Glen Campbell’s farewell tour rides through Vegas

Cliff Owen

By Ken Miller (contact)

Wednesday, May 30, 2012 | 3 p.m.

Typically, when the Grammys trot out an old-timer to sing past hits, it’s a good excuse to get a sandwich. But Glen Campbell’s performance of “Rhinestone Cowboy” on this year’s Grammy telecast was something quite different, a surprisingly stirring rendering that had the audience—both in the venue and at home—singing along. In a way, it was an elaborately produced goodbye to the man who has given the world more than 20 Top-40 hits and sold more than 50 million records. Campbell, 75, was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s last year and announced that his current tour will be his last. That gives my generation one last chance to hear the hits we grew up with: “Galveston,” “Southern Nights,” “Wichita Lineman” … Odds are, his final Vegas performance will be equal parts entertaining and bittersweet.