Read Ashley Campbell’s Poignant Tribute to Father Glen Campbell
Musician Ashley Campbell, the youngest of Glen Campbell‘s eight children, has released a handwritten note in memory of her father, who died Tuesday at 81, following a six-year battle with Alzheimer’s disease.
“Many of you know my father, Glen Campbell, as the guitar player, singer, and international icon that he was,” Ashley writes. “Some of you may know him as the wonderful man and friend he was to so many people. I had the privilege of knowing Glen Campbell as a father. I also had the honor and privilege of caring for my dad through his entire journey through Alzheimer’s disease. Music was the thing that could bring him back to us when the fog would pull him just a little further away.”
Ashley goes on to explain that “Remembering,” the song she co-wrote with Kai Welch, was her way of reaching her dad when he seemed lost. The song was introduced in Glen Campbell… I’ll Be Me, the Oscar-nominated documentary that chronicled the singer-guitarist’s Alzheimer’s battle and his subsequent Goodbye Tour.
“Now, after he has passed, when I sing this song, I feel like he is reaching back for me as I reached for him. I can feel him with me in the music and he is comforting me now.”
Since his death on August 8th, Glen Campbell has been paid tribute by numerous fellow musicians and friends including Alice Cooper, Keith Urban, Kenny Rogers and songwriter Jimmy Webb, among others. Campbell was laid to rest in a private ceremony on Wednesday in his hometown of Delight, Arkansas.