“Wichita Lineman”
Released on: 2001-01-01
[N.S.: Originally released in 1968.]
Producer: Al DeLory
Studio Personnel, Mastering Engineer: Robert Norberg
Studio Personnel, Mastering Engineer: Rob Christie
[Sung by Glen Campbell (1936-2017).]
“Wichita Lineman”
Music & Lyrics by Jimmy Webb (1946-)
I am a lineman for the county,
And I drive the main road,
Searching in the sun,
For another overload.
I hear you singing in the wire,
I can hear you through the whine,
And the Wichita Lineman,
Is still on the line.
I know I need a small vacation,
But it don’t look like rain,
And if it snows that stretch down South
Won’t ever stand the strain.
And I need you more than want you,
And I want you for all time,
And the Wichita Lineman,
Is still on the line.
And I need you more than want you,
And I want you for all time.
And the Wichita Lineman,
Is still on the line.
And I need you more than want you,
And I want you for all time,
And the Wichita Lineman,
Is still on the line.
Billboard’s Top 10 Songs Written by Jimmy Webb
01. MacArthur Park –Donna Summer, 1978
02. Wichita Lineman – Glen Campbell, 1969
03. MacArthur Park – Richard Harris, 1968
04. Worst that Could Happen – Brooklyn Bridge, 1969
05. Galveston – Glen Campbell, 1969
06. Up, Up, and Away – The Fifth Dimension, 1967
07. All I Know – Art Garfunkel, 1973
08. Honey Come Back – Glen Campbell, 1970
09. By the Time I Get to Phoenix – Glen Campbell, 1967
10. Where's the Playground Susie – Glen Campbell, 1969
4 comments:
Jimmy Webb was around 21 when he wrote those classics.Different word I use for the ghetto crap permeating the music world nowadays--classucks.
The last two tunes I liked were actually fairly recent--"Lips are Movin'" and "X's and O's"--though nothing like Webbs's songs.
--GRA
jerry pdx
Wichita Lineman is one of the greatest songs of all time, it's not just an immediate melody to the ears it has gravitas and an enduring quality that never gets old.
Glen Campbell was an amazingly talented musician as well as vocalist. He worked as a session guitarist in his youth and even toured a bit with the Beach Boys. Unfortunately (with the exception of an occasional transcendent single, usually written by Jimmy Webb), his recording career never went beyond MOR pop/country that was pleasant listening but not much more than that. The exception was an lp he did with Jimmy Webb called "Reunion" where he recorded all Jimmy Webb songs and Jimmy wrote a set of amazing and complex songs that showed Glen could be more than just a pop vocalist. Unfortunately, the album didn't sell much but it was always Glen's favorite album, he knew it was the best thing he had ever done.
Born a little earlier in a different place he could have been a seminal country singer like Waylon Jennings or guitarist like Chet Atkins or Les Paul, a little later on maybe a great rock guitarist like Eric Clapton or Jimi Hendrix. As it was he got pigeonholed doing light unchallenging music that only scratched the surface of his talent. Check out Glen's improvisational ability with the guitar: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fqN4zgqf78
He plays with the fluidity and effortless ease that only an exceptional talent possesses but it was something he only flashed on occasion in concert, his pop audience just wanted to hear him sing.
"Rolling Stone's" top writers could not have written a better synopsis,Jerry pdx.
You may know this little piece of trivia about Glen Campbell already,but maybe not.In 1967ish,he appeared on a one hit wonder called,"My World Fell Down"--by Sagittarius.It's one of my favorite little known tunes.The Choir had another called,"It's Cold Outside" from that time.
"And now it's cold outside
And the rain is pouring down
And the leaves are turning brown---
Can't you see?
That now it's cold outside
And it's all because of you
'Cause there's nothing I can do
To make you love me."
Campbell wasn't in "The Choir".
Campbell DID sing lead vocals on "My World Fell Down",which would come on the radio after "Penny Lane","Light my Fire","Gentle on my Mind","Wichita Lineman"and a never-ending supply of other fantastic music.1968 however,was really the first year I started listening to the radio--and 1967 songs were mixed in plentifully with 1968s.Music seemed great right up until disco.
--GRA
jerry pdx
Thanks for the tip. I didn't know about the song but I liked it. Wouldn't even have recognized Glen's voice but it sounded like he was trying to sound ethereal emulating the sound of other psychedelic type songs of the day.
Post a Comment