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Rhinestone Cowboy

"Rhinestone Cowboy"
Rhinestone Cowboy Glen Campbell.jpg
Single by Glen Campbell
from the album Rhinestone Cowboy
B-side "Lovelight"
Released May 26, 1975
Format 7"
Recorded February–March 1975
Genre Country, pop
Length 3:15
Label Capitol
Writer(s) Larry Weiss
Producer(s) Dennis Lambert, Brian Potter
Glen Campbell singles chronology
"It's a Sin When You Love Somebody"
(1975)
"Rhinestone Cowboy"
(1975)
"Country Boy (You Got Your Feet in L.A.)"
(1975)

"Rhinestone Cowboy" is a song written by Larry Weiss and most famously recorded by American country music singer Glen Campbell with instrumental backing by the Wrecking Crew, L.A. session musicians. The song enjoyed immense popularity with both country and pop audiences when it was released in 1975.

Weiss wrote and recorded "Rhinestone Cowboy" in 1974, and it appeared on his 20th Century Records album Black and Blue Suite. It did not, however, have much of a commercial impact as a single. In late 1974, Campbell heard the song on the radio, and during a tour of Australia, decided to learn the song. Soon after his return to the United States, Campbell went to Al Coury's office at Capitol Records, where he was approached about "a great new song" — "Rhinestone Cowboy".

Several music writers noted that Campbell identified with the subject matter of "Rhinestone Cowboy" — survival and making it, particularly when the chips are down — very strongly. As Steven Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic put it, the song is about a veteran artist "who's aware that he's more than paid his dues during his career ... but is still surviving, and someday, he'll shine just like a rhinestone cowboy."

Released in May 1975, "Rhinestone Cowboy" immediately caught on with both country and pop audiences. The song spent that summer climbing both the Billboard Hot Country Singles and Billboard Hot 100 charts before peaking at number one by season's end - three nonconsecutive weeks on the country chart, two weeks on the Hot 100. Billboard ranked it as the number-two for 1975.

During the week of September 13 — the week the song returned to number one on the Billboard country chart, after having been nudged out for a week by "Feelins'" by Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn — "Rhinestone Cowboy" topped both the country and Hot 100 charts simultaneously. This was the first time a song had accomplished the feat since November 1961, when "Big Bad John" by Jimmy Dean did so.


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Wikipedia

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