We became close with Glen Campbell in the early days of Branson, in 1992, when we both performed at The Grand Palace Theatre. After the first season, he came into the dressing room one night to tell us that he was opening his own theatre the following year, and he asked us if we would consider appearing at his theatre on the days he wasn’t working. We jumped at the chance, and never regretted our association with this class act.

James Keach, who produced the great Johnny Cash biopic, Walk the Line, decided to chronicle Glen’s “Goodbye Tour” in a documentary film. In addition to following Glen on the tour across the United States and Europe, James wanted to conduct interviews with some artists who had been close to Glen. Of course, we were honored when he asked us to participate. As happens so often, our talking turned into spontaneous singing. After we shared some memories, we broke into an acapella version of “Farther Along.” It touched even us, and the words took on an even more poignant meaning. Alzheimer’s is such an insidious disease, striking people from all walks of life; the famous and those who will never receive any credit for their brave battles. Hopefully, as the song says, “we’ll understand it all by and by.”

I was proud of my friend for the way he chose to face this challenge: on stage in front of his adoring fans, doing what he loved most to do. And though he was all but completely reliant on on-stage prompters for even his most familiar and famous lyrics, somehow those synapses that control the melodies and the guitar breaks were still firing and remained at the ready for him. It was an amazing thing to witness.