Glen Campbell

Country Musician / Actor

Glen Campbell's guitar-pickin' talent, dimpled chin and blue-eyed good looks made him a star of both country music and mainstream pop in the 1960s. Campbell was a hotshot Los Angeles session guitarist early in the decade, making a name for himself while playing behind headliners like Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley and the Beach Boys. The 1967 single "Gentle On My Mind" made Campbell a bona fide solo star, and he followed up with a ranchful of hit tunes including "Wichita Linesman," "By the Time I Get to Phoenix" and "Galveston." In 1969 he made the leap to television as host of The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour. The same year he took a turn as a dandified Texas Ranger opposite John Wayne in True Grit, in what was by far the most prominent movie role of his career. The Goodtime Hour ran until 1972, and Campbell had hits with "Rhinestone Cowboy" in 1975 and "Southern Nights" in 1977. His autobiography, Rhinestone Cowboy was published in 1994.

Extra credit: Campbell was one of 12 children... Actor/directors Steve Martin and Rob Reiner were writers for the Goodtime Hour... Campbell had a highly public romantic affair with country singer Tanya Tucker in the 1980s... He was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol and assaulting an officer after a hit-and-run incident in 2003; his unflattering mug shot was widely distributed online... He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2005.

Other folk and country musicians of the late 1960s: 'Mama Cass' Elliot, Willie Nelson and Bob Dylan.