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Happy Birthday to Glen Campbell who is 75 years-old today. Glen was born in Billstown, Arkansas on April 22, 1936.

Glen’s career has spanned more than 50 years, during which he has had success as a guitarist, singer, actor and television host. He started out as a member of a touring band called the Western Wranglers in the late 1950s, before moving to LA in 1958 to find work as a session musician. He was soon in demand as a member of the so-called Wrecking Crew and played with a huge number of stars in the 1960s, including Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, Rick Nelson, Bobby Darin and the Beach Boys. He also toured with the latter, standing in for Brian Wilson.

While working as a session musician, Campbell was also striving for a successful solo career. He signed with Capitol as a solo artist in 1962, but it would be five years until he really broke through in a big way with the album “Gentle On My Mind,” which hit number one on the Billboard country album chart and number five on the pop chart. This began his most commercially successful period, with a string of classic hits, including “By the Time I Get to Phoenix,” “Wichita Lineman,” “Galveston” and “Rhinestone Cowboy.” His growing popularity also led to his own television series, “The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour,” which ran from 1968 to 1972, and also film roles, most notably opposite John Wayne in “True Grit.”

The next couple of decades were less kind to Campbell, although he did continue to have success on the country charts in the 1980s with tracks such as “Faithless Love” and “A Lady Like You.”

Campbell’s last album, “Meet Glen Campbell,” was released in 2008 and marked a departure from his previous work, with covers of tracks by Green Day, U2, Travis and others.

Here’s three great tracks to celebrate Glen’s birthday.

Glen Campbell – “By the Time I Get to Phoenix”

Glen Campbell – “Wichita Lineman”

Glen Campbell – “Rhinestone Cowboy”

The original classic recordings are available on a number of compilations, including the superb value three-CD set “Classic Campbell.”

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Classic Campbell (3 CDs)	Buy Now	Buy Now	Buy Now	Buy Now
Meet Glen Campbell (CD)	Buy Now	Buy Now	Buy Now	Buy Now