Glen Campbell Creates a Final Memory for Fans

Glen Campbell with his guitar in Los Angeles, circa 1970s. — Neal Preston/Corbis

Q: What besides playing music keeps you going and keeps you healthy?

Glen: I like to play golf. Exercise is important. I don't have anything bothering me anymore. I quit drinking, I quit doing anything [illegal drugs] – and I feel so much better, it's amazing. It was like dragging a sack around. And Kim really helped me get out of it. She's really responsible for all of it. She's the best wife anyone could ask for.

Kim: It didn't happen overnight. It took a lot of time, and family and friends, to get there. Now, we try to take walks, get a little cardio in – and we try to eat healthy. We enjoy our dogs (a Giant Schnauzer and a German Shepherd). We enjoy being together.

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Q:  This is your last album. Do you look back at anything in your life differently?

Glen: I did a lot of stupid things, I'll tell you, getting the monkey off your back from drinking and drugs is big. I learned one thing from Elvis. In the '70's, he used to play the Las Vegas Hilton for a month, and then I played a month. I learned from watching him: don't hang out with the band. Because he didn't get any sleep. It took me a long time to stop doing it, but I stopped. If you can't handle it, don't do it. And as long as you're walking and talking, you have a chance.

Q: Ghost On The Canvas tells the story of your life. How did the album come together, and how did you choose the songs?

Kim: Julian [Raymond, who produced the record] would write down lines from what Glen said when they were in the studio. For instance, I was in the studio with them and Glen looked at me across the room and said, "There's no me without her." And that became "There's No Me." And then Julian asked songwriters he knew to write songs for the album.

Glen: (Singing) "Like a ghost on the canvas/people don't see them." Great song. Who wrote that one? Westaberg? Westerberg? [Singer-songwriter Paul Westerberg.] No wonder I can't remember it!

Q: Out of all the songs from your career, which one do you think will always be a favorite of fans?

Kim: Probably "Wichita Lineman." It's the most played song of the millennium. Somebody said it's the best song ever written, with the best line. "I need you more than want you/and I want you for all time."

Q: What is it about that song that made it so powerful?

Glen: Me, I. I'm a lineman for the county/and I drive the main roads/searchin' in the sun for another overload." Jimmy Webb actually wrote that when he saw a guy working up on the telephone wires. What a song. I get chills! It does have more meaning to me playing it now, because for so many years, I didn't know where I was. So now I can enjoy it more.

Q: After the album comes out, and you're out on tour, what do you want people to think of when they think of Glen Campbell?

Glen: I'm trying to do my best, and I am giving it my best.