Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Songwriter Jimmy Webb & Glen Campbell's Family Remember his Music, Struggle with Alzheimer's

http://livespaceentertainment.com/about.html

Songwriter and musician Jimmy Webbhad a decades-long friendship and musical partnership with Glen Campbell.  The Campbell hits Wichita Lineman, By the Time I get to Phoenix, and Galveston all came from Webb. 

(Jimmy Webb, Kim Campbell & Ashley Campbell spoke with Live Space's Entertainment's Tom Honan and WAER's Chris Bolt: Listen below to full interview and music.)

That bond lasted until Campbell’s final days, when Glen passed away this past August after having Alzheimer’s disease.    Webb wrote the title track to Glen's last album "Adios," released this past summer shortly before Glen passed away.

Jimmy Webb: The Glen Campbell Years @ Palace Theater Nov. 18th

Webb has also created The Glen Campbell Years to look back at the man and his music, with the blessing of and collaboration with Glen’s family.

“I just wanted to keep his music out there and provide a place for his fans to go.  And to really pay tribute to him.”

Kim Campbell, Glen’s wife, has taken the mantle, using her husband’s celebrity to focus attention on Alzheimer’s disease, and specifically the help needed for family caregivers.   She recalls finding out that there were supportive places that someone suffering from the affliction could go.

 

Glen Campbell performed concerts while struggling with the disease. Kim Campbell (l) started CareLiving.org to help families caring for an Alzheimer's patient

“After a doctor examined (Glen), and looking at me, seeing what bad shape I was in, said, ‘I can’t believe you’re still trying to do this at home.’  What did he mean; what other options are there?  And that’s when I learned about memory care communities, designed specifically for people with dementia and their families.  So I never say I put Glen in a nursing home.  I say, ‘our family joined a memory care community.’” 

Kim Campbell went on to start CareLiving.org to assist other families that are going through the challenge of caring for a relative with Alzheimer’s. 

glen_campbell_years_full_web_mixdown.mp3
Songwriter/Musician Jimmy Webb, along with Glen Campbell's wife, Kim, and daughter, Ashley spoke with Live Space Entertainment's Tom Honan and WAER's Chris Bolt about Glen's music, Alzheimer's he struggled with and the work their doing for care and awareness about the disease.

Ashley Campbell, Glen’s daughter, paid her own tribute to her father through her song Remembering.   She remembers being on stage with him, even as he played well into the grips of the disease.

Credit Tom Honan/Live Space Entertainment
Ashley Campbell will soon be out with a debut album, including the song Remembering, a tribute to her father.

“It was definitely a difficult transition because for my entire life, he was the guy on stage, he was the leader; he didn’t needed any help from anyone.  And when I wrote my song Remembering, it just kind of happened and just kind of came out , like all my feelings from the whole tour went into that song.”

Glen's family, including his wife Kim and daughter Ashley have become leading advocates of those caregivers, taking care of loved ones suffering from Alzheimer's.  Ashley, carries on her father's musical legacy with her own career as a singer-songwriter.  Her debut album will be released soon.

Jimmy Webb tours the country with Jimmy Webb: The Glen Campbell Years.  He’s bringing the show to the Palace Theater in Eastwood, Saturday Nov. 18th starting at 7:30.  

Chris Bolt, Ed.D. has proudly been covering the Central New York community and mentoring students for more than 30 years. His career in public media started as a student volunteer, then as a reporter/producer. He has been the news director for WAER since 1995. Dedicated to keeping local news coverage alive, Chris also has a passion for education, having trained, mentored and provided a platform for growth to more than a thousand students. Career highlights include having work appear on NPR, CBS, ABC and other news networks, winning numerous local and state journalism awards.