Glen Campbell’s Greatest Hits was one of the first albums I can remember listening to. My mum used to have a record player and I used to spend many a night listening to her LPs, but this was one of my favorites.
And, like many people, Wichita Lineman is one of my all-time favorite tracks.
I was lucky enough to see Glen Campbell on his Goodbye Tour at the Royal Concert Hall in Nottingham on October 26, 2011. I have to admit I’d never been so apprehensive going to a concert. I’d read and heard so much about his deteriorating health condition and his battle against Alzheimer’s disease that I wondered whether he would disappoint or not.
I shouldn’t have worried, the concert was excellent, the highlight was seeing him perform a faultless Wichita Lineman.
Three years later, my wife Tara & I managed to get tickets for a special screening of the Glen Campbell – I’ll Be Me documentary which followed his farewell tour after his diagnosis with Alzheimer’s disease.
We also went to see Jimmy Webb at the 20th Century Theater in Cincinnati on February 24, 2016, where he performed a setlist of songs he had written throughout his career, including a number of Glen Campbell classics.
During the concert he mentioned that he was a big fan of the film star, Ava Gardner, which was of great interest to Tara, as she thinks she may be related to Ava Gardner.
So after the concert we hung around in the foyer and were lucky enough to meet Jimmy Webb. Tara mentioned the Ava Gardner link and Jimmy thought he saw a facial resemblance, which made her night!
To cap off a perfect evening, Jimmy signed one of our wedding invitations, on which we had used the classic line from Wichita Lineman:
“And I need you more than want you and I want you for all time“
I can’t lay my hands on the invitation at the moment, as it’s in one of the many boxes we still have to unpack!
On the turntable tonight – Glen Campbell’s Greatest Hits
And here’s a photo I took on our travels last year that had Lineman of the County vibes
