Country music legend Glen Campbell has died at the age 81 after battling Alzheimer’s disease. The singer died Tuesday morning in Nashville.
A statement on Glen’s website reads:
“It is with the heaviest of hearts that we announce the passing of our beloved husband, father, grandfather, and legendary singer and guitarist, Glen Travis Campbell, at the age of 81, following his long and courageous battle with Alzheimer’s disease. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Glen Campbell Memorial Fund at BrightFocus Foundation through the CareLiving.org donation page.”
Kim Campbell, Glen’s wife, thanked everyone for their prayers and asked for privacy during this difficult time.
Glen sold more than 45 million records throughout his six-decade career, outselling the Beatles.
The country singer released his final album, Adios, earlier in the year, which featured cover songs of Harry Nilsson, Bob Dylan and other artists he loved.
Glen’s daughter Ashley said the songs on the album were his “go-to” songs when he would sit down with his guitar.
“They were very much engrained in his memory – like, so far back that they were one of the last things he started losing,” she told Rolling Stone Country.
Glen was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2005 and won more than ten Grammys.
Kyle Young, Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum CEO, said in a statement:
“Had Glen Campbell ‘only’ played guitar and never voiced a note, he would have spent a lifetime as one of America’s most consequential recording musicians. Had he never played guitar and ‘only’ sung, his voice would rank with American music’s most riveting, expressive, and enduring. He left indelible marks as a musician, a singer, and an entertainer, and he bravely shared his incalculable talent with adoring audiences even as he fought a cruel and dread disease. To all of us who heard and loved his soulful music, he was a delight.”
Glen is survived by his wife Kim; eight children; ten grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren; two brothers; and three sisters.
