Alzheimer's is a condition we dread having.  One in seven over 70 have dementia.  About 2.4 million of those with dementia, or 9.7 percent of the population age 71 and older, were found to have Alzheimer's disease, the most common cause of dementia, according recent statistics.

Following is a brushstroke of Glen Campbell's journey into that neverland.  

 Glen Travis Campbell (born April 22, 1936) is an American country music singer, guitarist, songwriter, television host, and occasional actor. He is best known for a series of hits in the 1960s and 1970s, and for hosting a variety show called The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour on CBS television.

Early years . . . I'm not going to say this was his "earliest release" but it was solidly within an emerging Glen Campbell.  In this video he is not the "featured singer".  But destined to real fame!  Check him out dancing in the right side of the window.  Think he's having fun?

1980's - 1990's - Late "mid career" for Glen.  In 1999, Campbell was featured on VH-1's Behind the Music, A&E Network's Biography in 2001, and on a number for CMT programs.  Campbell ranked 29th on CMT's 40 Greatest Men of Country Music in 2003.

It's 2006 and Glen is showing his age.  Still perfect pitch and plays the guitar like the pro that he is.  A mature Glen Campbell plays and sings with a full orchestra in accompaniment.  Lovely song, lovely presence.    

In June 2011, Campbell announced he had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease six months earlier.

​Campbell went on a final "Goodbye Tour", with three of his children joining him in his backup band; his last show was on November 30, 2012, in Napa, California. Campbell sang "Rhinestone Cowboy" as a goodbye at the 2012 Grammy Awards ceremony held on February 12, 2012.

In April 2014, news reports indicated that Campbell had become a patient at an Alzheimer's long-term care and treatment facility.  

Aretha Louise Franklin (born March 25, 1942) is an American singer and musician. Franklin began her career singing gospel at her father, minister C.L. Franklin's church as a child. In 1960, at the age of 18, Franklin embarked on a secular career recording for Columbia Records but only achieving modest success. Following her signing to Atlantic Records  in 1967, Franklin achieved commercial acclaim and success with songs such as "Respect", "You Make Me Feel Like A Natural Woman" and "Think".  These hits and more helped her to gain the title The Queen of Soul  by the end of the 1960's decade. 

"Until You Come Back to Me (That's What I'm Gonna Do)" is a song written by Morris Broadnax, Clarence Paul, and Stevie Wonder. The song was originally recorded by Stevie Wonder in 1967, but his version did not appear on an album until 1977's anthology Looking Back. The most well-known version of this song was done by Aretha Franklin, who had a million selling, top 10 hit on both the Billboard Hot 100 and Billboard's R&B chart  in 1973. It reached No. 1 on the R&B chart and No. 3 on the Hot 100 chart in 1974.

                                        Midnight Cowboy Soundtrack
"I Guess the Lord Must Be in New York City".  Schlesinger chose the song "Everybody's Talkin"(written by Fred Neil  and performed by Harry Nilsson) as its theme, and the song underscores the first act. Other songs considered for the theme included Nilsson's own  "I guess the Lord Must Be in New York City".

                                       Midnight Cowboy Soundtrack
​ "Everybody's Talkin"  John Barry, who supervised the music and composed the score, won a Grammy for Best Instrumental Theme.  Fred Neil's "Everybody's Talkin" song won a Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance, for Harry Nilsson. 

​"If I Didn't Care" is a song written by Jack Lawrence that was originally sung and recorded by  The Ink Spots featuring Bill Kenny in 1939. The Ink Spots recording became the 6th best selling single of all time with over 19 million copies sold making it one of the fewer than forty all-time singles to have sold 10 million (or more) physical copies worldwide.

"We'll Meet Again" is a 1939 British song made famous by singer Vera Lynn  with music and lyrics composed and written by Ross Parker  and Hughie Charles.
The song is one of the most famous songs of the Second World War era, and resonated with soldiers going off to fight for their families and sweethearts. The assertion that "we'll meet again" is optimistic, as many soldiers did not survive to see their loved ones again.

Here's a silly thought.   "Passing into obscurity over these many years are not only the Ink Spots, but too, the indispensable Ink Blotter"!

That's the flipSide

​Harv

Henry John Deutschendorf, Jr. (December 31, 1943 – October 12, 1997), known professionally as John Denver, was an American singer-songwriter, actor, activist and humanitarian, whose greatest commercial success was as a solo singer, starting in the 1970s. He was one of the most popular acoustic artists of the decade and one of its best-selling artists. By 1974, he was firmly established as America's best-selling performer, and AllMusic has described Denver as "among the most beloved entertainers of his era". After traveling and living in numerous locations while growing up in his military family, Denver began his music career in folk music groups in the late 1960s. Throughout his life, Denver recorded and released approximately 300 songs, about 200 of which he composed, with total sales of over 33 million.

Email from Sharon Magnusson . . . .  "Hi John, 
As you know, I am a HUGE John Denver fan.  Perhaps you might consider celebrating John Denver in one of your segments of Sucks News.  I know I'm very biased towards him, but he was a wonderful human being who devoted his life to the environment, human and animal rights, justice and peace through his music and actions.  And even though he has beautiful songs expressing love towards his two ex-wives, his songs of love for mankind are also powerful."

Denver starred in films and several notable television specials in the 1970s and 1980s. In the following decade, he continued to record, but also focused on calling attention to environmental issues, lent his vocal support to space exploration, and testified in front of Congress to protest against censorship in music. ​

Sharon, I hope you enjoyed this presentation as much as I enjoyed helping you create it.

That's the flipSide

Harv