“‘Wichita Lineman’ is one of the songs I love best. Though written over 50 years ago,
it continues to haunt and enthrall us. Jimmy Webb is America’s finest living songwriter and no one
can sing a song like the incomparable Glen Campbell.”– Songwriters Hall of Fame Inductee Toby Keith
LOS ANGELES – Glen Campbell’s recording of Jimmy Webb’s “Wichita Lineman,” with its yearning refrain of “I need you more than want you and I want you for all time,” has been inducted into the National Recording Registry of the Library of Congress, ensuring that, like the lonesome lover’s sentiment in the timeless song, it will live on until the end of time.
“I’m humbled and, at the same time for Glen, I am extremely proud,” said Jimmy Webb. “I wish there was some way I could reach him to say, ‘Glen, you know they’re doing this. They are putting our music in a vault inside a mountain–it will be preserved for all time.”
Written by Jimmy Webb in 1968, “Wichita Lineman” was the title track of Campbell’s 12th album which was released by Capitol Records in November 1968. Following the unprecedented success Campbell experienced as a result of having a hit with Webb’s “By The Time I Get To Phoenix,” which was released the year prior and garnered two GRAMMY Awards,
With its instantly recognizable opening six-note bass intro that gives way to sweeping, orchestral strings, tremolo guitar and Campbell’s plaintive vocals, the wistful pop-country ballad “Wichita Lineman” didn’t sound like anything else of the day when released more than 50 years ago and still sounds singular today. The multimillion-selling “Wichita Lineman” was a massive crossover hit for Campbell that went to No. 3 on the pop chart and topped the country and adult contemporary charts for weeks. The song won a GRAMMY Award for Best Engineered Recording (Non-Classical), and also earned several GRAMMY nominations including Record of the Year and Best Male Contemporary Pop Vocal Performance. It was nominated for Single of the Year at the Academy of Country Music Award and stayed atop the country music charts for 20 weeks where it was the year’s top release in the genre. “Wichita Lineman” helped propel the album of the same name to multi-platinum status and becoming Campbell’s first #1 album where it stayed on the pop chart for five weeks.
“Wichita Lineman” has proven to be that rare song that transcends genres, eras and cultures. It has been recorded and covered live by hundreds of artists from across the globe including Guns N’ Roses, James Taylor (his version received a GRAMMY nomination in 2009), Johnny Cash, José Feliciano, Keith Urban, King Curtis, Kool & The Gang, The Meters, Ray Charles, R.E.M., Sergio Mendes and Brasil ’66, Smokey Robinson, Toby Keith, Tom Jones, Wayne Newton, and many others. After Campbell’s death, Webb sang the song with Little Big Town in a heartfelt tribute during the 51st Annual Country Music Association Awards.
An enduring classic, “Wichita Lineman” is widely considered one of the best songs ever written. In 2010, Rolling Stone ranked it one of the “500 Greatest Songs Of All Time” and in 2014 they ranked it one of the “100 Greatest Country Songs Of All Time.” In 2000, it was inducted into the GRAMMY Hall of Fame.
Legendary and lauded songwriter, singer, pianist, arranger and producer Jimmy Webb has a magnificent catalog of his own songs to draw from whenever he performs. Ranked in the top 50 on Rolling Stone‘s 100 Greatest Songwriters of All Time (“recognized today for his unique explorations of themes of loneliness and individuality in the American landscape”), his catalog boasts contemporary classics that are indelible compositions, such as “By the Time I Get to Phoenix,” “MacArthur Park,” “Wichita Lineman.” “Up, Up and Away,” “Still Within the Sound of My Voice,” “Galveston,” “Highwayman,” “The Worst That Could Happen,” “Didn’t We” and more.