Songwriter Jimmy Webb has had many chart topping hits, spanning a wide variety of musical genres. He received his first gold record at age 18, was the National Songwriter Hall of Fame's youngest ever inductee and the only artist ever to receive Grammy Awards for music, lyrics, and orchestration.
But perhaps Webb's most enduring legacy is his musical partnership with Glen Campbell.
The two musicians worked on over one hundred recordings together beginning with “By the Time I Get to Phoenix” which won two Grammy awards. But at the time, the two had never met in person. Webb says that happened a couple of years later at a recording studio in L.A.
“And I walked in with Jesus length hair and a beard and my flowered shirt on and my old jeans and put out my hand and said, ‘Mr. Campbell, I’m…' and he looked up from tending his guitar and he sort of cut me with those bright blue eyes and he said, ‘when you gonna get a haircut.’," said Webb.
On Friday, June 5, at the Schwartz Center in Dover, Webb offers fans a unique glimpse into that collaboration with "Jimmy Webb: The Glen Campbell Years.” Through songs, video and audio clips, the composer and performer will share stories of how the many iconic songs they produced came to be.
Webb says he wants Campbell to remembered for his artistry and not for his illness. The country legend is now in a Nashville care home with advanced stage Alzheimer's disease. For Webb, the show is a tribute to his longtime friend and their storied musical partnership.
"And with a certain sobriety observe and evaluate who he really was on the musical scene of America and how many fibers, how many colors in the quilt were Glen Campbell colors," said Webb.
For more information on "Jimmy Webb: The Glen Campbell Years” or to purchase tickets, visit the Schwartz Center for the Arts website.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CbTCTbGjfck
This piece is made possible, in part, by a grant from the Delaware Division of the Arts, a state agency dedicated to nurturing and supporting the arts in Delaware, in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts.