In 1968, Glen Campbell recorded one of the most beloved songs in country music with something important missing: an entire verse.
Songwriter Jimmy Webb knew the song was unfinished. Jimmy Webb had even warned Glen Campbell about it. But instead of sending the song back for more lyrics, Glen Campbell found an answer inside the recording studio.
That decision produced one of the most recognizable instrumental breaks in country music history. The song was “Wichita Lineman.”
A Phone Call That Started Everything
By 1968, Glen Campbell had already enjoyed considerable success with Jimmy Webb’s “By the Time I Get to Phoenix.” Glen Campbell and producer Al De Lory wanted another strong song for an upcoming recording project at Capitol Records.
Jimmy Webb later recalled receiving a request from Glen Campbell for something that could follow the success of “Phoenix.”
Jimmy Webb had an unusual idea in mind.
While traveling through Oklahoma, Jimmy Webb had noticed a utility worker high on a telephone pole, surrounded by a vast, nearly empty landscape. The image stayed with Jimmy Webb.
Jimmy Webb began imagining the private thoughts of an ordinary working man, someone whose daily responsibilities continued even while love and loneliness occupied the mind.
That became the foundation of “Wichita Lineman.”
The Unfinished Song and the Green Piano
The circumstances of the writing were hardly glamorous.
Jimmy Webb was living in a large house in the Hollywood Hills, where someone had spray-painted the piano in Jimmy Webb’s music room green. In a 2010 interview, Jimmy Webb recalled trying to write the new song while the paint was still wet.
After several hours of work, Jimmy Webb had two verses but still believed the song needed a third.
With Glen Campbell and Al De Lory eager to hear the material, Jimmy Webb sent over the unfinished recording, making clear that more writing could follow if necessary.
Then came an unexpected silence.
For weeks, Jimmy Webb heard nothing about the song. Jimmy Webb assumed the recording had been rejected.
What Jimmy Webb didn’t know was that Glen Campbell had already taken the song into the studio.
The Studio Decision That Changed the Recording
Glen Campbell was working with some of Los Angeles’ finest session musicians, including members of the famous Wrecking Crew.
Among those musicians was bassist Carol Kaye, whose playing had appeared on countless recordings.
Carol Kaye developed the distinctive descending six-note bass introduction that immediately established the song’s atmosphere.
But the missing verse still presented an interesting opportunity.
Glen Campbell borrowed Carol Kaye’s six-string Danelectro bass, an instrument capable of producing a tone somewhere between a conventional bass and an electric guitar.
Instead of adding more words, Glen Campbell played an instrumental solo in the space where Jimmy Webb had intended to write another verse.
The sound was unusual, slightly haunting, and unmistakably Glen Campbell.
Producer Al De Lory’s orchestral arrangement helped complete the recording, giving the lonely working man’s story an expansive musical setting.
One More Unusual Instrument
There was another remarkable contribution to the recording.
Jimmy Webb owned an old Gulbransen church organ with a distinctive electronic sound. Jimmy Webb thought the instrument could suggest signals traveling through telephone wires.
According to a detailed account published by the Library of Congress, Glen Campbell arranged for the bulky organ to be transported into the studio.
Jimmy Webb then played a repeating three-note figure on the instrument during the recording’s fade-out.
Between Carol Kaye’s bass introduction, Glen Campbell’s instrumental solo, Al De Lory’s arrangement, and Jimmy Webb’s organ contribution, the unfinished composition had developed its own remarkable identity.
“It Is Now!”
When Jimmy Webb eventually spoke with Glen Campbell about the song, Jimmy Webb was surprised to learn that the recording had already been completed.
Jimmy Webb reminded Glen Campbell that the song wasn’t finished.
Glen Campbell’s response became one of the most memorable lines associated with the recording:
“It is now!”
Glen Campbell’s judgment proved remarkably successful.
Released in 1968, “Wichita Lineman” reached No. 1 on Billboard’s country chart and No. 3 on the pop chart. In 2020, the recording was selected for preservation in the Library of Congress National Recording Registry.
Decades later, Jimmy Webb continued telling the story of the unfinished song, including during a televised performance with Glen Campbell’s daughter, Ashley Campbell.
And the remarkable thing about that original recording remains unchanged.
Jimmy Webb believed “Wichita Lineman” needed another verse. Glen Campbell believed the music already had everything the song needed.
More than half a century later, listeners can still hear exactly where those two opinions met: in the unforgettable solo that Glen Campbell played instead of a third verse.