‘Glen Campbell: I’ll Be Me’ Film Helps Family Cope With Legend’s Alzheimer’s
Any film about superstar entertainer Glen Campbell would, by its very nature, tend to be extraordinary. But Glen Campbell: I’ll Be Me, a film exploring the devastating effects of Alzheimer’s disease, which affects some five million Americans over the age of 65, including the 78-year-old singer, could have been a much trickier proposition. By putting the project in the capable hands of producer James Keach (who also produced the Oscar-winning 2005 Johnny Cash biopic, Walk the Line), however, Campbell’s family has ensured that the conversation about the debilitating disease will continue and will, most importantly, evolve. The film, which opens in New York and Nashville today (October 24th), will soon expand to 50 theaters nationwide. A poignant chronicle of Campbell’s Goodbye Tour (featuring dozens of his most memorable songs) and the ongoing medical treatment which followed his diagnosis in early 2011, I’ll Be Me captures unguarded moments between the musician and his family members as they come to terms with a future in which, as the final song he recorded in his stellar career underscores, he declares, “I’m Not Gonna Miss You.” As heartbreaking as it is uplifting, for anyone touched by the dreaded disease, I’ll Be Me may be difficult to watch at times, but it’s also warm, funny, and full of the music that defined a generation and turned a young prodigy into an international sensation.
With a career that spanned six decades, Glen Campbell was, without question, one of the most influential country-pop artists of the last half of the 20th century. Born in the tiny Billstown community near Delight, Arkansas, in 1936, the seventh son of 12 children was already a supremely gifted (and underage) guitarist when he briefly relocated to Casper, Wyoming, with his uncle “Boo” to play in a nightclub. This was followed by a stint in Albuquerque to join Dick Bills (another uncle) in his band, the Sandia Mountain Boys. By the early 1960s, Campbell was working as a session musician in Los Angeles, where his guitar work was heard on records by Merle Haggard, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Nat King Cole, Elvis Presley, the Righteous Brothers, the Monkees and the Mamas and the Papas, among countless others. He was also a member of the Beach Boys, filling in for Brian Wilson on tour in 1964 and ’65.
Signed to Capitol Records in 1962, it would be five more years before he would break onto the country charts, but when he did the results were impressive, to say the least. While the early hits were plentiful, including “Gentle on Mind,” “Wichita Lineman” and “Galveston,” their crossover appeal secured pop radio airplay but also made the affable entertainer a TV star who hosted his own CBS variety series from 1969 to 1972. The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour spotlighted not only his own talents but also featured many of his fellow musicians in a homey, casual atmosphere. Writers on the show included a couple of future stars, actor-director Rob Reiner and comedian-musician Steve Martin, who is among the numerous celebrities featured in I’ll Be Me. Also appearing in the film are Paul McCartney, Brad Paisley, Keith Urban, and U2 guitarist, The Edge, among others. (See an exclusive film clip featuring Martin and Urban below.) Many of the famous participants also reveal personal stories about how Alzheimer’s has touched their lives. But it is, naturally, the Campbell family’s own struggle with how the disease has altered the man they love that is at the heart of the documentary. Glen’s fourth wife, Kim (they will celebrate their 32nd wedding anniversary October 26th), and the couple’s three children together, daughter Ashley, and sons Shannon and Cal, along with other Campbell family members appear in the film, and although Kim says there was a little discomfort with the cameras initially, they all adjusted to the idea fairly quickly.
“Glen’s always been open and honest about his life and everything that’s happened to him and its journey in his faith,” Kim Campbell tells Rolling Stone Country. “We have a great family and we love being together.”
After receiving the Alzheimer’s diagnosis, Kim and her family moved beyond their fear and decided to share the difficult journey with Campbell’s fans so that the film could be a learning experience.
“I was afraid of Alzheimer’s,” she says. “When we got the diagnosis it scared me. I didn’t know what to expect. I think a lot of people want to hide the fact that you have Alzheimer’s. We just felt like Glen was doing really good and we just wanted to keep living our lives and celebrate being together. If you don’t have anything to hide, you’re not worried.”