Glen Campbell and His Struggles With Alzheimer’s, With Ten Signs of Alzheimer’s Disease

What can we learn from the life of Glen Campbell, particularly his later
years when he, his family, and his band were struggling with the
consequences of his Alzheimer’s disease that robbed him of his memory,
changing his personality?
What are the ten warning signs per the Alzheimer’s Association, and how
can we witness them in Glen Campbell’s story? How did his personality
transition to the early stages of Alzheimer’s, then to the middle and
advanced stages?
How was Glen Campbell able to record a final album titled Ghost on the
Canvas, where several songs explored his experiences with Alzheimer’s,
and go on the road again to promote this album, while he was in the
early stages of Alzheimer’s?

Please, we welcome interesting questions in the
comments. Let us learn and reflect together!
Most of this talk is from personal experience, but we
will discuss available resources at the end of the
video. Feel free to follow along in the PowerPoint
script we uploaded to SlideShare.

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Glen Campbell, Alzheimer’s

SlideShare contains scripts for my YouTube
videos. Link is in the YouTube description.
© Copyright 2023

My interest in Alzheimer’s patients began when I volunteered to serve as the
Treasurer for my over-55 condominium association. I intervened to halt the
foreclosure of a destitute owner suffering from advanced Alzheimer’s disease so he
could be assigned a guardian by the court so he would not be quickly and cruelly
thrown out on the street but could be placed in an acceptable and humane
lockdown facility for Alzheimer’s patients before his condominium was put up for
sale. For this intervention, a large majority of our board censured me and asked me
to resign from my position.
We also discussed how Alzheimer's patients can be difficult to deal with, how the
disease not only steals their short-term memory and cognition, but also steals the
patients of their moral compass, how their life is often ruled solely by their
emotions, how they are incapable of taking care of themselves. We discussed why
many Alzheimer’s patients are angry, and sometimes strike out physically; this
happened during our singer’s late stages of Alzheimer’s.

Glen Campbell began his country music career as a studio musician, in this position
he was employed by record companies and recording studios to provide high-
quality tracks for records released by many bands. Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin also
began his career as a studio musician. He released sixty-four albums over five
decades, including many gold and platinum albums, selling over 45 million albums
worldwide, earning multiple Grammy awards.
The widow of Glen Campbell wrote a touching memoir about Glen Campbell and his
family struggles with the challenges posed by his cognitive decline caused by
Alzheimer’s disease.
Why was she so public about his challenges? People who are in the early stages of
cognitive decline are often capable of normal life activities, and indeed, continuing
with social activities is helpful for the patient, though it poses challenges. In 2010
Glen Campbell recorded his farewell album, Ghost of the Canvas, where several of
the songs were inspired by his challenges.

Glen Campbell Performing at Michigan State Fair, 1970, and in Texas in 2004

Should Glen and his band tour the country, giving concerts? What if Glen Campbell’s
condition lead to embarrassing incidents on-stage? His response was simply: Let the
fans know that I am in the early stages of Alzheimer's. His children followed him into
a musical career, they were the core of his band, and the other musicians had
toured with Glen for years and had the patience to deal with his baffling behavior
both in practice and on-stage. As with many performers with Alzheimer’s, once they
are on-stage the rush gives them much needed lucidity, and since Alzheimer's
primarily affect short-term memory, they can perform songs learned long ago until
the last stages of the disease.
What is the difference between Alzheimer's and dementia? Alzheimer’s disease
accounts for about 60% to 80% of dementia cases, other cases of dementia are
caused by stroke or high blood pressure, or other neurological conditions. Quite
often dementia can be diagnosed with brain scans and other medical tests in
addition to the standard cognitive tests.

The country
legend's legacy
includes his bracing
honesty (and
enduring good
humor) in facing
Alzheimer’s.
https://www.aarp.org/health/conditions-treatments/info-2017/glen-campbell-alzheimer-disease-fd.html

The story of Kim and Glen Campbell is helpful because, though
the early years of their marriage were rough, these dysfunctions
were largely overcome, and they had many years of a happy
marriage before Alzheimer’s started to slowly change his
personality.
Kim met Glen Campbell in 1981 when she was twenty-three and
he was forty-five, and although she was his fourth wife, they
were married for more than three decades. He was married to his
second wife for about fifteen years and was married for about
five years to his first and third wives.

Can these memoirs be attacked by the standard of TMI, or Too Much Information?
His children by his other wives certainly thought she revealed too many intimate
details. After all, what child wants to read about such details about their father? She
discussed their intimate life, and how her insistence on delaying intimacy until he
was serious about their relationship did strengthen their eventual marriage. Church
was an important part of both her life, and also Glen’s family. Some members of the
Campbell family actually moved into their mansion to encourage Glen to live a sober
and Christian life. In conclusion, IMHO, these details are useful if you want to track
how their relationship changed as his dementia became apparent and worsened.
Popular musicians who often tour to promote their albums often have troubled
marriages. Once they have children, the wife stays home to raise them while the
husband tours, and that can be a lonely life, and the band often drugs and drinks
between performances, not to mention the constant temptations by groupies who
collect around the band. These problems are sometimes lessened when both
husband and wife perform together.

Kim Dates, Then Marries Glen Campbell

After Kim and Glen dated for some months, Glen disappeared and restarted his relationship with
the famed country music singer Tanya Tucker. They broke up again after a year, she often partied
with Glen and did not temper his drinking and drugging while on tour. When they started dating
again, Glen promised that he was over Tanya Tucker, that she wasn’t good for him. Kim and Glen
had three kids together, and Glen had addiction issues while their kids were younger, partially out
of loneliness while touring, drying out in rehabilitation clinics several times. After a drug filled
bender with Mick Fleetwood of Fleetwood Mac, she threatened to leave him if he didn’t kick the
drug habit, so drinking was the major issue after that.
Often people wonder if alcohol or drug abuse would somehow trigger or cause dementia, but that
is unlikely. Dementia usually manifests itself in your seventies or afterwards, although for some
people it manifests itself earlier. For example, Rita Hayworth likely came down with dementia in
her fifties. Quite likely, although we do not know for sure, these aren’t triggers, though they likely
hasten the manifestation of Alzheimer's, or maybe not, as Glen Campbell was in his seventies
when he was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.

Tanya Tucker performing at the Ryman Auditorium in 2020, and Biloxi, MS, 2019

Kim Campbell remembers that her husband Glen was often a little bit crazy when he
was high on cocaine. The antiquated King James translation has Matthew exhorting
us to pray in a closet so you can pray in secret, and Glen would insist that they pray
in a closet, rattling off Bible verses judgmentally.
But Kim remembers, “Fear at night led to frustration in the morning. That’s because
Glen never remembered what he had put me through. He’d wake me up with a
good morning kiss and return to being the loving man with whom I had fallen in
love.” “He was a completely different person.”
Her description of this episode is similar to what she struggled with when he
developed dementia many years later, except that the switch from the insane to the
apparently normal is sometimes instantaneous. This demonstrates that the
demented coping mechanisms are similar to those acted out before dementia,
except they are often more unhinged.

https://www.aarp.org/entertainment/books/info-2020/kim-glen-campbell-memoir.html

Which of the big three magical cures, healthy diet, exercise, and sleep, do
scientists believe would slow the manifestation of Alzheimer’s? The
answer is exercise, as the brain is hungry for oxygen, consuming twenty
percent of oxygen intake, and the more exercise, the more oxygen flows
to the brain. Many scientists say that social interaction is the fourth
magical cure, and that certainly benefits those in the early stages of
dementia.
All of Kim’s and Glen’s children became talented musicians themselves,
and after their schooling was completed, the whole family managed and
participated in his career and many tours. That seemed to be the
ultimate solution, this solved the loneliness that was at the root of his
drinking and drugging addictions. Their family spent many happy years
together touring before Alzheimer’s struck Glen Campbell.

http://www.careliving.org/
Kim Campbell has written
blogs on her years with Glen
Campbell and their struggles
with his Alzheimer’s disease.

Kim’s Relationship With Glen Changes

https://www.alz.org/alzheimers-dementia/10_signs

KIM’S RELATIONSHIP WITH GLEN CAMPBELL CHANGES
The Alzheimer’s Association has Ten Early Signs and Symptoms of Alzheimer's:
Sign 1: Memory loss that disrupts daily life
“One of the most common signs of Alzheimer’s disease, especially in the early stage, is forgetting
recently learned information. Others include forgetting important dates or events, asking the
same questions over and over, and increasingly needing to rely on memory aids or family
members for things they used to handle on their own.”
What's a typical age-related change? “Sometimes forgetting names or appointments but
remembering them later.”
Glen Campbell had always preferred to be the alpha male protecting and providing for his family,
but he started becoming more dependent on his wife, sometimes calling her mommy, which really
bothered her. Kim remembered, “Glen repeated himself as he had never done before. He also
started forgetting lyrics to songs he’d sung thousands of times. I laughed off these lapses as senior
moments,” as they had a twenty-two-year age difference. About this time his children became
part of his band, which helped.

Like many celebrities, Glen had other people handling his business and finances, so
he perhaps had less problems with Sign 2: Challenges in planning or solving
problems.
“Some people living with dementia may experience changes in their ability to
develop and follow a plan or work with numbers. They may have trouble following a
familiar recipe or keeping track of monthly bills. They may have difficulty
concentrating and take much longer to do things than they did before.”
What's a typical age-related change? “Making occasional errors when managing
finances or household bills.”
Glen started developing odd habits. When they had guests, Glen would insist that
they park in certain places that only made sense to him. He started counting his
wife’s shoes, pants, shirts and dresses. He started following his wife around the
house. Once she walked around the pool a dozen times, he followed her.

Glen Campbell started showing Sign 3. Difficulty completing familiar
tasks.
“People with Alzheimer's often find it hard to complete daily tasks.
Sometimes they may have trouble driving to a familiar location,
organizing a grocery list or remembering the rules of a favorite game.”
What's a typical age-related change? “Occasionally needing help to use
microwave settings or to record a TV show.”
When it came time for Glen to renew his license, Kim had to drive him to
take the test, since he could not find the DMV office. Although he flunked
the written test, he passed an oral test. But she still insisted that he no
longer drive.

Ghost on the Canvas, Farewell Album & Tour

GHOST ON THE CANVAS: FAREWELL ALBUM AND TOUR
Glen knew that his cognition was failing him, he was now
seventy-four. When he was sharing his struggles, his
anecdotes, his jokes and wisdom with his bandmate Julian
Raymond, these emotions found their way into several
songs on his farewell album, Ghost on the Canvas.

This stanza was in the song,
A Better Place:
“Some days I’m so confused, Lord,
My past gets in my way;
I need the ones that I love, Lord,
More and more each day.
One thing I know,
This world has been good to me,
But a better place awaits, you’ll see.”

Indeed, Sign 4. Confusion with time or place
“People living with Alzheimer's can lose track of dates, seasons and the
passage of time. They may have trouble understanding something if it is
not happening immediately. Sometimes they may forget where they are
or how they got there.”
What's a typical age-related change? “Getting confused about the day of
the week but figuring it out later.”
This is what Glen Campbell wrote in the liner notes for the album:
“All of my little roller-coaster rides, the laughter, tears, successes, and
failures, these are all part of who I am now.” “The ‘now’ Glen has all the
ghosts of the old Glens still hanging around.”

At this time, the doctor offered a clear diagnosis of Alzheimer's. Kim
asked the doctor if Glen could continue his five-week tour to promote his
new album.
The doctor answered, “I’d encourage him to tour. That stimulation may
well help him function longer. Yes, encourage him to play. And encourage
him to remain engaged with family and friends. Social isolation expedites
cognitive decline.”
Kim remembered, “All his strange behaviors suddenly made sense. The
little things that had been annoying me now evoked compassion. No
wonder he followed me everywhere. No wonder he was jealous of
anything that competed for my attention. I was his anchor. He needed me
to feel secure. Now that need was greater than ever.”

Glen Campbell from his "Goodtime Hour" television program., 1969, and in 2004

Which leads us to Sign 5. Trouble understanding visual
images and spatial relationships.
“For some people, having vision problems is a sign of
Alzheimer's. This may lead to difficulty with balance or
trouble reading. They may also have problems judging
distance and determining color or contrast, causing issues
with driving.”
Which is why California requires that doctors inform the
DMV of an Alzheimer's diagnosis, which is why Glen’s
driving license was revoked.

What's a typical age-related change? “Vision changes
related to cataracts.”
This reminds me of a business associate, his mother had
moved to Miami when she was elderly, she had few
friends and visitors, all she did was watch television. He
noticed her mind was slipping, the doctor said the cause
was cataracts, she was nearly blind. Without the visual
stimulation, her mind was starting to shut down, but after
her successful cataract surgery, her mind recovered,
though she was still as ornery as ever.

Cataract surgery using a surgical microscope.

Glen was aware that he had Alzheimer’s, but he said he didn’t feel it, though his behavior was
becoming more erratic. He had more problem with the lyrics to the newer songs, he practiced
them over and over, they setup a teleprompter, both for practice and the tour.
Glen was insistent that they tour for the album. Kim asked, “I love your attitude, honey,” “but
there are some things to consider. If you repeat yourself onstage or act a little strange, people
might start talking. What might the press say?”
Glen insisted, “Tell them the gosh-darn truth. Tell them I’ve got Alzheimer’s.” They also decided to
tell the world the story, they produced a rockumentary of his final tour, named Glen Campbell: I’ll
Be Me, which was a success, his admission had evoked compassion and encouragement from his
fans.
Rehearsing was a nightmare. Kim remembers, “Each time a song kicked off, Glen held up his hand.
Wrong tempo, start again. Still not right, start again. Then the tempo was okay, but the speaker,
the sound, the key was off.” “Glen was annoyed the band was not congealing,” though he was the
only one who thought so. “But Glen’s mind was all that mattered. He was the star, and that star
had to be placated, even though the star was not well.”

But when “Glen stepped in front of the audience and, after days of anguish and
sometimes repellant behavior, he became Glen Campbell. The star was reborn. He
turned back into a seasoned artist who knew the difference between rehearsing and
performing a show. It was the audience that made the difference.”
What are some other signs signifying Alzheimer's? Sign 6. New problems with words
in speaking or writing.
“People living with Alzheimer's may have trouble following or joining a
conversation. They may stop in the middle of a conversation and have no idea how
to continue or they may repeat themselves. They may struggle with vocabulary,
have trouble naming a familiar object or use the wrong name (e.g., like calling a
watch a hand-clock).”
What's a typical age-related change? “Sometimes having trouble finding the right
word.”

Sign 7. Misplacing things and losing the ability to retrace steps.
“A person living with Alzheimer's disease may put things in unusual
places. They may lose things and be unable to go back over their steps to
find them again. He or she may accuse others of stealing, especially as
the disease progresses.”
Early on, Glen suspected that a thief was stealing his socks. During the
tour Glen’s behavior deteriorated. “During one show Glen was distracted
by the air-conditioning, stopped singing, and asked for a jacket. During
another show, he simply stopped singing and asked out loud where he
was and what he was doing. The audiences were invariably beautiful,”
“they simply applauded wildly until he started singing again.”

Late Stages of Alzheimer’s Disease

LATE STAGES OF ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE
In his last concert, he started yelling at the band, but then “apologized to the band and the
audience and laughed at the absurdity of it all. Everyone onstage smiled, and the audience stood
on their feet and cheered him.” Glen had slipped into the late stages of Alzheimer’s; his touring
days were over.
What's a typical age-related change? “Misplacing things from time to time and retracing steps to
find them.”
Sign 8. Decreased or poor judgment
“Individuals may experience changes in judgment or decision-making. For example, they may use
poor judgment when dealing with money or pay less attention to grooming or keeping themselves
clean.”
Early on Glen had insisted on taking showers with Kim, which was later a blessing, as it solved a
problem others have with Alzheimer's patients, as they typically hate taking showers.
What's a typical age-related change? “Making a bad decision or mistake once in a while, like
neglecting to change the oil in the car.”

Another sign of Alzheimer’s is: Sign 9. Withdrawal from
work or social activities.
“A person living with Alzheimer’s disease may experience
changes in the ability to hold or follow a conversation. As a
result, he or she may withdraw from hobbies, social
activities or other engagements. They may have trouble
keeping up with a favorite team or activity.”
What's a typical age-related change? “Sometimes feeling
uninterested in family or social obligations.”

This was a sign that never really manifested itself in Kim’s
memoir, Glen always felt loved, Glen always was encouraged to
perform to his abilities. Music also has a healing quality for those
with Alzheimer's. In the end, though, there came a time when
performing publicly was no longer possible.
In the later stages of Alzheimer's, Glen Campbell couldn’t watch
television because he couldn’t follow the plot or the sports
match. Playing golf with his friends became a challenge, he was
paranoid about his friends stealing his clubs. On occasion he
would momentarily forget who Kim was.

Glen Campbell,
Bill Clinton,
Gerald Ford, and
George HW
Bush after
playing a round
of golf at the
Bob Hope
Chrysler Classic
in California,
1995.

Which brings us to the last sign of Alzheimer's, Sign 10.
Changes in mood and personality.
“Individuals living with Alzheimer’s may experience mood
and personality changes. They can become confused,
suspicious, depressed, fearful or anxious. They may be
easily upset at home, with friends or when out of their
comfort zone.”
What's a typical age-related change? “Developing very
specific ways of doing things and becoming irritable when
a routine is disrupted.”

The Campbell family had moved to Nashville
since their children were pursuing their
musical careers there. Kim remembers a
problematic Christmas party with family and
friends. “When the guests arrived, though,
Glen was inhospitable. He wandered off and
wouldn’t speak to anyone. Then his
daughter Ashley brought out her banjo and,
once again, the magic of music did the trick.
Glen picked up his guitar and played
flawlessly. Within seconds, he went from
sullen to serene. He sang, laughed, and
socialized as though he were the healthiest
man alive. A Christmas miracle.”

Soon afterwards, Kim decided that Glen could no longer go
out in public. Taking care of him became burdensome,
they placed him in an Alzheimer's facility, but after he
struck out at the staff in demented anger had to take him
back home. Quite often, Alzheimer’s patients will strike
out in anger and frustration. Finally, they checked him into
a new memory care home, and the children joined the
staff so Glen would feel more at home. By the time he was
placed in hospice care, his memory was nearly completely
gone.

Conclusion
https://www.ashleycampbellmusic.com/

Glen Campbell’s daughter Ashley testified before Congress
to lobby for increased funding for Alzheimer's research.

Ashley Campbell states, “Alzheimer’s is a
disease that robs people of their lives while
they are still living them, and it robs families
of the people they love while they are still
standing in front of their eyes. I think a
person’s life is full of memories, which is
exactly what this disease takes from you.”

Ashley Campbell continues, “Now when I
play banjo with my dad, it’s getting
harder for him to follow along, and it’s
getting harder for him to recall my name.”
“Someday my dad might look at me, and I
will be absolutely nothing to him.”

Get checked. Early detection matters. Medicine has
advanced such that brain scans and other procedures can
diagnose Alzheimer’s in addition to the standard cognition
tests.

In the future we will review Travelers to Unimaginable Lands,
which are stories of Alzheimer’s patients and their caregivers
which the author has counseled or met in support groups. If you
are a caregiver, it is important that you join a support group.
These stories illustrate that Alzheimer's is not a disease that you
catch, it is a disease that progressively grows worse, and if the
caregiver is part of a dysfunctional family, these dysfunctions will
only worsen, causing increasing resentment even by caregivers
that genuinely try to be forgiving of their loved one’s demented
behavior.

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