They supplied the first four songs on Rhinestone Cowboy, all crafted with AM-ready hooks but enough lyrical content for Campbell to prove his (all-too-underrated) mettle as a top-drawer vocal interpreter. Lambert and Potter, comfortable in a variety of genres from pure pop to R&B and blue-eyed soul, proved themselves the ideal producers to restore Campbell to “crossover’ success on both the pop and country charts.
What’s most invigorating about revisiting Rhinestone Cowboy is the discovery that, as produced by Brian Lambert and Dennis Potter (The Grass Roots, The Four Tops), it coheres as a semi-autobiographical song suite by a musician and vocalist at the peak of his considerable powers. Capitol Nashville has just remastered and expanded Rhinestone Cowboy for a compelling anniversary reissue.Ĭampbell, like so many others of his era, was never considered an “albums” artist his classic interpretations of John Hartford’s “Gentle on My Mind” and Jimmy Webb’s “By the Time I Get to Phoenix,” “Wichita Lineman” and “Galveston” all yielded albums of the same names, but the songs are remembered far more than the eclectic LPs. It was a validation for him, as he felt that Larry Weiss’ song – said to have been turned down by Elvis Presley, among others - spoke to him on a deeply personal level. Forty years ago, in 1975, Campbell scored one of his most delicious victories when the title track of his Rhinestone Cowboy album reached No. 1 Country albums in the United States alone. It’s a small but important reward for Campbell considering the joy he’s brought to so many over the years, via 21 Top 40 hits, 27 Country Top 10 singles, six Top 20 albums, and nine No.
Though the disease has reportedly robbed Campbell of his ability to communicate verbally, it’s understood that he still finds solace and comfort in the music of his guitar. The past years haven’t been easy for the artist his ongoing battle with Alzheimer’s was boldly chronicled in the acclaimed 2014 documentary I’ll Be Me for which he earned an Academy Award nomination. On April 22, Glen Campbell will turn 79 years old.
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