Some artists give voice to songs that become timeless, songs so big that they overshadow their entire careers. Glen Campbell who died today at the age of 81 was one such artist.

 And his recordings like the “Wichita Lineman” and “By The time I get to Phoenix” are near perfect pop gems that will be remembered a century from now.

No Glen Campbell wasn’t cool. In the early sixties with the emergence of Beatles and The Stones he was too country to be cool, but he had an indelible and quietly haunting voice…and he had those incredible songs.

And like the Beatles and the Stones he was a much a part of the early 60’s America and the Vietnam generation as any artist at that time.

Much like Elvis his shadow dimmed over the years and commercial hits like “Rhinestone Cowboy” didn’t help.

His later years we’re marked by multiple marriages and battles with alcoholism and cocaine addiction – and his voice became a ravaged memory.

In 2011, Campbell announced that he had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and he embarked on a short goodbye tour… He also released his farewell album at that time, Ghost on the Canvas where he was joined by guests like Smashing Pumpkin’s Billy Corgan, Paul Westerberg and Jakob Dylan, fellow artists who acknowledged Campbell’s influence on their later work.

Yes. Glen Campbell wasn’t cool… but his recordings like Wichita Lineman are right there with The Beatles best work, songs that touched not just one generation, but many… songs that will outlive us all.

Glenn Campbell (1936-2017)

Glen Campbell Image credit: Capital Records