The cover of Glen Campbell\’s 1969 concert album, recorded at the Garden State Arts Center in Holmdel.
On July 4, 1969, Glen Campbell — who had had a remarkable string of hits over the last few years, including “By the Time I Get to Phoenix,” “Wichita Lineman,” “Galveston” and “I Wanna Live” — performed at the Garden State Arts Center in Holmdel. And in August of that year, he released the music from that show as his first concert album, Glen Campbell Live. The double album became a hit in its own right, rising to No. 13 on Billboard magazine’s albums chart and No. 2 on the country chart.
The Arts Center (now known as the PNC Bank Arts Center) apparently had its own orchestra in those days. The Garden State Arts Center Orchestra is credited with backing Campbell on the album, along with drummer Bob Felts, bassist Billy Graham, guitarist Al Casey and pianist Dennis McCarthy.
Campbell died on Aug. 8, at the age of 81.
The tracks from Glen Campbell Live — a snapshot of Campbell in his prime, casually masterful at pop, R&B, country and gospel — are currently available, digitally, as part of the Campbell anthology, The Capitol Albums Collection, Vol. 2. Here they are, in the same order as on the original album:
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