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Galveston (song)

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1969 single by Glen Campbell
"Galveston"
vinyl labelOne of US reissues
Single by Glen Campbell
from the album Galveston
B-side"How Come Every Time I Itch I Wind Up Scratchin' You"
ReleasedFebruary 24, 1969
RecordedNovember 27, 1968 and January 9, 1969
Capitol Studios, Hollywood, California
Genre
Length2:39
LabelCapitol 2428
Songwriter(s)Jimmy Webb
Producer(s)Al De Lory
Glen Campbell singles chronology
"Wichita Lineman"
(1968) 		"Galveston"
(1969) 		"Where's the Playground Susie"
(1969)

"Galveston" is a song written by Jimmy Webb and popularized by American country music singer Glen Campbell who recorded it with the instrumental backing of members of The Wrecking Crew. In 2003, this song ranked number 8 in CMT's 100 Greatest Songs in Country Music. Campbell's version, produced by Al De Lory, also went to number 1 on the country music charts. On other charts, "Galveston" went to number 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number one on the "Easy Listening" charts. It was certified gold by the RIAA in October 1969.

Background and writing

The protagonist is a soldier waiting to go into battle who thinks of the woman he loves and his hometown of Galveston, Texas.

The song was first released in 1968 by a mournful-sounding Don Ho, who introduced Glen Campbell to it when Ho appeared as a guest on The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour. Campbell's recording of the song, released in early 1969, was perceived by many (who listened carefully to the lyrics) as being a Vietnam War protest song, but Campbell performed it up-tempo. In his original promo video, Campbell was dressed as a soldier in a military-style outfit. Webb has challenged the implication of Campbell's version that it was in any way "a patriotic song". According to Webb, the song is "about a guy who's caught up in something he doesn't understand and would rather be somewhere else".

In Ho's recording, the second verse was:

Galveston, oh Galveston
Wonder if she could forget me
I'd go home if they would let me
Put down this gun
And go to Galveston.

However, in both Campbell's version and in Webb’s own 1972 album Letters (and his later performances), this verse was:

Galveston, oh Galveston
I still hear your sea waves crashing
While I watch the cannons flashing
I clean my gun
And dream of Galveston.

Personnel

According to the AFM contract sheet, the following musicians appeared at the recording session.

The original Capitol single's label (2428: 45-70488) also credits producer De Lory as the arranger and conductor.

Other cover versions

Within a year of Campbell's hit version, Rolling Stone states, "recordings of 'Galveston' had sold six million copies, having been cut by 27 different artists, from fellow country star Faron Young to jazz great Dizzy Gillespie."

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Chart (1969) Peak
position
Australian (Go-Set) 5
Canada Adult Contemporary (RPM) 1
Canada Country Tracks (RPM) 1
Canada Top Singles (RPM) 2
Ireland (IRMA) 9
New Zealand (Listener) 3
UK (UK Singles Chart) 14
US Adult Contemporary (Billboard) 1
US Billboard Hot 100 4
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard) 1

Year-end charts

Chart (1969) Rank
Australian Go-Set 11
Canadian RPM Top Singles 68
US Billboard Hot 100 59
US Cash Box 70

References

  1. Breihan, Tom (August 6, 2019). "The Number Ones: Glen Campbell's "Rhinestone Cowboy"". Stereogum. Retrieved June 26, 2023. ...a series of lush, considered, heartsick country-pop singles that Campbell recorded with his Wrecking Crew comrades...1969's "Galveston"...
  2. "Soft Rock Music Songs". AllMusic.
  3. Hartman, Kent (2012). The Wrecking Crew. St. Martin’s Griffin. pp. 261–263. ISBN 978-1-250-03046-7.
  4. Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944-2006, Second edition. Record Research. p. 66.
  5. Whitburn, Joel (2002). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961-2001. Record Research. p. 43.
  6. "Gold & Platinum". RIAA. Archived from the original on 2012-05-24. Retrieved 2016-10-02.
  7. Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: "Don Ho - Galveston (Reprise Promo 45 1968)". YouTube.
  8. "The Pop Protest Song". Songwriter Jimmy Webb's melancholy ode to a simpler time exemplified what one might consider to be the "tonal protest song," replacing as it does more typical anti-war language with a reflection on the emotional uncertainty of war that even hawks in the heartland could identify with.
  9. "Jimmy Webb - "Galveston" (Live for WFUV)". YouTube. 2010-07-28. Retrieved 2016-10-02. In a Sound Observations interview, he claimed: "If there was a statement, and obviously I was saying something, I prefer to say it wasn't anti-war – that it was more about an individual getting involved in a war and realizing that he'd rather be somewhere else." He then went on to explain that it was not to be a "hit-you-over-the-head" protest song.
  10. "The Ambiguous Anti-War Underpinnings of "Galveston"". Chimes of Freedom. 2017-08-10. Retrieved 2020-06-20.
  11. "Galveston". YouTube. 2012-07-27. Archived from the original on 2021-12-21. Retrieved 2016-10-02.
  12. "Glen Campbell & Jimmy Webb GALVESTON". YouTube. 2010-11-12. Archived from the original on 2021-12-21. Retrieved 2016-10-02.
  13. "Galveston AFM Contract" (PDF). The Wrecking Crew. American Federation of Musicians. Retrieved December 31, 2022.
  14. Stephen L Betts (March 15, 2019). "Glen Campbell's 'Galveston' at 50: Inside the Album's Classic Title Track". Rolling Stone. Retrieved June 21, 2020.
  15. "Go-Set Australian charts - 10 May 1969". Poparchives.com.au. 1969-05-10. Retrieved 2016-10-02.
  16. "Top RPM Adult Contemporary: Issue 6003." RPM. Library and Archives Canada.
  17. "Top RPM Country Tracks: Issue 5959." RPM. Library and Archives Canada.
  18. "Top RPM Singles: Issue 6015." RPM. Library and Archives Canada.
  19. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Galveston". Irish Singles Chart.
  20. "flavour of new zealand - search listener". Flavourofnz.co.nz. Archived from the original on 2021-07-09. Retrieved 2016-10-02.
  21. "Glen Campbell". Official Singles Chart. 4 February 1969. Retrieved 18 April 2018.
  22. "Glen Campbell Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard.
  23. "Glen Campbell Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
  24. "Glen Campbell Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.
  25. "Go-Set Magazine Charts". www.poparchives.com.au. Barry McKay. January 2007. Retrieved 9 August 2017.
  26. "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Retrieved 2016-10-02.
  27. "Top 100 Hits of 1969/Top 100 Songs of 1969". Musicoutfitters.com. Retrieved 2017-07-21.
  28. "Cash Box Year-End Charts: Top 100 Pop Singles, December 27, 1969". Archived from the original on January 25, 2019. Retrieved August 8, 2017.

External links

Glen Campbell
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Jimmy Webb
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