He’s had his chance to say goodbye, to make a last album — ultimately it was turned into a pair of releases — and to mount a final tour. Now, we have Glen Campbell’s final song, a bittersweet wave with a retrospective video to match.
Campbell, a musician whose talents went far beyond his best-known countrypolitan persona, was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s a few years ago, and “I’m Not Gonna Miss You” doesn’t shy away from the disease’s brutal realities. Arriving as part of a forthcoming documentary called Glen Campbell: I’ll Be Me, it’s paired with images from throughout his amazing journey in music — as well as stark reminders of the crushing setbacks he’s enduring right now.
And so, there are awards, and pictures with Elvis Presley, and the birth of a child and the embrace of a grandchild, and huge concerts and TV appearances, but also cranial scans and moments of obvious confusion. In this way, “I’m Not Gonna Miss You” is every bit the devastating valedictory that Johnny Cash’s “Hurt” was in his final period — and with both the same sense sad resolve, and of certain ending.
“I’m Not Gonna Miss You” was recorded in January 2013, not long after the end of Campbell’s final tour. He co-wrote the song, specifically for I’ll Be Me, along with Julian Raymond — who has previously worked with Cheap Trick, Albert Lee, Freddie Mercury and others. The Glen Campbell documentary is due in theaters later this month.
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