Story Behind the Song: Learn how 'Wichita Lineman' came to be

When songwriter Jimmy Webb left an unfinished version of the song "Wichita Lineman" for Glen Campbell to listen to, he never got a response and assumed it was a no-go.

But when he eventually spoke to Campbell about it weeks later, the singer's reply was "Oh, we cut that one." Webb reiterated that he'd left a note saying the song wasn't finished. Campbell's response: "Well it is now."

The song would go on to become iconic for its songwriting. Bob Dylan would call it "the greatest country song ever written," and it was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame and the Library of Congress preserved the song in the National Recording Registry.

Nashville Songwriters Association International Executive Director Bart Herbison sat down with Webb to get the Story Behind the Song including what Campbell asked him to write originally and why he didn't want to do it.

"You have an association already with the great Glen Campbell with 'By the Time I Get to Phoenix,'and he wants another one," Herbison said. "I think he even asked you for one with the town in the name of the song. Is that right?"

Webb said it was and that he told Campbell he would write him a song anytime about anything.

"And that was the truth," Webb said. "He said, 'I think I need another town.' And I said, 'Glen, I'm trying to get out of that town thing and move on to some other things.' There was a silence. And he said, 'Well, that's a little disappointing.'"

Campbell then responded by asking if it could even be geographical. Webb could work with that because he already had an idea in mind.

The actual Wichita lineman was a real person we know little about

Webb remembered when traveling through the panhandle of Oklahoma and Texas, seeing miles and miles of nothing but telephone poles and power lines and every once in a while there's a man.

"We don't know who this man is, but he's got his truck parked there and he's got his jug of water in the shade and he's up on that pole."

The visual that stuck with Webb was how when driving along the lonely panhandle roads, the man on the pole starts as a speck, comes into view, you can see his face and then he's in the rear-view mirror and growing smaller.

Webb got two verses in to the song and turned it in unfinished with a note and a smiley face.

Satellite sounds and an organ the size of an elephant

Webb had an old church organ, a Gulbransen 700 Series electronic organ, that had some pre-programmed sounds. This was before synthesizers, so manufactured sounds weren't easy to come by — much less replicate.

JW: "I knew from my background in the Baptist church, on some of the church organs, they actually had rhythm machines built in. I don't know what the church would do with a bossa nova rhythm, but there was a selection of sounds and it was cool because you couldn't get anything like that. We didn't know how to make a satellite sound. Glen is over on e day and I said 'I've been playing with this reverb and there's an automatic repeat on it...''"

More Jimmy Webb: Songwriter Jimmy Webb discusses his massive '70s hit 'MacArthur Park'

Siedah Garrett: Songwriter Siedah Garrett co-wrote 'Man in the Mirror' for Michael Jackson. Here's how

Campbell loved it so much he wanted to put it on the record. There was only one problem: the organ had to be moved to the studio and as Webb recalls, "the thing weighed as much as a Volkswagen."

That didn't stop Campbell. One phone call and the organ was on its way to the studio.

"It took hours to get it moved," Webb remembers. "It was as big as an elephant and they ended up having to put it in the control room because it didn't fit anywhere else. They plugged it in and said, 'OK, what are you going to play?'"

Webb confessed he was literally playing two notes.

"Everyone looked kind of disappointed. Until they heard it. Then this nice little sound drips out and they say, 'OK, let's put it on there.' And that's how I came to play on that record. It was those two notes."

Jimmy Webb will make an appearance in Nashville June 23 at 7:30 p.m. at the Country Music Hall of Fame. He will be singing, telling stories and sharing about his life. Tickets and more information can be found at countrymusichalloffame.org.

About the series

In partnership with Nashville Songwriters Association International, the "Story Behind the Song" video interview series features Nashville-connected songwriters discussing one of their compositions. For full video interviews with all our subjects, visit www.tennessean.com/music.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Glen Campbell asked songwriter Jimmy Webb for another 'town' song