# Glen Campbell 'I'm Not Gonna Miss You' **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 15, 2014, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/glen-campbell-im-not-gonna-miss-you/701370 "2014-10-15T03:04:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2014, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/glen-campbell-im-not-gonna-miss-you/701370/1 "2014-10-15T03:04:18Z")
I was a child during Glen Campbell’s heyday. It was into the '70s before I hit the double digits. I didn’t listen to Country music. But back in the days of AM radio (‘I listen to fun-loving KCBQ!’) there were a lot of crossover tunes. It was a time of prime-time variety shows, one of which was _Glen Campbell’s Goodtime Hour_. I don’t know if anyone could _not_ hear a Glen Campbell song. Nowadays if I hear one of his songs, I find it a bit corny. It’s gentle (on my mind) music from a more innocent era, without the fun of ska or the politics of punk or the irony of new wave. If I think of Glen Campbell at all, it’s because I’m watching _True Grit_ I had no idea, nor reason to know, that he had Alzheimer’s disease. [This CNN story](http://www.cnn.com/2014/10/14/showbiz/glen-campbell-final-song/index.html?hpt=hp_t4) briefly tells about his farewell tour and his final song and video, _I’m Not Gonna Miss You_. He’s not going to miss ‘you’ because he won’t remember ‘you’. ‘Sadly,’ said his family, ‘Glen’s condition has progressed enough that we were no longer able to keep him at home.’ ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2014, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/glen-campbell-im-not-gonna-miss-you/701370/2 "2014-10-15T04:31:36Z")
Sad. An undignified way to go, for the afflicted and their loved ones. I, too, didn’t hit double digits (age-wise) until the 1970s. I like his rendition of Mason Williams’s _Classical Gas_. YouTube: [- YouTube](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=kh0F2sMcr_4) ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2014, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/glen-campbell-im-not-gonna-miss-you/701370/3 "2014-10-15T04:42:51Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > [This CNN story](http://www.cnn.com/2014/10/14/showbiz/glen-campbell-final-song/index.html?hpt=hp_t4) briefly tells about his farewell tour and his final song and video, _I’m Not Gonna Miss You_. He’s not going to miss ‘you’ because he won’t remember ‘you’. ‘Sadly,’ said his family, ‘Glen’s condition has progressed enough that we were no longer able to keep him at home.’ I just read the article and watched the videos. Very moving. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2014, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/glen-campbell-im-not-gonna-miss-you/701370/4 "2014-10-15T04:56:43Z")
I came here to defend GC. It’s true that some of his music is corny-ish but he also recorded some very good music. At one time he was the top LA studio or session musician. He was even a stage performing Beach Boy for a short time. It’s very sad to see him going through this. There is one interview online where his wife says to Glen (and the interviewer) “we have Alzheimer’s”. To which Campbell replied “we do?” I will try to come back to this thread when I have more time and post links. One of the things that set him apart from a lot of other country acts is that he is one of the most talented musicians out there. Or was. ---
**Author:** ![not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_what_you_d_expect/32/3246_2.png) [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_what_you_d_expect)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2014, 11:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/glen-campbell-im-not-gonna-miss-you/701370/5 "2014-10-15T11:33:21Z")
I was raised in the south and hee haw was my dads favorite show. I actually really liked Glen Campbell and watched his show. I wish him well. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2014, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/glen-campbell-im-not-gonna-miss-you/701370/6 "2014-10-15T11:56:01Z")
I’ve just been doing a bit of a youtube binge of Witchita Lineman videos. (I’ve been reading Iain Banks “The Bridge” and the song is mentioned which made me nostalgic for it, not that I’m old enough.) Anyway, it made me realise that Glen Campbell is a great guitarist. ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2014, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/glen-campbell-im-not-gonna-miss-you/701370/7 "2014-10-15T14:30:56Z")
I remember seeing him once on the “Dick Cavett” show. He started to tell a joke and said, “It’s a little off color.” Cavett replies, “Well, if it crosses the line they’ll just bleep it out” So Campbell tells the joke, and the censor the friggin’ _punchline._ You know that what you’re saying at that moment about the ABC censors is worse than anything that was going to come out of Glenn Campbell’s mouth. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2014, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/glen-campbell-im-not-gonna-miss-you/701370/8 "2014-10-15T14:37:43Z")
> [@E-DUB](#): > > I remember seeing him once on the “Dick Cavett” show. He started to tell a joke and said, “It’s a little off color.” Cavett replies, “Well, if it crosses the line they’ll just bleep it out” So Campbell tells the joke, and the censor the friggin’ _punchline._ > > You know that what you’re saying at that moment about the ABC censors is worse than anything that was going to come out of Glenn Campbell’s mouth. I’m stunned that GC said something censorable. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2014, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/glen-campbell-im-not-gonna-miss-you/701370/9 "2014-10-15T16:41:22Z")
See [this thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=736726) for a few other comments. ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2014, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/glen-campbell-im-not-gonna-miss-you/701370/10 "2014-10-15T17:44:51Z")
This was, of course, pre-internet, so no ability to track down the joke. I finally heard it years later and it was actually pretty mild, at least by todays standards. (There was a boy from a poor family and the parents asked him what he wanted for Christmas. He said something to wear and something to play with. They could only afford one present so they got him a pair of pants with the pocket linings cut out.) ---
**Author:** ![Orwell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/dfb087/32.png) [@Orwell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orwell)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2014, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/glen-campbell-im-not-gonna-miss-you/701370/11 "2014-10-15T18:43:07Z")
> [@Richard\_Pearse](#): > > Anyway, it made me realise that Glen Campbell is a great guitarist. He was a heck of a guitarist. I would also argue he was a good singer, with a string of very good songs in the 60s and 70s, mostly before Rinestone Cowboy. I’m just old enough to remember him in the 1970-1980 period, and he was very talented. I just watched the “I’m Not Gonna Miss You” on youtube. Good lord, what a sad and heartbreaking song/video. ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2014, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/glen-campbell-im-not-gonna-miss-you/701370/12 "2014-10-15T19:12:58Z")
I’m not sure about watching the video. I might prefer my memories of him. He was a go-to sort of session guitarist. Yes, he toured with the Beach Boys, but I’m not sure how great that was as I have a friend who did the same. Not that my friend wasn’t a hell of a keyboard player (B.A. in Music, Harpsichord), but I learned from that friend that Hammond B-3s are just too damned heavy. I first became aware of GC during his summer replacement show for The Smothers Brothers. And it was obvious he had a deal with Ovation guitars. As did The Partridge Family. A couple of years ago, I saw billboards promoting his appearances in Branson, MO. He had aged. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2014, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/glen-campbell-im-not-gonna-miss-you/701370/13 "2014-10-15T19:24:55Z")
> [@Orwell](#): > > He was a heck of a guitarist. I would also argue he was a good singer, with a string of very good songs in the 60s and 70s, mostly before Rinestone Cowboy. I’m just old enough to remember him in the 1970-1980 period, and he was very talented. > > I just watched the “I’m Not Gonna Miss You” on youtube. Good lord, what a sad and heartbreaking song/video. Yeah, he did an outstanding job on the Jimmy Webb tunes like “By The Time I Get To Phoenix” and others that had that lonesome longing thing going on. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2014, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/glen-campbell-im-not-gonna-miss-you/701370/14 "2014-10-15T20:45:53Z")
Glen’s condition has done much to raise awareness of Alzheimer’s disease. I was quite surprised how Glen managed to get through his last concerts just over a year ago. There’s several youtube videos of that final tour. His daughter was on stage with him and helped out when he got confused. Sometimes the band would start and that helped Glen get started. He could still play and sing quite well. I guess those old songs will be the last memories Glen loses. ---
**Author:** ![A\_Dodgy\_Dude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a87d85/32.png) [@A\_Dodgy\_Dude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/A_Dodgy_Dude)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2014, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/glen-campbell-im-not-gonna-miss-you/701370/15 "2014-10-15T21:27:00Z")
If this doesn’t put a smile on your face, well then … [Glen Campbell plays The William Tell Overture acoustic](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rSE1GrQVzCQ)