Long before Glen Campbell was known for his own music, he was heard on other people's recordings. Campbell made a living as a session player, performing in the studio for artists' albums, a decent way for Campbell to make a living, at least at first.
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"I played my country music in clubs around the South till 1961," he says in an interview from 1970. "And then I got lucky and started to pick up session work. I played with some of the biggest in the business... Elvis, Sinatra, Nat King Cole, Sammy Davis, Dean Martin. In one year alone, I played on no less than 586 recording sessions."
Of all the artists Campbell played for, and there were a lot, there is one that stands out to Campbell, but not for his music.
"From those days, I think I liked Dean Martin the best of the bunch," Campbell recalls. "He was always the one who joked with the musicians. But Elvis, man, he was so polite, he scared you."
An extremely skilled guitarist, Campbell made a lot of money, but it came at a price for him.
"It doesn't necessarily give me happiness," Campbell reflects. "For instance, doing all those session dates brought me a lot of money... but they stopped me concentrating on my singing career, which should have been more important to me."
Glen Campbell Launches His Solo Career
Campbell eventually decided to go out on his own. He fortunately found success as a solo artist, but not right away. It wasn't until his 21st single, "Burning Bridges," released in 1966, that he finally had a Top 20 hit on his own. By the late '60s, Campbell found his groove, and became a mainstay on the radio.
"I finally got wise to just working for recording sessions," Campbell recalls. "I'd say to myself, 'I can sing better than some of these guys. They're making nothing records.' I made some discs to prove it.
"However, payola was pretty rife at that time, and I just couldn't get my records pushed," he adds. "So although I did reasonably well with songs like 'Too Late To Worry, Too Blue To Cry,' and 'Turn
Around Look At Me', I didn't really happen. Eventually, I decided to go into singing full-time. I gave up working with a band and on sessions, and in 1967, I cut 'Gentle On My Mind.' Then came 'By The Time I Get to Phoenix' and 'Wichita Lineman.' I was on my way."
