On This Day in 1967, Glen Campbell Released the Jimmy Webb-Penned Hit That Helped Make Him a Country Music Superstar

On this day (October 23) in 1967, Glen Campbell released “By the Time I Get to Phoenix.” In January 1968, it peaked at No. 2 on the Hot Country Songs chart, giving Campbell his first top 10 hit. It was also the first Jimmy Webb-penned single he released. Webb also wrote several of Campbell’s hits, including “Galveston” and “Wichita Lineman.”

Campbell’s recording career took off slowly. He released his debut single, “Dreams for Sale,” in 1958. He didn’t break into the top 40 of the country chart until “Kentucky Means Paradise,” recorded with the Green River Boys, reached No. 20 in 1962. His next hit came four years later with “Burning Bridges,” which reached No. 18. By the end of the decade, though, he was consistently scoring top 10 hits.

“By the Time I Get to Phoenix” wasn’t just Campbell’s first top 10 country hit. It reached No. 26 on the Hot 100, giving him his first pop top 40. The song also won Best Male Vocal Performance and Best Male Contemporary Vocal Performance at the 1967 Grammy Awards. The next year, By the Time I Get to Phoenix won Album of the Year.

Glen Campbell Wasn’t the First to Record This Hit

Jimmy Webb wrote “By the Time I Get to Phoenix” while he was still working at Motown Records. However, the label heads widely rejected the song. “When I left the company, they gave me the song and said, ‘You can take this one with you.’ And I said, ‘Okay, I will. I like it.’ They liked verses and choruses there,” Webb told Songfacts. “Verses and big choruses. And ‘By the Time I Get to Phoenix’ is three verses, very simple, very direct storyline,” he added.

Eventually, Johnny Rivers recorded the song for his 1966 album Changes. Glen Campbell heard Rivers’ version and knew he could make the song a hit. So, he took it to the studio with a new arrangement.

[RELATED: On This Day in 1975, Glen Campbell Was at No. 1 With a Song He Discovered While on Tour in Australia]

“There was some kind of surreal fit between his voice and those songs,” Webb said of his songs that became hits for Campbell. “It’s very hard for me to look back and say, ‘Oh, a-ha, now I see why we were successful.’ Because at the time it certainly wasn’t anything that I was in control of.”

Featured Image by David Redfern/Redferns

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