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SOUL MUSIC: SERIES 12 - 2. WICHITA LINEMAN (320kbs-m4a/65mb/28mins)
BBC Radio 4 Extra broadcast: 9th December 2016
Wichita Lineman, the ultimate country/pop crossover track, is the subject of this week's Soul Music.
David Crary is a lineman from Oklahoma. He describes his job - storm-chasing to mend fallen power-lines; travelling on 'dirt roads, gravel roads, paved roads... up in the farmlands of Illinois and Missouri... down south in the Swamplands... it ain't nothing to swerve in the middle of the road in your bucket-truck to miss an alligator '.
He recalls the first time he heard Wichita Lineman, travelling in the back of his family's Station Wagon, listening to the radio... thinking that being a lineman 'must be a cool job' if someone's written a song about it. Also a part-time musician, David has recorded his own version of the song which sums up his working life... on the road, working long hours, away from his wife and six kids.
Wichita Lineman was written by Jimmy Webb for the Country star Glen Campbell. It tells the story of a lonely lineman in the American midwest, travelling vast distances to mend power and telephone lines.
Released in 1968 it's an enduring classic, crossing the boundary between pop and country. It's been covered many times, but it's Glen Campbell's version which remains the best loved and most played.
Johnny Cash also recorded an extraordinary and very raw version. Peter Lewry, a lifelong Cash fan, describes how this recording came about, towards the end of Cash's career.
Meggean Ward's father was a lineman in Rhode Island... her memories of seeing him in green work trousers, a plaid shirt and black boots, wrapping his cracked hands in bandages every morning before setting off to climb telephone poles are interwoven forever with Wichita Lineman... as a child she always felt the song was written for her father, who else?
Glen Campbell also gave an interview for this programme. Shortly after the interview was recorded, Campbell went public about his diagnosis of Alzheimer's. His contribution to the programme is brief, and includes an acoustic performance of the song. It was a real privilege to record this, appropriately enough, down the line.
Producer: Karen Gregor.
GLEN CAMPBELL - THE RHINESTONE COWBOY - PARTS 3 & 4 (320kbs-m4a/126mb/55mins)
BBC Radio 6 Music broadcast: 11th August 2017
In tribute to the late Glen Campbell, another chance to hear the musician share his memories of a lifetime lived in the limelight, with his guitar by his side to illustrate songs that made his career.
Presented by REM's Mike Mills, this documentary was first broadcast on Radio 2 in 2005 and was updated to include new material with Glen who, in 2011, revealed his diagnosis with Alzheimer's and announced plans to undertake one last tour before the illness makes such an endeavour impossible.
One of the great crossover artists of the past 50 years, Glen sold over 45 million albums worldwide and some of the songs he recorded have become classics, including Wichita Lineman, By the Time I Get To Phoenix, Galveston and Rhinestone Cowboy.
In this series he talks honestly about every aspect of his career, from his poor upbringing to the glistening heights of fame, from his battles with addiction to his re-discovery as an artist in recent years, right up to his diagnosis with Alzheimer's and his farewell album and tour.
Glen Campbell - Gentle On My Mind [Capitol]
Johnny Rivers - By The Time I Get To Phoenix
Glen Campbell - By The Time I Get To Phoenix
Glen Campbell - Turn Around Look At Me [Capitol]
Glen Campbell - By The Time I Get To Phoenix
Glen Campbell - Wichita Lineman [Capitol]
Glen Campbell - By The Time I Get To Phoenix
Glen Campbell - Galverston
Glen Campbell - Gentle On My Mind [Zonophone]
Glen Campbell - Guess I'm Dumb [Zonophone]
Glen Campbell - True Grit
Glen Campbell & Bobby Gentry - Let It Be Me
Glen Campbell - The Moon's A Harsh Mistress
Glen Campbell - Rhinestone Cowboy [Capitol]
Larry Weiss - Rhinestone Cowboy
Glen Campbell - Rhinestone Cowboy [Capitol]
Glen Campbell - Country Boy (You Got Your Feet In L.A.) [Capitol]
Allen Toussaint - Southern Nights
Glen Campbell - Southern Nights
Glen Campbell - Highwayman
The Highwaymen - Highwayman
Glen Campbell & Tanya Tucker - Dream Lover
Glen Campbell - Wichita Lineman [Capitol]
Glen Campbell - Show Me Your Way
Glen Campbell - Sing
Glen Campbell - Times Like These
Glen Campbell - Ghost On The Canvas
Glen Campbell - A Better Place
Glen Campbell - Gentle On My Mind [Capitol]
Glen Campbell - By The Time I Get To Phoenix
Glen Campbell - Wichita Lineman [Capitol]
GLEN CAMPBELL - THE RHINESTONE COWBOY - PARTS 1 & 2 (320kbs-m4a/126mb/55mins)
BBC Radio 6 Music broadcast: 10th August 2017
In tribute to the late Glen Campbell, another chance to hear the musician share his memories of a lifetime lived in the limelight, with his guitar by his side to illustrate songs that made his career.
Presented by REM's Mike Mills, this documentary was first broadcast on Radio 2 in 2005 and was updated to include new material with Glen who, in 2011, revealed his diagnosis with Alzheimer's and announced plans to undertake one last tour before the illness makes such an endeavour impossible.
One of the great crossover artists of the past 50 years, Glen sold over 45 million albums worldwide and some of the songs he recorded have become classics, including Wichita Lineman, By the Time I Get To Phoenix, Galveston and Rhinestone Cowboy.
In this series he talks honestly about every aspect of his career, from his poor upbringing to the glistening heights of fame, from his battles with addiction to his re-discovery as an artist in recent years, right up to his diagnosis with Alzheimer's and his farewell album and tour.
In episode one, Campbell talks about his childhood, growing up the son of a sharecropper in rural southern US. He recalls learning guitar, and his first tentative steps as a professional musician. During his tenure as a radio session player and live musician, he met Elvis for the first of many times. He also married the first of his four wives, before heading to California in an attempt to break into the music scene there.
Glen Campbell - Rhinestone Cowboy [Capitol]
Glen Campbell - Wichita Lineman [EMI]
The Righteous Brothers - You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin' [Philes]
Glen Campbell - Rhinestone Cowboy [Capitol]
Hank Williams - Lovesick Blues [Chwbx3021/3]
Bob Wills - New Spanish Two Step [Rhino]
Hank Williams - Lovesick Blues [Chwbx3021/3]
Glen Campbell - Arkansas [Capitol]
Jesse Fuller - Where Could I Go But To The Lord [Original Blues Classics]
Gene Autry - Back In The Saddle Again [Columbia]
Glen Campbell - Arkansas [Capitol]
Faron Young - Hello Walls [Ace]
Glen Campbell - Burning Bridges [Capitol]
Bobby Darin - If A Man Answers [Altantic]
Glen Campbell - Country Boy (You Got Your Feet In L.A.) [Capitol]
Glen Campbell - Rhinestone Cowboy [Capitol]
Frank Sinatra - Strangers In The Night [Reprise]
Glen Campbell - Rhinestone Cowboy [Capitol]
Glen Campbell - Country Boy (You Got Your Feet In L.A.) [Capitol]
Glen Campbell - Rhinestone Cowboy [Capitol]
The Champs - Tequila [Ace]
Ricky Nelson - Travellin' Man [Capitol]
Glen Campbell - Let It Be Me [Platinum]
Glen Campbell - Turn Around Look At Me [Capitol]
Glen Campbell - This Old White Mule Of Mine [Jasmine]
The Beach Boys - Help Me Rhonda [Capitol]
The Righteous Brothers - You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin' [Philes]
The Crystals - He's A Rebel [Philles]
Dean Martin - Everybody Loves Somebody [Reprise]
Frank Sinatra - Strangers In The Night [Reprise]
Elvis Presley - Viva Las Vegas [RCA Victor]
Glen Campbell - Guess I'm Dumb [Zonophone]
Glen Campbell - Gentle On My Mind [Zonophone]
John Hartford - Gentle On My Mind [RCA]
Glen Campbell - Gentle On My Mind [Zonophone]
Glen Campbell - Wichita Lineman [Capitol]