|
ApologetiX on the "Glen Campbell Trail"
Wed., Sep. 27. 2006 11:52pm EDT
Back in 2002, ApologetiX had the chance to do the "Steve Miller Trail"; within the calendar year of concerts, we went from Phoenix AZ, all the way to Tacoma, Philadelphia, Atlanta, L.A. -- just like Steve sang about in his 1976 #1 hit song "Rock n' Me." With the concert we just booked for October 15, we'll get to complete the "Glen Campbell Trail" in 2006.
Campbell, of course, first found fame as a country singer/guitarist, but he also became a pop star right about the time he started hosting his own television variety show from 1968-72. He had his first big pop crossover hits with a trio of singles featuring city names, "By the Time I Get to Phoenix" (#2 country, #26 pop, 1967), "Wichita Lineman," (#1 country, #3 pop,1968), and Galveston (#1 country, #4 pop).
We played Wichita KS on June 2, Phoenix AZ on June 18, and now we'll be in Galveston TX (Galveston is the closest major city to Dickinson TX -- just 25 miles away) on October 15. By the way, the section of Phoenix we played was GLENdale!
But that's not all. Campbell made a mid-70's comeback on the heels of "Rhinestone Cowboy" and added a fourth city-name crossover hit, "Country Boy (You Got Your Feet in L.A.)" (#3 country, #11 pop, 1975). We'll play three concerts in the Los Angeles area this weekend.
Campbell had one other city-name crossover single, although it wasn't nearly as big a hit: "Houston (I'm Comin' to See You)" (#20 country, #68 pop, 1974). We'll be in Houston (Cypress TX, a suburb of Houston) on October 13, so we'll have played in all five of the cities mentioned in titles of his country crossover hits.
For you trivia buffs, Campbell also had some other lesser-known country singles with place names, but none of them crossed over to the Hot 100 of the pop charts. But here they are:
- "Kentucky Means Paradise" (#20 country, 1962). We played Kentucky a number of times this year, most recently on September 22 in Morehead KY.
- "Oklahoma Sunday Morning" (#15 country, 1972). We played Bartlesville OK on June 3, although it was a Saturday night, and not a Sunday morning.
- "Manhattan Kansas" (#6 country, 1972). Well, we didn't play Manhattan KS this year, but it was the first city we ever played in Kansas, way back in 2000. As mentioned above, we did play Kansas this year, in Wichita, 155 miles from Manhattan.
- "California" (#45 country, 1979). We've played in California six times this year.
- "Hollywood Smiles" (#80 country, 1980). Our concert on September 29 in Downey CA was just 20 miles from Hollywood.
Believe it or not, ApologetiX members Karl Messner and Keith Haynie actually walked past Glen Campbell in a Houston airport a year or two. Furthermore, on October 6 and 7, we'll be in Shepherdsville KY (near Louisville) and Lester AL, adding to a long list of "Southern Nights" (#1 country, #1 pop, 1977) we'll have played in 2006.
We could go on with the references, but we decided to "try a little kindness" and go "gentle on your mind." Besides, all this talk about Campbell's is making us hungry for some soup!
|
