Discussion of the Week: Will Glen's Legacy Live On?

[Mike Joyce]

You raise some good points jay,
especially about the forum keeping the name Glen Campbell accessible to younger fans if they wish to enquire what all the fuss is about. As regards artists having penned their own songs, I accept your point but let us not forget a lot of artists didn't back in the day. Elvis, Sinatra, , Bing Crosby, Barbara Streisand,Tom Jones etc. but they are names people still recognise today because they went beyond their chart success. The likes of Dolly Parton,Tom Jones and even Tony Bennett were big hits at the Glastonbury festival in the UK even though they haven't had a big hit in the charts since the 60-70s. They are talented artists and that gives them a lot of credibility in the eyes of the younger generations. As I said before it will be down to various media to keep producing programmes which feature these greats so younger ears can appreciate why they were so good.
On the Glastonbury thing, it was a shame Glen never got to do that one as I think he would have gone down a storm with his guitar playing and great stage presence. When he appeared on the Jools Holland show in the UK I noticed younger people at the next concert I attended.

[jay]

I think you first have to figure out what Glens legacy is today, to be able to discuss its' longevity. I think it has already established. But maybe it would be nice to try to discuss in detail exactly what is legacy is.

Hank Williams, Johnny Cash etc whose songs are still been covered by a younger generation. I think if they produced a back catalogue of great tunes, that goes a long way to giving the artist longevity. Some names go beyond generations. I.E Frank Sinatra, Bob Dylan,John Denver"

To me, all of those folks mentioned, are not fully comparable, in terms of legacy, mainly because they penned a good part of the songs that made them popular. Glen did not.

Times are a changing. There are many that can play the guitar incredibly well. There are many that can sing incredibly well, Entertainment is far from what is was when the GCGH was on tv. No one cares about that brand of entertainment anymore...at least no one that the advertisers see as their target group. Could Glen, starting out as a 16 year old today, enjoy the same success?

Like many from his time. Glen was poor and worked his butt off to "make it". In the process, he lived a chaotic lifestyle that exacted consequences. Not unlike Frank and Bob, he was still popular in his later years, but really only with his faithful fans, that he had won over earlier. I think his legacy is...he came from nothing to be admired by many in the business as a premier entertainer, musician and vocalist. Those that are interested in those things, will take notice when they run across his work.

That, my friends, is why this forum is so essential! We are laying down the foundation for those folks to be able to explore who Glen Campbell was...a lot deeper than any facebook page. This will be a tremendous REPOSITORY of knowledge for those who want to know about Glen in years and decades to come.

[Mike Joyce]

I just saw this article on the Tennessean web page and I thought this is what a lot of us feel about Glen's musical impact and whether or not his music will live on.
http://www.tennessean.com/story/enterta ... /30248505/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Mike Joyce]

Hi Dee,
The 6 part music show wasn't re- shown on TV but they did release a DVD box set called "Glen Campbell and friends" which is the the Glen Campbell music show to which you refer.
There are clips of the show on Youtube. David Gates, Medley with Jimmy Webb etc.

[Dee]

Mike, wonderful points about the importance of the power of television and also new programmes such as "The Rhinestone Cowboy" in 2013 (is this the BBC 4 doc you are referring to?).
Also, the UK's rebroadcast in 2013 of "An Evening with Glen Campbell" which was phenomenal.
(Isn't it great that both of these broadcasts were later uploaded to YouTube!).
I had forgotten about the Jools Holland show!
It seems to me that the UK is much more appreciative of Glen Campbell and other artists "for all time" as well as music related topics (The Joy of the Single, the Sound of Song series that tells the stories of recorded music, etc.).

Has the UK ever rebroadcasted in full Glen Campbell's six television specials, "The Glen Campbell Music Show"? Were these six specials ever available on VHS/DVD?

Perhaps the US is slowly catching on. American public television will be re-broadcasting "Glen Campbell: Good Times Again" this coming August.

I am not a Spotify user, but I can see some potential with this service. For example, Spotify might suggest to a listener: "if you like John Fulbright, then you might like Jimmy Webb. If you like Jimmy Webb, you might like Glen Campbell."

You know what would help Glen Campbell's legacy to live on (in a BIG way, I believe)?

Rebroadcasts and DVDs of all of the "Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour" shows.

[Mike Joyce]

Dee,Cowpoke what great posts. You both make good points. I agree that the legacy will continue as long as people can see Glen on things like Youtube. But I also think that Channels like BBC 4 in the UK and Sky arts will also do programmes that discuss Glen's life. A Friend of mine saw the Glen documentary on BBC4 and was genuinely amazed at all the things Glen had done. Beach boy, Wrecking crew etc. These kind of programmes make people want to look further into the artist and You tube is a great resource. They sometimes go on to buy the CD's. I have done this many times myself.
Dee, Your Dad's comment I would say is probably true in 90% of the time. As we have seen, only a handful of artists are still around today from the sixties.
Just another thought. I think TV is a powerful tool. It seems when they are not seen on TV many people think they have retired or passed on. I remember a lady in a queue going in to see Glen 20 years ago saying that very thing. Glen was very much on TV in the UK and on radio programmes and this has kept his name in peoples minds.
After Glen appeared on Jools Holland show I noticed that the audience at the next concert had younger faces and they all seemed to enjoy themselves.

[Dee]

This is a great discussion. I love everyone's comments!
Following are my thoughts, but, first, a personal story:
Back in 1969 (when I was just a toddler, of course), I was already a big Glen Campbell fan.
I had all of Glen’s studio albums he had released up until then, was watching the Goodtime Hour faithfully, had attended a GC concert (my first concert ever), had seen "True Grit" and wept when "Glen" died, was keeping a Glen Campbell scrapbook, and was collecting all the fan magazines I could find with “true stories” of GC (Glen Campbell: The Seventh Son of a Seventh Son!).
My Dad said to me one day in ‘69, “Dee, in ten years, no one will have heard of Glen Campbell.”
I was shocked when he said this to me. And hurt.
Maybe Dad thought he was saving me from heartbreak later on.
However, in my heart, I knew he was wrong. How could I have known this? I couldn’t have known.
Forty-six years after my Dad made his prediction, Glen’s career is still going strong.
Forty-six years later, I still believe in a long duration of Glen Campbell’s legacy (yes, much like Sinatra’s, Dylan’s).
Glen’s career has already stood the test of time with generation after generation of music listeners. Why should this change in the future?
I believe that Glen’s influence will live on: that in 50 years, some people will still be picking up a guitar for the first time because they were blown away by a hot Campbell guitar solo they saw on YouTube; guitarists will still be studying Glen Campbell’s guitar techniques and tracking down, for example, an original 1968 Ovation Glen Campbell Deluxe Balladeer; music listeners will still be coming across Glen's recordings and appreciating his remarkable voice with its amazing range of five octaves; and Glen’s classic songs written by some of America’s best songwriters--such as John Hartford, Jimmy Webb, and Julian Raymond & Glen Campbell--will still be resonating with people.
I also believe that in less than 50 years, maybe even in less than 20 years, Glen Campbell (and Kim and their children) will be remembered and respected for having brought heightened awareness to Alzheimer’s disease, an awareness that contributed to finding a cure for this disease. Their contributions that helped to find a cure will be a legacy that lives on and on.
If anything is forgotten, it will be what it was like for a person with Alzheimer's to suffer from this disease or to have a loved one suffering with it.
Yes, I am counting on Glen Campbell's legacy living on for another 50 years--and beyond. My Dad is now counting on it, too.

[Cowpoke]

You both brough some great point to the table, Mike and Randy. As Glen's magic was the greatest when he performed live, evidence of this magic on youtube will be a great way to keep Glen's legacy alive. So hopefully fans will continue to upload new and special videos in support of this. Glen Campbell Forums will too!

And yes, if Glen's children become famous artists in their own right, that will be another way to keep the flame burning.

Still you have to be realistic. How many of the fans who visited the Goodbye Tour will still be there in 50 years (except those who eat bran muffins)? On the other hand, when other artists who were inspired by Glen keep mentioning him in interviews, that will be a great way to introduce Glen to newer generations of music lovers.

I must say that the people around Glen (and Glen himself) have done their utmost to ensure his legacy will continue for as long as possible. We have people like Scott Boschetta, James Keach, Trevor Albert but especially Julian Raymond and Glen's wife Kim to thank for that, I think. Most importantly (to me at least) since 2008 we have witnessed a steady stream of very high quality music from Glen. From "Meet Glen Campbell" to "I'm Not Gonna Miss You", these were all critically acclaimed releases which did a lot of good for Glen, who from the late 90s on had run out of steam a bit as far as studio albums were concerned.

I'll Be Me of course will probably be regarded as one of Glen's most important achievements. I wonder what the biopic that James Keach is working on will do for Glen's legacy?

[Mike Joyce]

Randy,
A dancing dog won Britain's got talent the other week. What does that say about modern tastes?
I think however that some artist names go beyond their success. In other words their name is recognizable even if you could n't give a brief description of the career. For example Bob Hope or Bing Crosby had a varied career in film and music but most people could not say for sure what films they did in fact appear in or list 5 hits Bing had. But people would know they were very successful in their time. I guess it is the same for all artists. Even the classical composers have had their period of success but even though they have been dead for 100 years or so we still recognise them for who they were. Mozart, Beethoven, Strauss etc.
At the end of the day, Glen achieved his success when he was able to enjoy it and gave his fans many years of pleasure and that is what counts. What is good will remain and what is poor fades away.

[Randy]

I'm in agreement with you Mike, as the true test is not what you can do in a video or even in a studio or some other controlled enviroment,,, it's what you can do live that separates the good ones from the bad ones. I've even heard young people make that comment. Lip syncing and good looks and looking good dancing will take you only so far in my opinion. Glen Campbell has not only been a stand out to his fans, but a stand out to those in the business. And I certainly agree, all those u mention, Frank Sinatra, John Denver, BB King, and Bob Dylan had it too.

Actually the sad thing is I may be wrong, and discounting the fact that in my opinion many have made it to the top without having exceptional talent ... But they have what it takes to appeal to young people regardless of what I may think of their talents.