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The co-op bookstore for avid readers
Wichita Lineman: Searching in the Sun for the World's Greatest Unfinished Song
Written in 1968 by Jimmy Webb, "Wichita Lineman" is the first philosophical country song: a heartbreaking torch ballad still celebrated for its mercurial songwriting genius 50 years later. It was recorded by Glen Campbell in LA with a legendary group of musicians known as "the Wrecking Crew", and something about the song's enigmatic mood seemed to capture the tensions of America at a moment of unprecedented crisis. Fusing a dribble of bass, searing strings, tremolo guitar and Glen Campbell's plaintive vocals, Webb's paean to the American West describes a telephone lineman's longing for an absent lover who he hears 'singing in the wire' - and like all good love songs, it's an SOS from the heart.
Mixing close-listening, interviews and travelogue, Dylan Jones explores the legacy of a record that has entertained, perplexed and haunted millions for over half a century. What is it about this song that continues to fascinate and seduce listeners, and how did the parallel stories of Campbell and Webb - songwriters and recording artists from different ends of the spectrum - unfold in the decades following the song's success? Part biography, part work of musicological archaeology, The Wichita Lineman opens a window onto America in the late twentieth century through the prism of a song that has been covered by myriad artists in the intervening decades.
Book Details
- Publisher: Faber & Faber Social
- Publish Date: Sep 3rd, 2019
- Pages: 288
- Language: English
- Edition: undefined - undefined
- Dimensions: 7.90in - 5.40in - 1.20in - 0.80lb
- EAN: 9780571353408
- Categories: • Genres & Styles - Rock• History & Criticism - General• Individual Composer & Musician
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What people are saying
Brooklyn | Nashville | Los Angeles
Today, @barrieshhh — the acclaimed musical project helmed by Barrie Lindsay — shares the video for “Frankie,” a new single that confronts the American archetype of the relentless worker as posited by Glen Campbell’s “Wichita Lineman.” https://youtu.be/MJUgG0yzQ3o
Head @UConnHistory | https://t.co/lbjUtvxzT6…
Excellent piece on mandatory retirement, with an intriguing opening, amazing kicker, and unintentionally amusing cameo by Larry Summers. Bonus points if you can prevent yourself from humming "Wichita Lineman" after reading. https://t.co/Dvj6uu9pBV
Praise for this book
"Superb ... Suits the shape-shifting, beguiling, enigmatic complexities of its subject perfectly. It's hard to imagine anything that will do Bowie better justice."--William Boyd, Guardian
"Revelatory and surprising -- perfect for the Ziggy completist."--New York Magazine
What people are saying
Brooklyn | Nashville | Los Angeles
Today, @barrieshhh — the acclaimed musical project helmed by Barrie Lindsay — shares the video for “Frankie,” a new single that confronts the American archetype of the relentless worker as posited by Glen Campbell’s “Wichita Lineman.” https://youtu.be/MJUgG0yzQ3o
Head @UConnHistory | https://t.co/lbjUtvxzT6…
Excellent piece on mandatory retirement, with an intriguing opening, amazing kicker, and unintentionally amusing cameo by Larry Summers. Bonus points if you can prevent yourself from humming "Wichita Lineman" after reading. https://t.co/Dvj6uu9pBV