Glen Campbell & his Classic Hit “By the Time I Get to Phoenix”

Glen Travis Campbell professionally known as Glen Campbell was a multi-talented artist in the ’50s. He was best known for a series hit single in the ’60s up to ’70s. He has placed over 80 hit singles that entered into country charts and achieved numerous major awards and honors. With this, let us talk about one of his hit singles and how this song helped in his musical career.

“By the Time I Get to Phoenix”

A classic love song written by Jimmy Webb, the song was popularized by Johnny Rivers in 1965.

“By the Time I Get to Phoenix” is about a love affair between the narrator and his partner. Both began dating when they were in high school. She caused him considerable anguish when she ran off to another place to work. The relationship got worse when she married another guy.

However, both of them remained friends after her marriage. The relationship which peaked in mid-1965 was also the primary influence of the song, “MacArthur Park.”

Webb shared that the song was not intended to be geographically literal,

“A guy approached me one night after a concert and he showed me how it was impossible for me to drive from L.A. to Phoenix, and then how far it was to Albuquerque. In short, he told me, ‘This song is impossible.’ And so it is. It’s a kind of fantasy about something I wish I would have done, and it sort of takes place in a twilight zone of reality.”

To wrap up, the narrator loves writing songs based on his feelings.

Years later, the song has been covered by numerous music artists and one of those was Glen Campbell. Campbell’s rendition entered into country charts and peaked at number 2 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart. In addition, his rendition won an award at the 10th Annual Grammy Awards.

Listen to Glen Campbell’s Rendition here: