The famous, talented and rich are not spared being stricken by Alzheimer’s disease. And the latest celebrity to be diagnosed with the malady is country singer Glen Campbell, who is 75.
Last week, in an article in People magazine, Campbell’s wife Kim said that Campbell has a new album “dropping,” as they say in the music industry, in August. And that will apparently be his last album, because of the Alzheimer’s.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/music_blog/2011/06/glen-campbell-alzheimers-ghost-canvas.html
Campbell will go on “The Glen Campbell Goodbye Tour” this fall to promote “Ghost on the Canvas,” which includes performances by Chris Isaak and Brian Setzer.
It’s sad that Campbell’s career as a singer, songwriter and sometime actor will be cut short. His performance of “Wichita Lineman” is one of the most hauntingly beautiful songs ever, conveying the loneliness of that man — and seemingly of Campbell himself.
Written by Jimmy Webb, and released in tumultuous 1968, several music magazines have called “Wichita Lineman’ of of the best songs of the 20th Century, because of its lines such as “and I need you more than want you, and I want you for all-time.”
Campbell’s career and life has had many ups and downs. He was arrested in Arizona in 2004 for driving while intoxicated, and spent 10 days in jail.
His wife announced that Campbell has Alzheimer’s disease to relieve him of any additional humiliation. She told People that if he forgets a song or gets confused when he’s performing, she didn’t want the audience to think he was drunk.
Campbell unfortunately has Alzheimer’s, but his wife has got his back.