49 Years Ago: Glen Campbell’s “Rhinestone Cowboy” Hits #1
on Feb 21, 2024 • Updated Aug 20, 2024
49 years ago, country music icon Glen Campbell’s song “Rhinestone Cowboy” topped the charts.
It became his very first number-one single after thirteen Top 40 hits. During a tour of Australia, Campbell first heard Larry Weiss’ rendition of the song on the radio and decided to learn it. After returning to the United States, Campbell went to Capitol Records, where he was approached about “a great new song” called “Rhinestone Cowboy.”
The rest was history.
The song was loved by country and pop audiences alike. In the summer of 1975, it climbed the Billboard Hot Country Singles and Billboard Hot 100 charts before eventually reaching the number one spot.
The hit single spent three non-consecutive weeks on the country chart, and two weeks on the Hot 100, after having been edged out for a week by “Feelings,” by Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn.
Returning to Number One.
During the week of September 13, when the song returned to number one on the Billboard Country chart, “Rhinestone Cowboy” topped both the Country and Hot 100 charts simultaneously, the first time that had been accomplished since November of 1961, when Jimmy Dean’s “Big Bad John” did the same.
The song is such a classic and remains popular to this day among country artists and fans. It has since been covered by Tim McGraw, Chris Stapleton, and even Bruce Springsteen.
RELATED: Days After Glen Campbell Passed, Chris Stapleton Delivers ‘Rhinestone Cowboy’ Cover In His Memory
Enjoy this timeless performance of the Glen Campbell classic, “Rhinestone Cowboy.”
