Glen Campbell Finds Songs that Fit

Glen Campbell

Aug. 19, 2008 — Glen Campbell made a huge career out of picking the right songs to sing, including "Wichita Lineman," "Gentle On My Mind," "Galveston" and "Rhinestone Cowboy." On his album Meet Glen Campbell, out today, he’s covered a wide range of artists, from John Lennon and U2 to the Foo Fighters and the Velvet Underground.

It’s an odd mix of songs, to be sure, though Glen at least agreed with his producer, Julian Raymond, on the material they should record. Had he not liked the songs Julian brought to him, he might well have walked away from the project, just as he walked away from Capitol Records in the 1970s over disagreements on what he should record. He cut "Highwayman" at that time and asked that it be a single. Capitol passed on the song — which became a No. 1 hit for Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash and Kris Kristofferson. They had other titles in mind.

"They wanted me to sing stuff like 'My Sharona,'" he told The New York Daily News. "I used a four-letter word and told them where they could go."

Meet Glen Campbell mixes his lush 1960s recording style with more contemporary sounds, in great part because of the musicians that play on the album and the artists he chose to cover, such as Tom Petty, Green Day and the Scottish band Travis.

Glen, who joined the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2005, has spent more time playing golf than playing music in recent years, and he makes overtures frequently toward retiring. But Julian only asked him to record one song a day in the process of making the album, and the experience was pleasant enough that there could be more in the works.

"Julian made this album so easy," Glen said. "If he wants to do another one, I just might."