VIDEO FOR “A BETTER PLACE,” FROM GLEN CAMPBELL’S
ACCLAIMED FINAL ALBUM RELEASED NATIONWIDE
Watch Video here: http://youtu.be/JMh78jF-
Ghost On The Canvas
sees Campbell capping his brilliant career with one of his most moving
and energized works to date, a powerfully emotional song cycle that sees
him accompanied by a truly dazzling line-up of songwriters and
musicians.
Nashville, TN (September 10, 2012) – Surfdog Records has announced “A
Better Place,” the second video from Glen Campbell’s critically
acclaimed album Ghost On The Canvas, featuring a special guest
appearance from Joshua Homme (Queens Of The Stone Age, Kyuss, Them
Crooked Vultures) and directed by Kii Arens and Jason Trucco is being
released to media nationwide. This farewell video showcases Campbell
looking back at his life and career. He also sends a personal message to
his wife, Kimberley, a former Radio City Music Hall dancer that the
Rhinestone Cowboy met on a blind date in 1981. “My love goes out to Kim,
my amazing grace. You’ve been by my side through these changing times,
and it means the world to me.”
Ghost On The Canvas – the final studio recording of the iconic eight-time GRAMMY® winning singer/guitarist/songwriter – entered the SoundScan/Billboard 200 at #23 and the UK album chart at #27. USA Today
declared the record “a museum-quality masterpiece,” extolling it as
“not simply a coda to an impressive career but also the sort of artistic
swan song that might receive serious consideration for album of the
year come Grammy Awards time.” The Boston Globe called Ghost On The Canvas “gorgeous and charming” while Pitchfork
noted that “Campbell conveys a certain nostalgia for that defining
sound of his prime…His voice remains strong enough that he doesn’t need
your pity to put these songs across.” “The years have added an edge to
his singing,” said Rolling Stone, noting “Dude’s definitely not going out softly.” The Village Voice perhaps summed it up best: Ghost On The Canvas is “maybe the finest album (Campbell’s) ever made.”
The collection has met with similar acclaim across the Atlantic, where BBC Music
declared it to be “the real deal, musical and emotionally true and
sometimes devastating, on a par with (Johnny) Cash’s performance on
‘Hurt.’” Uncut awarded Ghost On The Canvas four stars, applauding Campbell’s “majestic storytelling” while Mojo
praised his “glorious undiminished tones, particularly his reckoning
with the hereafter on ‘A Better Place.’” Campbell has charted 13 albums
in the UK in just over four decades, reaching #1 with the 1976
compilation, Twenty Golden Greats.
In addition to Paul Westerberg, Ghost On The Canvas features
original songs by Jakob Dylan, Robert Pollard, and Teddy Thompson.
Campbell is backed by a roster of players that includes Chris Isaak,
Dick Dale, Billy Corgan, Brian Setzer, Rick Nielsen, Roger Manning, and
The Dandy Warhols. The album was produced by Julian Raymond, who also
co-wrote a number of new songs with Campbell.
About Glen Campbell:
For more than fifty years, Glen Campbell has been among popular music’s
most successful and significant artists, a multi-talented superstar who
can rightfully be declared a living legend and a true American
treasure. The Arkansas-born Campbell took up guitar at an early age and
in 1958, relocated to Los Angeles where he immediately became an
in-demand session musician. He joined forces with the legendary
Wrecking Crew, a group of session players whose work can be heard on a
stunning range of recordings spanning from the 1960’s thru the
seventies. The Wrecking Crew played with such artists as Frank Sinatra,
The Beach Boys, The Monkees, Simon & Garfunkel, Elvis Presley, and
most famously, Phil Spector, with whom they helped create the famed
“Wall of Sound.” In 1964, Campbell was invited to become a touring
member of The Beach Boys, playing bass and singing falsetto harmonies,
then later contributing guitar to 1966’s seminal Pet Sounds.
Campbell achieved his first major success as a solo artist with “Gentle
On My Mind,” which proved a crossover smash upon its 1967 release. He
followed it that same year with “By The Time I Get To Phoenix,” marking
the first in a string of collaborative hits penned by renowned
songwriter Jimmy Webb that also includes such classics as “Wichita
Lineman,” “Where’s The Playground, Susie,” and “Galveston.”
In addition to hit singles, Campbell also released a remarkable run of gold and platinum certified albums, including 1967’s Gentle On My Mind,
the first of seven consecutive collections to hit #1 on Billboard’s
“Country Albums” chart. Among them are full-length favorites like
1967’s By The Time I Get To Phoenix, Bobbie Gentry & Glen Campbell and the 2x-platinum certified Wichita Lineman (both released in 1968), and 1969’s Galveston.
As if his musical career weren’t enough, Campbell also drew acclaim as
an actor and TV personality, with credits that include 1969’s True Grit (earning him a Golden Globe nomination as “Most Promising Newcomer”) and four seasons as host of CBS’ The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour.
The highly rated variety series saw Campbell joined by a spectacular
assortment of stars – including John Wayne, Dean Martin, Ray Charles,
and Cream – while also introducing some of country music’s greatest
artists (Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard) to a wide national
audience.
1975 saw the release of Campbell’s biggest crossover triumph,
“Rhinestone Cowboy,” which earned RIAA gold certification while topping
both Billboard’s “Hot 100” and “Hot Country Singles” charts. Two years
later saw Campbell repeating the feat with the gold certified, #1 smash,
“Southern Nights,” marking his fifth-ever country chart-topper as well
as his seventh on Billboard’s “Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks” tally.
Though Campbell’s life has taken many difficult turns, his faith and
family have long enabled him to keep pushing forward, both as a touring
superstar and acclaimed recording artist. In 2008, he united with Ghost On The Canvas producer Julian Raymond for one of the most unique albums in his canon, Meet Glen Campbell.
The album found Campbell putting his inimitable stamp on songs by such
artists as U2, Green Day, Tom Petty, Foo Fighters, and Jackson Browne,
supported by members of Jane’s Addiction, Jellyfish, and Cheap Trick.
Over the course of his astonishing career, Campbell can lay claim to six
Top 20 albums and 21 Top 40 hit singles. His track record as one of
country music’s greatest stars includes 27 Top 10 country classics
spanning 22 years, as well as nine #1 country albums.
Campbell has also received a stunning array of honors, beginning in 1967
when he made history by winning multiple Grammy Awards in both the
Country & Western and Pop categories: “Gentle On My Mind” was
honored as “Best Country & Western Vocal Performance, Male” and
“Best Country & Western Recording,” while “By The Time I Get To
Phoenix” was named “Best Vocal Performance, Male” and “Best Contemporary
Male Solo Vocal Performance.” The following year saw Campbell earning
yet another Grammy when By The Time I Get To Phoenix was named
“Album of the Year” – the first country album to win the top award.
What’s more, “Gentle On My Mind,” “By The Time I Get To Phoenix,” and
“Wichita Lineman” have all since received the “Grammy Hall of Fame
Award.”
Among Campbell’s many other honors are seven Academy of Country Music
Awards (including “Top Male Vocalist” and “Album of the Year” in both
1967 and 1968), three American Music Awards (celebrating “Rhinestone
Cowboy” and the album that bears its name), three Gospel Music
Association Dove Awards, two Country Music Association Awards, and the
UK’s Q Award for “Q Legend.” In addition, Campbell has received the
Academy of Country Music’s prestigious “Pioneer Award” and has been
inducted to both the Country Music Hall of Fame as well as the Musicians
Hall of Fame (honoring his membership in The Wrecking Crew).
About Surfdog:
Surfdog Records and Dave Kaplan Management are part of Surfdog, Inc. /
DKM Inc., a broad-based entertainment company founded in 1985 by Dave
Kaplan. Located in Encinitas, CA, the entertainment group also
includes: Surfdog Music Publishing & Licensing, Surfdog
Entertainment Marketing (SDE) and Surfdog’s Java Hut. The label’s
passion for music includes an eclectic array of genres. They have
released over 100 albums and worked with artists such as Brian Setzer,
Glen Campbell, Joss Stone, Drake Bell, Dave Stewart, Stray Cats,
Butthole Surfers, Slightly Stoopid, Richard Cheese, Dan Hicks & the
Hot Licks, Gary Hoey, and many more. In addition, they’ve released
several soundtrack albums, including The Endless Summer II and Step Into Liquid. Surfdog
artists’ music has been prominently featured in numerous top-line
motion pictures, commercials and television shows. Surfdog is proud to
be an ocean-conscious company whose motto is “Please Help Preserve Our
Oceans,” something they do daily in their support for Surfrider
Foundation and involvement in the local community.