NPR

Glen Campbell Made Me A Professional Guitar Player

Guitarist Matt Sweeney — co-founder of Chavez and session musician for Rick Rubin — remembers first hearing Campbell as a child in the '70s. After that, the cowboy was never far from him.
Country singer Glen Campbell playing the guitar for two young fans in 1970.

We reached out to Matt Sweeney Wednesday afternoon after seeing him effusively praise Glen Campbell in a series of tweets following the legendary musician's death on Tuesday. Instead of the normal (and necessary) back-and-forth required of publishing any good piece of writing, Sweeney responded with this essay, practically gift-wrapped, about Campbell's profound influence on his life.


My parents' house was filled with old books and records of bagpipe bands and John Phillip Sousa marches. The TV was a box that held people from the past, or other far-flung dimensions. An album, called , sat in the living room, like proof that a perfect world once existed. ICowboys and Indians

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from NPR

NPR5 min read
Here's This Year's List Of The Most Endangered Historic Places In The U.S.
The National Trust's annual list includes Eatonville, the all-Black Florida town memorialized by Zora Neale Hurston, Alaska's Sitka Tlingit Clan houses, and the home of country singer Cindy Walker.
NPR6 min readSocial History
For Many Missouri Catholics, Abortion Rights Means Choosing Between Faith, Politics
The state is shaping up to be big battleground over abortion rights in November. Research shows a majority of U.S. Catholics supports abortion rights — even though church leadership does not.
NPR2 min read
3 Salad Recipes To Segue From Winter To Spring
Think of these three salad recipes as an introduction to a new season, a combination of color, textures and bright spring flavors. They are light but substantial and satisfying enough to be a main course for lunch or dinner. 

Related Books & Audiobooks