Image Courtesy PCH FilmsGlen Campbell‘s Goodbye Tour is captured in the new documentary film, Glen Campbell: I’ll Be Me, opening in select theaters Friday. The movie chronicles Glen’s diagnosis with Alzheimer’s Disease in 2011 and the 151 shows he played until the disease made it impossible for him to go on performing last year.
I’ll Be Me doesn’t shy away from showing Glen’s descent into dementia, but it also serves as a reminder of the multi-platinum career that put Glen Campbell in the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2005.
Scenes from The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour variety show on CBS and his acting role in the western True Grit are included in the movie along with vintage performances of his signature hits, “Rhinestone Cowboy,” “By the Time I Get to Phoenix” and many more. The film also shines a light on Glen’s role as a session guitarist on classic songs from The Beach Boys, Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra and many more acts.
Brad Paisley, Keith Urban, Bruce Springsteen, Blake Shelton and Paul McCartney are among the stars singing Glen’s praises in I’ll Be Me. Footage of Glen’s performance at the 2012 Grammy Awards with Blake and The Band Perry is also included, and The Band Perry’s Kimberly Perry tells ABC News Radio it was very humbling to be in Glen’s presence.
She says, “I always feels like he’s just a living piece of history, a lot like Loretta Lynn and Dolly Parton.”
Her brother Neil Perry recalls Glen giving it his all, even at the rehearsals for their Grammy Awards performance.
“He was getting ready to play ‘Rhinestone Cowboy,'” Neil says, “and I remember before he did, he took his guitar off, someone handed him an actual rhinestone jacket. He put it on, and then played the song, just for rehearsals. So, that was pretty cool to see that. Kind of him get in character, you know?”
The Band Perry performs a special version of Glen’s hit, “Gentle on My Mind,” featured in I’ll Be Me as well.
Glen Campbell’s children, Ashley and Shannon, played in their father’s bad on The Goodbye Tour. Even though they knew their dad was a living legend, meeting his fans on the road made a huge impression on them.
Ashley tells ABC News Radio, “Just [to] hear their own stories of what the show meant to them, and what Glen Campbell means to them. It was just so inspiring to know that my dad had inspired so many people. “
Glen’s wife, Kim Campbell, hopes I’ll Be Me introduces Glen’s music and legacy to an entirely new generation of fans.
She says, “A lot of people aren’t even aware that he’s one of the greatest guitar players that ever lived, and that he’s played on so many hits before — as part of the Wrecking Crew — before he was ever a solo artist himself. He maybe didn’t get the credit that he deserved for so many years. Now, I hope that this film will help people really understand how great of an artist he was.”
To find out where Glen Campbell: I’ll Be Me is playing in your area, go to GlenCampbellMovie.com.
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