Music

‘God showed me just what I didn't need’: Glen Campbell in facts

He had his first child at 17, covered U2 and Green Day songs, and played golf in cowboy boots

Singers Glen Campbell, left, and Tanya Tucker at the 1979 Grammy Awards. Campbell has died after suffering with Alzheimer’s disease. Photograph: AP Photo

Wed Aug 9 2017 - 09:31

Veteran country music singer Glen Campbell died on Tuesday at the age of 81 after battling Alzheimer's Disease for several years.

Campbell, one of the biggest stars of American country and pop music in the late 1960s and 1970s, had hits such as Rhinestone Cowboy and Witchita Lineman.

>> He was the seventh of 12 children born to sharecroppers in tiny Delight, Arkansas. He learned guitar as a boy and played in his uncle’s band as a teenager.

>> Before stardom, Campbell was part of the “Wrecking Crew,” a collection of highly regarded Los Angeles studio musicians that also included guitarists Barney Kessel and James Burton, and pianists Leon Russell and Mac “Dr John” Rebennack. Among the hit songs Campbell played on were Elvis Presley’s Viva Las Vegas and the Monkees’ Daydream Believer and Last Train to Clarksville.

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>> Campbell considered Rhinestone Cowboy his best song. His version of the song about a struggling musician, written and first recorded by the relatively unknown Larry Weiss, was No 1 on the country, pop and adult contemporary charts in 1975.

U.S. country singer Glen Campbell died on August 8th at the age of 81. The singer, famous for hits like 'Rhinestone Cowboy' and 'Wichita Lineman,' had been suffering from Alzheimer's Disease for several years. Video: PBS/E!/Vevo

>> Campbell had a wild drug-and-alcohol-fueled romance with country singer Tanya Tucker, who was 22 years younger than he, that was regularly covered by the tabloids. When it started in 1979-1980, she called Campbell "the horniest man I ever met" and Campbell said, "I gave God a prayer and he gave me Tanya." After the relationship ended, Campbell reversed himself and told People magazine, "God showed me just what I didn't need."

>> Campbell took up golf in his mid-20s and it became a passion for him. He was host of the Glen Campbell Open on the PGA Tour from 1971 to 1983 and for a while had a daily tee time scheduled at the Malibu Country Club. Sometimes he wore cleated cowboy boots rather than standard golf shoes.

>> In his later years, Campbell crossed genres and age barriers. His 2008 album, Meet Glen Campbell, featured songs from rock bands U2, the Velvet Underground, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Green Day and Foo Fighters.

>> After announcing that he had Alzheimer’s disease in 2011, Campbell recorded an album, Ghost on the Canvas, and went on a farewell tour of the United States. Performing with a band that featured three of his children, Campbell sometimes had problems remembering lyrics but his shows were generally well received. A film company made a documentary about the tour and Campbell’s struggle with the disease.

>> Campbell was married four times, starting at age 17 with his pregnant 15-year-old girlfriend. He had eight children.

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Glen CampbellTanya Tucker