On September 6th, 1975 Glen Campbell started a two week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with Rhinestone Cowboy, his first No.1 after 13 Top 40 hits.
The song was written by Larry Weiss and when released, in May 1975, it enjoyed huge popularity with both country and pop audiences.
Having spent the summer climbing both the Billboard Hot County Singles and the Billboard Hot 100 charts, the song peaked at No. 1 by season’s end – three non-consecutive weeks on the country chart, two weeks on the Hot 100. Billboard ranked it as the No. 2 song for 1975 and it also topped the charts in Canada and several other countries.
During the week of September 13th Rhinestone Cowboy the returned to No. 1 on the country chart, and then topped both the country and Hot 100 charts simultaneously. This was the first time a song had accomplished the feat since November 1961, when Big Bad John by Jimmy Dean did so.
Eventually the record gained three Grammy nominations and was the Country Music Association’s Song of the Year for 1976.
The best place to hear all of Glen’s music is his dedicated radio station.
