He listened to all kinds of music while growing up, not just country. Among his influences are pianist George Shearing, singers Nat King Cole and Frank Sinatra, and guitarists Django Reinbardt and Tal Farlow. In 1954 he joined his uncle's group the Dick Bills Band, in Albuquerque New Mexico, and then put his own outfit together, Glen Campbell and the Western Wranglers. In 1960 he made a movie that would have an impact on the rest of his life-he headed further west, to Los Angeles.

There he became a valued sessioned guitarist, working with the elite of the music business, including Bobby Darin, Dean Martin, Johny Cash, Merle Haggard and two of his idols Cole and Sinatra. For seven months Glen was a member of the Champs, the band best remembered for there #1 hit Tequlia.

In 1961 Glen made his first appearance on Dick Clark's American Bandstand performing his single Turn Around Look at Me. Recorded for the Los Angeles based Crest lable, the single was his first Billboard entry, peaking at #62. A year later he made his debut on Capitol Records with Too Late To Wory-Too Blue To Cry. By 1965 his face was recognizable from his weekly appearances on the Shindig TV series. That year he was asked to join the Beach Boys as a temporary replacement for Brian Wilson.

But 1967 was to be Campbell's banner year. In July his recording of John Hartford's Gentle On My Mind entered the charts. Although it would become his signature song it wasn't a major hit the first time around. That honor fell to a single released in October, a recording of Jimmy Webb's By The Time I Get To Phoenix. Webb was just 21 when he was inspired to write the song after breaking up with a girlfriend in college.

The end of Webb's relationship ment the start of a new phase in Campbell's career. After the success of "By The Time I Get To Phoenix" Campbell was invited to be a guest The Smothers Brothers Comedy Show. Campbell proved to be so popular on the show that he was asked to host The Smothers Brothers Show, which premiered on CBS on January 29 1969.

Campbell's recording career continued to soar and he continued to mine the Jimmy Webb catalog, recording the composer's "Wichita Lineman, Galaveston and Where's The Playground Susie." But even bigger hits were to come in the 70's when he recorded Larry Weiss' "Rhinestone Cowboy" and Allen Tousaint's "Southern Nights," both whent to No. 1.

Glen hered Weiss' original version of "Rhinstone Cowboy"on a Los Angeles radio station. "I called my secretary and said I've got to get a song called "Rhinestone Cowboy" by somebody, I dont remember who." Campbell recalls "I stumbled into Al Coury's office at Capital Records one day and he said he had a record he wanted me to hear. And played "Rhinestone Cowboy." Campbell's other number one hit "Saturday Nights" was recorded by composerToussaint on one of his own albums in 1975, two years before Campbell took the song to the top of the country chatrs.

Today Campbell is no longer a country boy with his feet in L.A. Oh you can still find his star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame but he now resides part of the year in Phoenix and part in Branson Missouri.