John Mayer pays tribute to Glen Campbell with ‘Gentle on My Mind’
Aug 9, 2017, 11:51 AM
Singer-songwriter John Mayer has his critics, but he choked up an audience in Nashville on Tuesday with an impromptu tribute to country music legend Glen Campbell, who passed away that morning.
Mayer and his band had played many songs before he brought up Campbell’s death.
The crossover artist explained in a slightly longer video posted that he was playing the next song “with more love than precision … whether I play it right or wrong, I’d rather have played it.”
He then rolled out a lovely version of one of Campbell’s first big hits, 1967’s “Gentle on My Mind.”
The 41-year-old former pop star called the song his favorite.
The care and affection with which Mayer plays the song earned him strong applause and appreciation from a nearly sold-out crowd. Several fans posted video of the performance to social media.
Campbell died at the age of 81 after a long battle with Alzheimer’s. He had been living in Nashville in a special-care facility. He and his fourth wife Kim Woolen made his Alzheimer’s diagnosis public in 2011.
The multi-Grammy winner lived in Phoenix for about 20 years, starting in the 1980s.
Mayer’s Search for Everything Tour stopped in Phoenix last week, playing at Talking Stick Resort Arena.