Maps of Music

Wichita Lineman (1968)

Where the lyrics of Wichita Lineman take you, and where it was really made.

The title song was not a hit on this album's release alone; it was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2000, more than thirty years after the album came out.

Key places

Capitol Studios, Hollywood (1968)

Recording site Capitol Studios — The album was recorded at Capitol Studios in Hollywood. The point marks the studio building itself. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Wichita Lineman: eleventh studio album by American singer-guitarist Glen Campbell
• Released in 1968 by Capitol Records; release month listed as November 1968
• Side 1 opens with the title track "Wichita Lineman" (Jimmy Webb), 3:08
• Side 1 also has covers of "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay" (Otis Redding, Steve Cropper) and "Words" (Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb)
• Side 1 also has "If You Go Away" (Jacques Brel, Rod McKuen), "Ann" (Billy Edd Wheeler) and "Fate of Man" (Glen Campbell)
• Side 2 has "Dreams of the Everyday Housewife" (Chris Gantry) and "The Straight Life" (Sonny Curtis)
• Side 2 has "Reason to Believe" (Tim Hardin), "You Better Sit Down Kids" (Sonny Bono) and "That's Not Home" (Billy Graham) as the closing track
• Eleven tracks in total, with most songs written by outside writers

Background

• Campbell's vocals and guitar carry the album, with a mix of contemporary pop and country material
• Campbell wrote "Fate of Man" himself, the only track credited to him as writer
• The title track is Jimmy Webb's composition, and Webb later played the organ part on it

Recording

• Al De Lory is credited as producer and arranger
• Recorded at Capitol Studios in Hollywood
• Bass: Carol Kaye, Joe Osborn and Ray Pohlman
• Drums: Hal Blaine, Bob Felts and Jim Gordon
• Acoustic guitar: Al Casey, with Campbell on acoustic and electric guitars
• Dennis McCarthy plays piano
• Jimmy Webb plays organ on "Wichita Lineman"

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Born April 22, 1936 in Billstown, Arkansas; began as a session guitarist in Los Angeles from 1960.
• Joined the studio group later known as The Wrecking Crew and played on recordings by many major artists.

Career

• Began a solo career in 1961; breakthrough hits included "Gentle on My Mind", "By the Time I Get to Phoenix", and "Wichita Lineman" in 1967–1968.
• Hosted The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour on CBS from 1969 to 1972.
• Released 64 albums across five decades and sold over 45 million records worldwide.
• Hit "Rhinestone Cowboy" and "Southern Nights" in the mid-1970s were both US number one songs.
• Won four Grammys in 1967 and received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2012.

Personal and final years

• Diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in 2011; retired in 2013 after recording his final song.
• Died August 8, 2017 in Nashville, Tennessee, at age 81.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Released by Capitol Records in 1968
• Eleventh studio album of Glen Campbell's career at the time
• Its title single, "Wichita Lineman", is the album's central track

Reappraisal

• The single "Wichita Lineman" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2000
• The induction came decades after the album's 1968 release

Records

• At the 11th Annual Grammy Awards, held in 1969, the album won Best Engineered Recording (Non-Classical)
• The award went to engineers Hugh Davies and Joe Polito
• The 1969 ceremony took place the year after the album's release
• The award is for the recording's engineering, not for songwriting or performance
• Chart and sales sections are listed for the album and its single, but the source gives no figures

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Jimmy Webb wrote the title track and also played the organ on it.
• Al De Lory served as both producer and arranger for the album.
• The album's two sides together hold eleven songs, and only "Fate of Man" is credited to Campbell as writer.
• The album's title single was later inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2000.
• The album's engineering credit went to Hugh Davies and Joe Polito at the 1969 Grammy Awards.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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