He was born Glen Travis Campbell and is a
singer-songwriter and musician born in Delight, Arkansas.His middle name was given to him in
honour of the country singer Merle Travis.When he was young he started to play guitar without
reading music and was a member of the Western Wranglers by the time he was
18.In 1958 he became a
session musician and moved to Los
Angeles
where he was much in demand.During
the 60s he was heard on hits songs by many artists including
"Strangers in the Night" by Frank
Sinatra
, "I'm a
Believer" by The Monkees and "You've Lost that Lovin'
Feeling" by the Righteous Brothers.He
became a member of The Beach
Boys when he replaced Brian
Wilson
during illness in 1964 and 1965 and played on the Pet
Sounds album.He was part
of the group of session musicians that were famous at the time called
"The Wrecking Crew" and were heard on Phil Spector's "Wall
of Sound" among others.In the late 1960s he went on to pursue his solo career and it wasn't
until several albums and years later that he achieved his success.The hits that followed and brought
him to stardom included "Wichita Lineman" which was voted by Mojo
magazine as one of the greatest songs of the 20th Century, "Galveston"
and "Where's the Playground Susie?"He won Grammy Awards for "By the Time I Get to Phoenix"
and "Gentle on my Mind".From 1969 to 1972 he had his own TV show called "Glen
Campbell's Goodtime Hour" with his guests including Neil
Diamond, Eric Clapton, Linda
Ronstadt
and Bread.He moved into acting and appeared in films including "True
Grit" and sang the theme song which was nominated for an Academy
Award.He also had a cameo
appearance in "Any Which Way You Can" and recorded the theme
song.Although his show
was cancelled in 1972 he appeared in many TV specials and was always in
demand as a guest in variety shows.His largest selling single was "Rhinestone Cowboy" which
sold over 2 million copies and is featured in the movies Daddy Day Care
and High School High as well as being the inspiration for Rhinestone
.He has had chart success
with over 40 albums and has had chart hit singles as a solo artist, a
member of groups and as a session musician.Although he had battled an alcohol problem which he said
he had beaten, he served 10 days in jail in 2003 as a result of drunk
driving.In 2005 he was
inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.
