Glenn Campbell, 75 years of age, announced yesterday he is suffering from Alzheimer’s disease and will do one last tour to promote his final studio album, “Ghost on the Canvas,” appropriately and sadly titled considering the nature of the disease. 

I don’t claim to be a country music fan, but Glen Campbell is one of that genre I have always loved.  My dad introduced me to his music with a greatest hits album and I got to hear “Wichita Lineman” and “Galveston” often as a child. To this day, both songs have a haunting, lyrical quality, that matched with Campbell’s mellow vocal tones and rich orchestrations, make them songs that are high on my favorite list. Like the best of country music, they tell stories that can make your cry, in part because both are written by legendary songwriter, Jimmy Webb.  Cambell’s other two chart toppers, “By the Time I Get to Phoenix” (also penned by Webb) and “Rhinestone Cowboy” might be what he is best remembered for among his impressive 81 songs on the charts… still it’s “Wichita Lineman” that is ranked 195 on Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Songs of All Time list. 

A deft guitarist, Campbell started out in the business as a session musician and before launching out with a solo career, He had a stint singing with The Beach Boys on tour replacing Brian Wilson after Wilson’s nervous breakdown in 1964, and played guitar on the bands game changing “Pet Sounds” album (ranked #2 in Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list).

Campbell’s first big hit was “By the Time I Get to Phoenix”. After “Wichita Lineman” reached #3 on the U.S. pop chart in 1968, Campbell was hand-picked by John Wayne to star opposite him in the movie “True Grit”.

About the upcoming tour and why it will happen sooner rather than later -  ”Glen is still an awesome guitar player and singer,” the musician’s wife, Kim Campbell, told People magazine. “But if he flubs a lyric or gets confused onstage, I wouldn’t want people to think, ‘What’s the matter with him? Is he drunk?’”

“I still love making music,” adds Campbell, ”and I still love performing for my fans. I’d like to thank them for sticking with me through thick and thin.”

According to startribune.com, ”Campbell’s new record…was already shaping up to be his version of Johnny Cash’s ‘American Recordings,’ with a hot-shot producer (Julian Raymond) and a lineup of younger, hip songwriters, also including Guided by Voices’ Robert Pollard, Jakob Dylan and Teddy Thompson (Richard’s son)…Brian Setzer, is among the equally impressive list of guitarists enlisted for the recordings, also including Billy Corgan, Dick Dale, Rick Nielsen and Chris Isaak. The album is due out Aug. 30.”

If you’ve never heard either ”Wichita Lineman” or “Galveston” check them out: