Legendary Country Group Fulfills Glen Campbell’s 30-Year Old Wish

Restless Heart Band/Lisa Lake

Country group Restless Heart leapt onto the music scene in the mid-80s with a string of charting singles including six Billboard Hot Country Songs chart topping tunes. The band would become one of the most successful crossover artists in the genre with “I’ll Still Be Loving You” and “When She Cries” also landing in the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100. 

In the 32 years since the group’s inception, Restless Heart has gone through a series of personnel switch ups and eventual disbanding only to reunite with the original lineup in 2002. The reunion caused the guys to revisit previous plans and group goals, one of which was to record a Jimmy Webb tune. If Webb’s name sounds familiar it’s because the member of the Songwriters Hall of Fame has penned songs recorded by some of the biggest artists in any genre including Johnny Cash, Barbra Streisand, Carly Simon, Amy Grant and more. Webb is also the only artist ever to have received Grammy Awards for music, lyrics, and orchestration.

The idea to record a Jimmy Webb song was actually planted by none other than country great Glen Campbell who took Webb-penned “Wichita Lineman”, “By The Time I Get To Phoenix”, and “Galveston” to platinum status. Campbell made the suggestion to Restless Heart while performing with the group on a Mississippi River riverboat.

Restless Heart’s background vocalist and keyboard player Dave Innis recently relived the moment via a telephone interview with Country Rebel.

“[Restless Heart] was performing with Glen on a riverboat on the Mississippi River at the time. Glen was telling stories during a break and at one point said, ‘You guys should cut a Jimmy Webb song’.” 

More than 30 years later, while throwing around ideas for a new project, Campbell’s words came back to Innis who shared the idea with his co-producer Harry Smith. Smith agreed to the idea and the two started looking for the perfect Jimmy Webb song. Their search eventually lead them to the Glen Campbell classic “Wichita Lineman.” 

“We wanted to stay true to the sound of ‘Wichita Lineman’ while bringing the Restless Heart sound to the song.” And they did. The result is as great as one might expect with Larry Stewart leading the charge with his pure, rich vocals backed up by the smooth harmonies of Dave Innis, John Dittrich, Paul Gregg, and Greg Jennings. 

Listen to Restless Heart’s stunning rendition of “Wichita Lineman” below.