When Glen Campbell died on August 8, 2017, at the age of 81, country music lost one of its most extraordinary voices and guitarists. Glen Campbell left behind six Grammy Awards, a place in the Country Music Hall of Fame, and unforgettable recordings such as “Wichita Lineman,” “Gentle on My Mind,” and “Rhinestone Cowboy.”
But one of Glen Campbell’s most personal musical legacies was already taking shape in the hands of daughter Ashley Campbell.
For several years, Ashley Campbell had stood beside Glen Campbell onstage, playing banjo and watching a musical genius navigate the final chapter of his performing career. Those years would eventually inspire a song called “Remembering” and leave Ashley Campbell with memories no recording could fully capture.
The Daughter Who Discovered Her Father’s Genius
Growing up in Phoenix, Arizona, Ashley Campbell did not fully understand how famous Glen Campbell was. To Ashley Campbell, the man behind countless hit records was simply Dad.
That perspective began to change when Ashley Campbell started learning guitar and banjo. Watching old performance videos revealed an astonishing guitarist whose effortless playing had impressed generations of musicians.
After graduating from college in 2009, Ashley Campbell received an invitation from Glen Campbell to join the touring band. Ashley Campbell began playing banjo alongside her father, later joining the Goodbye Tour following Glen Campbell’s public Alzheimer’s diagnosis in 2011.
One especially meaningful lesson involved Bob Dylan’s “Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right.” Glen Campbell personally showed Ashley Campbell how to play the song in the distinctive style Glen Campbell had developed.
Yet many lessons happened without formal instruction. Ashley Campbell later explained:
“I learned a lot more by just watching him every night.”
The Night Glen Campbell Forgot a Guitar Solo
One remarkable moment from the Goodbye Tour stayed with Ashley Campbell long after the final concert.
During performances of “Wichita Lineman,” Glen Campbell regularly played a familiar guitar solo. Ashley Campbell knew the passage from hearing it night after night.
But during one show late in the tour, something unexpected happened.
Glen Campbell briefly lost the familiar position on the guitar’s fretboard. Ashley Campbell watched as Glen Campbell struggled for a moment to begin the solo.
Then, according to Ashley Campbell’s firsthand recollection published in 2019, Glen Campbell suddenly found a different musical path.
Instead of playing the familiar passage, Glen Campbell improvised an entirely new guitar solo.
Ashley Campbell remembered the performance as an astonishing display of creativity. Even as Alzheimer’s changed everyday life, Glen Campbell could still surprise the musicians sharing the stage.
The moment mattered because it was more than a famous entertainer completing another concert. Ashley Campbell had witnessed a side of Glen Campbell’s musicianship that remained remarkably spontaneous under difficult circumstances.
How “Remembering” Was Born
When the Goodbye Tour ended in 2012, Ashley Campbell returned to the family home in Malibu, California, and helped care for Glen Campbell.
One day, Ashley Campbell sat near the living-room fireplace and began playing a gentle musical passage. A childhood memory of running upstairs during a thunderstorm became the beginning of a song about the relationship between father and daughter.
Ashley Campbell recorded the unfinished idea on a phone.
After moving to Nashville in 2013, Ashley Campbell worked with songwriter Kai Welch to complete “Remembering.” The song expressed a daughter’s determination to cherish shared memories even as her father’s memory faded.
“Remembering” became Ashley Campbell’s debut single in 2015 and was featured in the documentary Glen Campbell: I’ll Be Me, which followed Glen Campbell and the family through the Goodbye Tour.
A Full-Circle Moment at the Grand Ole Opry
On November 21, 2015, Ashley Campbell made a Grand Ole Opry debut at Nashville’s historic Ryman Auditorium.
Four years earlier, Ashley Campbell had performed at the same venue alongside Glen Campbell. This time, Ashley Campbell returned as a solo artist, performing original material that included “Remembering.”
The connection between those two appearances gave the evening special meaning. The young musician who once accompanied Glen Campbell was now sharing a deeply personal song with country music audiences.
Glen Campbell’s legacy continues through the recordings millions remember. For Ashley Campbell, that legacy also includes the guitar lessons, the long nights on tour, and one unforgettable “Wichita Lineman” solo that took an unexpected turn.
Those are the moments Ashley Campbell can carry forward through music, preserving a father’s influence in a way that goes far beyond awards, records, or fame.