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Reports from HPR's Dave Lawrence

Remembering Glen Campbell, Our Guest On HPR's ATC

On Tuesday, August 8th 2017, legendary entertainment figure Glen Campbell passed on at 81, after a long and very public battle with Alzheimer's disease. Back on Saturday, September 1st, 2012, Glen Campbell returned to Hawaii on what would be his final concert tour. It was during a day-off on that tour that late HPR Evening Jazz Host Don Gordon invited HPR All Things Considered Host Dave Lawrence to the Ala Wai Yacht Harbor for an evening on a sailboat owned by the late Steve Ozark, of Caterer to the Stars and a longtime Glen Campbell/Don Gordon friend. That is where this extraordinary interview was recorded, which we revisit today in honor of Glen. 

Glen Travis Campbell had a wide range of accomplishments, and got an early start at developing his talents, picking up a guitar at age four, and by six, performing live on radio stations in his home state of Arkansas. By seventeen, he'd discovered his singing voice and was performing in his uncle's band, before forming his own group when he was twenty-two. Before he was heard played on the radio as a star, he was a radio DJ. But his music took him to global success. The one-time Wrecking Crew session musician sold about 50 million albums around the world, and took his talents into films, like True Grit with John Wayne, and onto TV, with his own program, The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour. His performances of songs, like Gentle On My Mind, By The Time I Get To Phoenix, Wichita Lineman, Galveston ?and Rhinestone Cowboy, will endure as classic examples of Glen Campbell musical contributions.

During this once-in-a-lifetime session, hear details highlighting many of these experiences and recollections on critical figures that factored into Glen Campbell's life, like Elvis Presley, Beach Boys' Brian Wilson, Ray Charles, and Johnny Cash. It is a remarkable moment in time with a true legend who touched untold lives around the world. Rest in Peace, Glen. 

MORE GLEN:

Hear the complete interview:

See a classic Glen Campbell concert from 1977:

See an episode from his TV show:

  

Find more interviews and features from Dave Lawrence.

Dave Lawrence is the local host of All Things Considered, Road Stories (formerly Off the Road) and Stargazer.
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