Saying Goodbye – How Campbell’s Final Album Came to Be

After his diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease in 2011, Glen Campbell’s abilities to play, sing and remember songs began to decline rapidly. His wife Kim’s sense of urgency grew to get him into the studio one last time to capture what magic was left, knowing this would be the last opportunity.

“Just as our new reality began to sink in,” Kim recalled in the album’s liner notes, “fate found us spending an afternoon with Carl Jackson, Glen’s long-time banjo player and friend – and, most notably, the person who set Glen and me up on a blind date 34 years ago!

“We reminisced that day about all of the songs that were still on Glen’s ‘list’ – songs he had loved to sing but never recorded,” she said. But time had slipped away, and it hadn’t happened. Conversation sparked inspiration that afternoon, and the wheels were put in motion.

Jackson laid down some basic tracks and vocals for Campbell to study and practice in preparation for his final session. Then, more than 50 years after he recorded his first hit song, “Turn Around, Look At Me,” Campbell was ready to walk into the vocal booth one last time.

“We weren’t sure what would come of those recordings, but it felt like something that had to be done,” Kim explained. “We knew that if we were able to preserve these moments, we would be giving the world a gift – but we would also be helping Glen successfully complete a big task on his bucket list.”

The process of capturing Campbell’s vocals was heartbreaking at times.

“I’d heard Glen sing these songs so many times over the years and was trying my best to remind him of the subtle nuances and details that he’d developed – and then forgotten,” Kim recalled.

Campbell was barely able to remember the words to the songs as he sang them. Jackson would hold up sheets of paper with large print lyrics and feed them to the Country Music Hall of Fame performer one line at a time, Kim said, adding that, although he struggled, she could tell he was clearly ecstatic about being in the studio again.

“The songs flowed freely and clearly straight from his heart, and the voice and tone were still remarkably – unmistakably – his,” Kim said.

“Our son Cal described it well, saying that his dad sang ‘better than most other performers could, even with half of his brain tied behind his back.’ ’’

Once completed, the recordings were stored away. Later, as Kim coped with the trauma of watching her husband descend into late stages of dementia, she decided to crack open the vaults and, with Jackson, listen once more to those basic tracks they had recorded that day.

“It only took a few minutes to be reminded of how good he sounded and how beautifully he interpreted each phrase. We realized immediately that it would be a shame to not finish this record. We had to share it with the world.”

Kim and Jackson set out to enlist some of the best musicians in the business to give the record the polish and charm that Campbell was known for.

The result was Adiós, Campbell’s final album. The name comes from the last track on the record, one of his favorite Jimmy Webb songs. But with Campbell dying just weeks after its release, the title is heart breaking even while its music is uplifting.

The process of recording the final version of Adiós took nearly six months, Kim recalled.

“We brought in Willie Nelson to sing the other half of a duet with Glen, Vince Gill added harmonies to a Roger Miller tune, Aubrey Haynie came in to play some fiddle, and Mike Johnson added classic steel guitar tones alongside many of Nashville's top session players. Carl handled all of the guitars himself this time around,” she said.

The final days of tracking were both the most rewarding and the hardest, as Campbell’s children Ashley, Shannon and Cal each took their turns in the booth to add vocals behind their dad’s parts.

“It’s easy to get caught up in the recording process and lose track of the meaning behind the lyrics or story that each song is telling, but these sessions were different,” Kim said.

“The feelings of love, respect, and the somber realization that these would be the last Campbell family harmonies committed to tape were very present in the room. Just like their father, each of them stepped up to the microphone and performed with that rare mix of professionalism, skill, heart and soul.”

While the experience was bittersweet, Kim said it was “more than worthwhile” when she listens to the finished album today.

“What you’re hearing when listening to Adiós is the beautiful and loving culmination of friends and family doing their very best for the man who inspired, raised, and entertained them for decades – they gave him the chance to say one last goodbye to his fans, and put one last amazing collection of Glen Campbell songs onto the record store shelves,” she said.

Glen Campbell Dies at 81