October 26, 1968. Glen Campbell released Wichita Lineman. A crossover song between country and pop, nonetheless it became a crossover hit.
Weekly charts
Chart (1968-1969) Peak
position
Australia (Go-Set)[27] 15
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[28] 1
Canada Country Tracks (RPM)[29] 1
Canada Adult Contemporary (RPM)[30] 49
Ireland (IRMA)[31] 12
New Zealand (Listener)[32] 10
UK Singles (OCC)[33] 7
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[34] 1
US Billboard Hot 100[35] 3
US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[36] 1
US Cash Box Top 100[37] 2
In 2021, Rolling Stone magazine's list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time" ranked "Wichita Lineman" at number 206.[42] Singer-songwriter Bob Dylan considered it "the greatest song ever written"[43] and British music journalist Stuart Maconie called it "the greatest pop song ever composed."[44] BBC Radio described it as "one of those rare songs that seems somehow to exist in a world of its own – not just timeless but ultimately outside of modern music"[45] and spotlighted it in series 12 of Soul Music, their long-running show documenting the stories behind music with a powerful emotional impact.[46] In 2017, Paste placed the song at number two on their list of the 12 greatest Glen Campbell songs;[47] in their version, Billboard ranked it number three.[48]
The single was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2000. In 2019, the song was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Recording Registry for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."[49]
Journalist and author Dylan Jones published the book The Wichita Lineman: Searching in the Sun for the World's Greatest Unfinished Song in 2019, documenting the song's evolution and its enduring legacy.
Here he is singing it live on the Smothers Brothers Show.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g310GZiNrgY
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