when I was hitting the wall with my early attempts on my first guitar - the 6 string Sears Stella that is as much a cliche as is Rhinestone Cowboy. Many performers/artists (RandyTravis comes to mind) have melt downs at the end of their careers. Some occur early in their careers. The list is sadly long and often fatal. Janis Joplin, Graham Parsons, Townes Van Zandt. Some hold it together - the stress of keeping an artistic temperament from boiling over with the demands of always being 100% in the zone to perform. But, some melt down in their sunset years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombywoof Posted March 26, 2013 Share Posted March 26, 2013 He produced/played solo two albums back in the mid 60s. "Twelve String Guitar!" Volume 1 and 2. Yeah, I bought those and still have them. I just dug them up last weekend to burn them to a CD. Glenn did not produce them though - that was the legendary Jim Dickson. I also have "The Anthology of the 12 String Guitar" on which Glenn appears. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidblast Posted March 26, 2013 Share Posted March 26, 2013 about Glenn's kids -- you're right, they do keep an eye on him. I read somewhere that one of the kids maintains close proximity to Glenn,, when they see he's getting in the weeds, they'd just go over and whisper the chord changes or words in his ear so he'd remember. It allowed him to perform beyond the stage he would have normally been comfortable with. I think at the end of the day we have our icons and our heros and they seem timeless, and impervious to things that us mere mortals deal with. It sort of brings ya back down to earth when we realize, well.. they really are just like us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j45nick Posted March 26, 2013 Share Posted March 26, 2013 I think at the end of the day we have our icons and our heros and they seem timeless, and impervious to things that us mere mortals deal with. It sort of brings ya back down to earth when we realize, well.. they really are just like us. Except they are generally a lot more talented than most of us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MissouriPicker Posted March 26, 2013 Author Share Posted March 26, 2013 hope he's stopped hitting women too I suspect he stopped beating women when he quit the cocaine and alcohol, decades ago, blindboygrunt. BTW, Alzheimer's patients can also become very violent. ....... Campbell has publicly addressed numerous times his cocaine and alcohol addictions and cruel things he did to people who loved him. There's ample reading material explaining in detail what Campbell and Tanya Tucker did to each other in their cocaine brawls. Beyond that, the man is dying, so why take shots at someone who has publicly and sincerely acknowledged his flaws? He's already changed and slamming him is not going to make the change anymore complete. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrazyHeart Posted March 26, 2013 Share Posted March 26, 2013 Saw him perform not that long ago. If I didn't know the back story of his health and tour I never would know he had any issue while he was performing. Now you kind of look for things. It was a great show seeing a legend and his kids are very talented too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidblast Posted March 26, 2013 Share Posted March 26, 2013 Except they are generally a lot more talented than most of us. or luckier!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blindboygrunt Posted March 26, 2013 Share Posted March 26, 2013 I suspect he stopped beating women when he quit the cocaine and alcohol, decades ago, blindboygrunt. BTW, Alzheimer's patients can also become very violent. ....... Campbell has publicly addressed numerous times his cocaine and alcohol addictions and cruel things he did to people who loved him. There's ample reading material explaining in detail what Campbell and Tanya Tucker did to each other in their cocaine brawls. Beyond that, the man is dying, so why take shots at someone who has publicly and sincerely acknowledged his flaws? He's already changed and slamming him is not going to make the change anymore complete. i've typed n deleted n typed n deleted , lets just not bother . you think what you like and i'll think what i like Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j45nick Posted March 26, 2013 Share Posted March 26, 2013 Oddly, a lot of these diseases that include major cognitive degeneration, such as Alzheimers and Huntingtons (Woody Guthrie), are also characterized by physical acting-out and violence. I'm trying hard not to judge anyone without having a better understanding of his/her specific situation. This was a topic that was treated with great sensitivity in the "Woody Sez" performance I saw a couple of weeks ago. My father didn't get really violent towards others when he developed dementia, but he definitely acted out in a lot of ways that were uncharacteristic of the rest of his life. The brain is a pretty frightening organ at times, and awareness of its deterioration may have different external manifestations. People may be aware of their loss of mental capcity, and get angry at their increasing inability to function in a normal manner. You often wonder how things like behavior under the influence of alcohol and drugs mimics the effects of degenerative brain disorders. In any case, I wish Glenn Campbell and his family as much peace and comfort as they can find, wherever they find it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ParlourMan Posted March 27, 2013 Share Posted March 27, 2013 I suspect he stopped beating women when he quit the cocaine and alcohol, decades ago, blindboygrunt. BTW, Alzheimer's patients can also become very violent. ....... Campbell has publicly addressed numerous times his cocaine and alcohol addictions and cruel things he did to people who loved him. There's ample reading material explaining in detail what Campbell and Tanya Tucker did to each other in their cocaine brawls. Beyond that, the man is dying, so why take shots at someone who has publicly and sincerely acknowledged his flaws? He's already changed and slamming him is not going to make the change anymore complete. On the other hand plenty people are alkies & junkies and don't beat on women... arguably the great uninhibiters only bring out the real animal inside, they don't create the animal. Just because someone is on the road out doesn't mean such chronic flaws should suddenly be overlooked or excused. Beating up women makes you a complete failure of a man regardless of how intoxicated you are / are not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RSJumbo Posted March 27, 2013 Share Posted March 27, 2013 Who has been ordained to bestow the label C.G.P. since Chet is gone? I think Glen is deserving. What does everyone else think? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blindboygrunt Posted March 27, 2013 Share Posted March 27, 2013 Who has been ordained to bestow the label C.G.P. since Chet is gone? I think Glen is deserving. What does everyone else think? whats it stand for ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L5Larry Posted March 27, 2013 Share Posted March 27, 2013 CGP - "Certified Guitar Player". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
struma6 Posted March 27, 2013 Share Posted March 27, 2013 Glenn was an early hero of mine. I LOVED tuning in to his TV show. A lot of schlock in it but then the music happened. Watching him and John Hartford pick together was as good as it gets for a kid like me. He recorded a LOT of material, some his, some written by others, some great stuff and some canned record company stuff. Regardless, he is an icon, to me. He had an affect on my life and was part of the rudder that guided my musical cruise. He had demons and they came close to destroying him but he climbed up and bested them. Holding that against him is petty. It was a bad time and he has made sufficient amends by all accounts. A Better Place is an amazing song, even more so in context. My heart goes out to Glenn and his family and friends. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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