Watch Glen Campbell Perform “The William Tell Overture” in 1974

By Damian Fanelli

Below, check out an impressive guitar performance by the “Wichita Lineman” himself—the late, great Glen Campbell—from 1974.

The pro-shot clip below, which is introduced by Bob Hope, was filmed in September 1974 in New York City’s Central Park.

It’s a rare acoustic performance of “The William Tell Overture”; in later years (including even recently), Campbell pretty much always played this tune on an electric. What’s probably most impressive about the clip is the effortlessness with which Campbell delivers the piece.

To underscore the point, we’ve included a second video, titled “Glen Campbell, Guitar God: Bigger Better Badder Best Solos of All,” that spotlights some his finest six-string moments.

In the mid-Seventies, Campbell recorded an acoustic studio version of “The William Tell Overture” that sounds a lot like the live version shown below, but it went unreleased for years before seeing the light of day on the 1997 Razor & Tie 2CD set The Glen Campbell Collection.

Campbell served as a key member of LA’s “Wrecking Crew,” playing guitar on a slew of hits and working closely (and even touring) with the Beach Boys in the mid-Sixties. As most guitar fans know by now, the 80-year-old Campbell is in the final stages of Alzheimer’s Disease. If you haven’t seen the powerful 2014 documentary, Glen Campbell: I’ll Be Me, I suggest you check it out.

Campbell died August 8, 2017, at age 81.

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