Watch Glen Campbell’s Kids Perform ‘Gentle on My Mind’ as a Birthday Tribute
To celebrate what would have been Glen Campbell's 82nd birthday on Sunday (April 22), the country star's children, Ashley and Shannon Campbell, returned to the Nashville Alzheimer's and memory care center Abe's Garden, where their father spent the final portion of his life, for a special birthday performance of his iconic song "Gentle on My Mind." Readers can press play above to watch the clip.
On what could have been a sorrowful occasion, the mood was more celebratory during the Campbells' rendition of the song. Both the performers and the center's residents seemed to enjoy the tribute to the country legend.
Though Campbell died on Aug. 8, 2017, there's clearly no danger of a lack of music within the family: Both Shannon, on guitar, and Ashley, on banjo, displayed serious chops on their instruments, as well as seamless vocal harmony, during the performance. Ashley, the youngest of Campbell's eight children, will release her debut album, The Lonely One, this May, and also contributed to her father's last album, Adios.
Ashley Campbell shared a heartbreaking Instagram post about her father shortly after his death last year. She also contributed her song, "Remembering," to the 2014 documentary Glen Campbell ... I'll Be Me, which depicts Campbell's journey with Alzheimer's disease as a musician and as a person.
Campbell's musical legacy spans decades, with such hits as "Rhinestone Cowboy," "Wichita Lineman" and "True Grit." An Oscar nominee, Country Music Hall of Fame member and Grammy Awards Lifetime Achievement Award winner, Campbell announced in 2011 that he had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease after experiencing short-term memory loss for several years.
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