May 02, 2016

085: "Glen Campbell: I'll Be Me"

5 minutes

This week on StoryWeb: the documentary film Glen

Campbell: I’ll Be Me.

Glen Campbell: I’ll Be Me is a powerful, compelling,

utterly gripping documentary in every way. It traces the famed pop

country singer’s journey from an Alzheimer’s diagnosis to his final

deterioration. As it does so, it also documents his farewell tour

and the struggles Campbell and his family faced as he performed

frequently for a full year and a half after his diagnosis.

Campbell, born in 1936, turned 80 last month. He now lives in a

memory care facility and is attended every day by his wife and

children.

This is a well-made film and an honest, courageous story. After

learning of his Alzheimer’s diagnosis, Campbell, with the support

of his wife and children, decided to go public with the diagnosis

and to allow the documentary to be made. They also decided that

Campbell would go on an extended “Goodbye Tour” for as long as his

illness would permit.

The documentary is chock full of private footage in the

Campbells’ home, in dressing rooms, and on the tour bus. The viewer

sees Campbell as a human being, laughs along with his goofy sense

of humor (complete with his trademark duck quack), and cries with

Campbell, his wife, and his children as Campbell forgets the most

basic facts of his life, including – frequently – the fact that

he’s about to play a show or has just played a show.

Amazingly, the other half of the film features concert footage

from the farewell tour. There are numerous nail-biting moments as

his children (who play in his band) wait to see if he’ll remember

how to play and sing his best-known songs. A giant telecaster

displays the lyrics, but Campbell – playing lead guitar – has to

remember how to start each song and how to play it through to the

end. That he is able to do so for so many months – despite the fact

that he may not remember later that night that he played a show –

is nothing short of remarkable.

Glen Campbell: I’ll Be Me is a sad and heart-wrenching

film. It is difficult to watch anyone – much less a beloved pop

icon – deteriorate and fade away. But there’s something inspiring

about the film as well. In the face of a certain and fierce

diagnosis, Glen Campbell stands up and says he will go out doing

what he has always done best, what he loves so well. Courageously,

he vows to share the entire journey with his fans as a way of

shattering the silence surrounding Alzheimer’s.

Fans of Campbell’s music won’t be disappointed. He performs all

the great hits: “Wichita Lineman,” “Gentle on My Mind,” and

“Rhinestone Cowboy.” A new song, “I’m Not Gonna Miss You,” is also

featuredl. It is Campbell’s final studio recording. A soundtrack CD

is available as well.

To learn more about Glen Campbell as well as the film, stop by

Campbell’s official website, and check out the Rolling

Stone article that appeared when the film was released in

October 2014. To learn more about Alzheimer’s and to contribute to

research on the devastating disease, visit the I’ll Be Me

Alzheimer’s Fund.

Visit thestoryweb.com/glencampbell for links to all these

resources and to watch the official trailer for Glen Campbell:

I’ll Be Me. You’ll also find a link to the video for “I’m Not

Gonna Miss You.”

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By Linda Tate

4.4

1616 ratings