On August 24, 2017, Jimmy Webb sat down at a grand piano inside Nashville’s Country Music Hall of Fame to say goodbye to Glen Campbell.
Jimmy Webb had written some of Glen Campbell’s most beloved songs. Their musical friendship stretched across five decades, from “By the Time I Get to Phoenix” and “Galveston” to the unforgettable “Wichita Lineman.”
That afternoon, Jimmy Webb played “Wichita Lineman” one more time for the man who had made the song famous. As the final notes lingered, the room grew so quiet that, according to an eyewitness, a pin could have been heard dropping.
A Private Farewell in Nashville
Glen Campbell died on August 8, 2017, at age 81. Sixteen days later, family members, friends, fellow musicians, and invited guests gathered at the CMA Theater for a private celebration of Glen Campbell’s life and music.
Only 300 invitations had been issued.
Onstage were Glen Campbell’s familiar performance suits, guitars, and paintings. The instruments that had accompanied decades of recordings and concerts were now part of a memorial display.
The gathering brought together people from many chapters of Glen Campbell’s remarkable career.
Mike Love and Bruce Johnston of The Beach Boys performed with fellow musicians, recalling the period when Glen Campbell had filled in for Brian Wilson on tour. Their performance included an a cappella tribute and the lively “I Get Around.”
Brad Paisley performed “Country Boy” and a medley featuring “Rhinestone Cowboy” and “Southern Nights.” The familiar songs even had guests clapping along.
The Song That Became a Farewell
Producer Julian Raymond also appeared during the memorial. Julian Raymond had helped guide Glen Campbell through important later recordings, including Meet Glen Campbell and Ghost on the Canvas.
Julian Raymond performed a stripped-down version of “I’m Not Gonna Miss You,” a song co-written with Glen Campbell and honored with the Grammy Award for Best Country Song in 2015.
The performance earned a standing ovation.
But another particularly moving moment came when Jimmy Webb approached the piano.
Jimmy Webb Remembered a Wish From Childhood
Before performing, Jimmy Webb told the audience about hearing Glen Campbell on the radio at age 14.
Jimmy Webb remembered praying that someday a recording collaboration with Glen Campbell might become possible.
That youthful wish eventually became one of the most recognizable songwriting partnerships in American popular music.
Jimmy Webb’s songs gave Glen Campbell some of the finest material of Glen Campbell’s career. Glen Campbell’s voice, in turn, brought Jimmy Webb’s writing to millions of listeners.
Jimmy Webb began the musical tribute with “Amazing Grace,” receiving a standing ovation. Then came “Wichita Lineman.”
The song carried a particularly personal meaning that afternoon. In a later interview, Jimmy Webb recalled looking toward Glen Campbell’s children during the performance. Jimmy Webb had known the children since childhood, and seeing the family together nearly made finishing the song impossible.
Jimmy Webb continued playing, lingering over the distinctive Morse-code-like ending of “Wichita Lineman.”
When the final notes ended, the theater fell silent.
Kim Campbell’s Final Words
The memorial concluded with a eulogy from Kim Campbell, Glen Campbell’s wife of 34 years.
Kim Campbell explained that there was little need to reveal a hidden side of Glen Campbell’s personality.
“There were no secrets with Glen. He was the real deal all the time.”
Kim Campbell then shared an experience from just three days earlier, when a total solar eclipse had passed over Nashville.
Watching the sun disappear and gradually return had reminded Kim Campbell of the grief following Glen Campbell’s death. The burst of light at the end of the eclipse resembled a diamond ring, bringing to mind Kim Campbell’s wedding ring and the love shared throughout the marriage.
As Kim Campbell spoke, a photograph of the couple taken by Marty Stuart during Glen Campbell’s final months appeared behind the stage.
The Music Glen Campbell Left Behind
There was no shortage of famous names at Glen Campbell’s memorial. Yet one of the day’s most memorable moments belonged to a songwriter at a piano.
Jimmy Webb had once been a 14-year-old boy hoping to record with Glen Campbell. More than half a century later, Jimmy Webb was playing a song that had become inseparable from Glen Campbell’s voice.
The private memorial ended that afternoon, but the recordings remained: “Galveston,” “By the Time I Get to Phoenix,” “Wichita Lineman,” and all the others that still bring Glen Campbell back into living rooms, car radios, and memories.
For those who loved Glen Campbell’s music, that final performance of “Wichita Lineman” was a particularly fitting farewell.