"By the Time I Get to Phoenix"The legendary Jimmy Webb wrote this one, an aching ballad Frank Sinatra once declared "the greatest torch song ever written." And Johnny Rivers recorded it two years earlier than Campbell. But the version that took this classic to the masses was Campbell's 1967 take, a richly orchestrated gem that earned two Grammys, Best Vocal Performance, Male and Best Contemporary Male Solo Vocal Performance, hitting No. 2 on Billboard's country chart. Campbell once told The Republic, "The first time I heard 'By the Time I Get to Phoenix,' I cried."
"Wichita Lineman"
Another Webb song, this one topped the country charts and Hot Adult Contemporary charts in 1968 while hitting No. 3 on Billboard's Hot 100. Years later, in 2004, it hit Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time at No. 192. Webb came up with the tale of a broken-hearted telephone-pole repairman after being asked if he could come up with another "By the Time I Get to Phoenix."
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