"I Hear You Singing In The Wires"

Of all the songs, from all the albums, spanning six decades of Glen Campbell’s prodigious and diverse output of music, how is it that “Dreams Of The Everyday Housewife” remains my all-time favorite?

Released in 1968, it peaked at #3, so clearly, it was a popular, frequently-played song. It was also somewhat of hidden gem, insulated between “I Wanna Live,” Campbell’s first career #1, the re-release of “Gentle On My Mind,” his first signature hit, and “Wichita Lineman,” his career-making smash.

I didn’t rediscover “Dreams Of The Everyday Housewife” recently; I was introduced to it as a current – and no, I didn’t play it in radio. I heard it ON the radio, when my age was still a mere single digit. As we (gulp) established here two weeks ago, I’m old, but not THAT old, thank you very much.

What was the connection, and why did I relate to this song? I wasn’t a housewife, hadn’t been married, have never (ever!) been a girl. I didn’t have “Wrinkles that weren't there yesterday,” as the song lamented. I didn’t have wrinkles, period.

I was nine.

But, like many others who got into radio as an adult, I was an avid radio listener as a kid. And “Dreams Of The Everyday Housewife” was a big radio hit, especially in Canada, where it outperformed its #3 US peak, topping the charts up north. In 1968, our family vacationed in Montreal, where we attended Expo ’67, the World's Fair. I already know what you’re thinking: “Wait – you went to Expo ’67 in 1968? That makes as much sense as a nine-year old connecting with a song called ‘Dreams Of The Everyday Housewife.’” I have no explanation for either.

Because: nine.

We stayed in Montreal for a week, and of course, I commandeered the radio in our hotel room. That song seemed to be constantly playing. I didn’t relate to the words on a personal level, but I felt the emotion behind them. I loved Glen Campbell’s indelible, smooth tenor. I’d seen him on TV already and recognized his boyish good looks. At nine, that I could relate to. At this point, Campbell was on the verge of exploding into the multi-media superstar he soon became. Steady radio hits, his own variety show on TV, movies – all the things. If you think Blake Shelton is a big star due to his TV and radio success, think bigger when you consider Glen Campbell during the late 60s and early 70s. As I've said earlier in this space, Shelton is the breakout star of "The Voice," no doubt. But Campbell's TV show was called, "The GLEN CAMPBELL Goodtime Hour."

At this point, there’s little to add that hasn’t already been said about the life and musical career of Glen Campbell, who died Tuesday (8/8) in Nashville following a six-year battle with Alzheimer’s disease. After being all but forgotten since entering a memory care facility in 2012, within minutes of his passing, Campbell was ubiquitous once more – albeit briefly – with an over-the-top outpouring of sadness, song postings, tributes, photo-ops, and personal memories shared. I guess that’s a function of social media and how rapidly it accelerates the news/pop culture cycle. By the way, sadly, I never saw one person post a mention or clip of “Dreams Of The Everyday Housewife,” so apparently, I’m the lone ranger on loving that one so much.

I enjoyed seeing clips of everyone’s favorite Glen Campbell songs, with “Gentle On My Mind,” “Wichita Lineman,” and of course, “Rhinestone Cowboy” the most frequently posted. But a number of people also shared a terrific YouTube video of Campbell absolutely shredding guitar solos over the years, dating back to the early 60s. Because Campbell was older, mostly out of the spotlight, and off the radio for much of the past 30 years (his last top 10 Country hit was 1989’s “She’s Gone, Gone, Gone”), an entire generation had no idea he was a gifted, magnificent, multi-instrumentalist. More succinctly put, Campbell was an absolute badass; he was so good that similar to players like Steve Wariner, Keith Urban, and Brad Paisley – who have often cited him as a major influence – Campbell didn’t seem like he was working all that hard while moving through complex runs.

Speaking of Urban – and as a quick aside – during a 2012 interview discussing Country Radio Seminar honoring Campbell with its Artist Career Achievement Award that year, Urban revealed one of his favorite Campbell songs: “Where’s The Playground Susie.” Only a true Campbell aficionado would reference that tune, which tapped out at #28 in 1969, his lowest performing single during his incredible, four-year rise to super-stardom between 1968 and 1971. I still have the recording of my chat with Urban, who spontaneously sang me a line from the song. #Priceless

The footage from that YouTube clip began in blurry black and white, eventually crossing over to color, and the final segment taken from what I believe is the 2014 documentary “Glen Campbell: I’ll Be Me,” which chronicles his farewell tour that began after he’d announced his Alzheimer’s diagnosis. In this clip – the final one – it was late in the tour, and as the movie documented, he was having more and more trouble onstage with losing his place, forgetting lyrics, and – like many Alzheimer’s patients do – becoming disoriented, confused, and agitated.

For anybody with a loved one suffering from this awful, heartbreaking disease, the film was uncomfortable and excruciating to watch. That is, until Campbell started playing a lengthy guitar solo. He looked healthy again; confident, smiling, his left hand moving fast, fluid, and flawless across the neck of that instrument. You watched, and thought, “Hey, he’s ok! Look at him go – he’s not sick.” It was a beautiful moment, one that family members and caretakers of Alzheimer’s patients have all seen. Fleeting occasions where there’s suddenly a “they’re there” – that familiar person you knew, still love, and now miss so badly.

As you watched Campbell during the documentary, particularly the onstage performances, you sometimes wondered why he put himself through it and how his family could let him. But, it’s likely his wife Kim, and children Ashley, Cal, and Shannon – all three of whom were members of his band on that final tour – were providing him with valuable therapy and prolonging his cognitive abilities.

According to several studies, including one published in a 2014 Alzheimers.net blog, “musical aptitude and appreciation are two of the last remaining abilities in dementia patients.” So, when exposed to music – or in Campbell’s case, performing it at a high level still – the effects can “shift mood, manage stress-induced agitation, stimulate positive interactions, facilitate cognitive function, and coordinate motor movements.”

It’s sad, and was inevitable that soon after the tour, Campbell slipped deeper and deeper into his disease. But there’s no cure and little treatment for Alzheimer’s, and the irony is that ultimately, the patient is usually the one suffering least. Family members and caregivers, on the other hand, are going through a slow, painful, hellish journey.

It's bittersweet that the journey is now over; however, I think it's awesome that – for a week or so at least – the world appreciated and rediscovered how special Glen Campbell was to so many forms of music. He was a Country artist at his core, but easily shifted to any genre he felt like mastering. Remember, he basically played on every record of every big artist in every popular style of music known to man, often on a daily basis, during his time as a member of the famous "Wrecking Crew" of Los Angeles studio musicians in the 60s.

Sales of Campbell's music surged significantly in the hours after his passing. Buzzangle Music reported digital album sales rose 13,000% the day he died, with song sales surging more than 6,000%. Like the 2016 passing of Merle Haggard, Campbell's death put Country radio in an awkward position. It was a national news story, but sonically and stylistically, Campbell's most famous songs were deemed a poor fit by most Country outlets, so a quick sound bite – aided by a voiceover paying tribute – was the way to recognize Campbell on the air, with listeners redirected to the station website for full versions of his songs. Syndicated program suppliers did a great job of providing radio with long-form, special programs that could take a deeper dive into his body of work. The evolution of Country music is inevitable, and ultimately grows our format to a larger level. At the same time, we suddenly realize we've painted ourselves into a corner when legends like Buck Owens, Haggard, and now Campbell, leave us.

Late Thursday (8/10), Campbell's family announced, via Facebook, that Glen Campbell was laid to rest on Wednesday (8/9) in his hometown of Delight, AR at a private ceremony with a memorial to follow. His family has requested that in lieu of flowers, donations for Alzheimer’s research may be made to the Glen Campbell Memorial Fund at BrightFocus Foundation through the donation page at careliving.org.

The last song Campbell ever recorded was from the "I'll Be Me" documentary, his Oscar-nominated, "I'm Not Gonna Miss You." In spite of advancing Alzheimer's, Campbell sang it so well, convincing all of us that he really wouldn't. Now, so many of us can't say the same about him.