Wrecking Crew", many of whom were featured on the recording. The musicians on the recording included Campbell, Al Casey and James Burton (guitar), Carol Kaye (guitar/bass), Don Bagley (bass), Jim Gordon (drums) and Al De Lory (piano). The orchestral arrangements were by De Lory with the descending six-note intro added by bassist Carol Kaye.
Webb was surprised to hear that Campbell had recorded the song: "A couple of weeks later I ran into [Campbell] somewhere, and I said, 'I guess you guys didn't like the song.' 'Oh, we cut that' he said. 'It wasn't done! I was just humming the last bit!'. 'Well it's done now!'"
It's not just the English – Bob Dylan apparently claimed it as the greatest song ever written and he knows a thing or two about songwriting – but it does seem a very English passion. From the sort of people who dream of road trips across the USA, with special tapes compiled for each stretch of road. It's the English love affair with Americana boiled down to one song, which has all the romance of those wide open spaces and endless roads, with a touch of existential loneliness and despair thrown in to add depth and significance. The sort of people who make jokes about how pathetic English versions would sound…"By the Time I Get to Dorking"…"Basingstoke Lineman"…"Get your kicks on the A413 to Aylesbury". The generation for whom America provided all the romance and colour of their childhoods.
Here's an earlier Glen Campbell I featured back in 2014 – My Window Faces the South – showing what an outstanding guitarist the man was.
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