Wichita Lineman

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"Wichita Lineman" is a popular song written by Jimmy Webb in 1968, first recorded by Glen Campbell and widely covered by other artists. Campbell's version, which appeared on his 1968 album of the same name, reached #3 on the U.S. pop chart, remaining in the Top 100 for 15 weeks. In addition, the song also topped the American country music chart for two weeks, and the adult contemporary chart for six weeks. In 2004, Rolling Stone magazine's list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time" ranked "Wichita Lineman" at #192. It has been referred to as 'the first existential country song'.

Webb was inspired to write the lyrics when he saw a solitary lineman in rural northern Oklahoma.^[1] The lyric describes the longing that a lonely telephone or electric power lineman feels for an absent lover who he imagines he can hear "singing in the wire" that he is working on. Such a sonic vibration is commonly induced by wind blowing across small conductors. There is uncertainty as to which "Wichita" is intended; Wichita, Kansas, Wichita County, Kansas (which is over 250 road miles away), Wichita Falls, Texas, and Wichita County, Texas have all been suggested as possibilities, and others believe that Webb had entitled the song "Ouachita Lineman," but that Campbell later changed that title to its present form.^{[citation needed]}

"Wichita Lineman" has been recorded by a diverse range of artists; from Ray Charles, Sammy Davis, Jr. and Dwight Yoakam to Kool and the Gang, Bobby Broom and Urge Overkill.

James Taylor recorded the song on his album, "Covers", released in September 2008. Taylor includes the soulful rendition in the first set of his current U.S. tour.

Performers have included:

• German singer Katja Ebstein recorded "Wichita lineman" in German language for her first single record: "Der Draht in der Sonne" in February of 1969.
• Johnny A on 'Sometime Tuesday Morning'
• Jimmy Barnes and David Campbell, on Double Happiness
• Ken Berry on Ken Berry R. F. D.
• Dennis Brown on Tracks of Life
• Glen Campbell on Love Story
• Johnny Cash on Unearthed Volume Three
• Andy Williams on Happy Heart
• Clouds
• The Fatback Band on Let's Do It Again
• Friends of Dean Martinez on Wichita Lineman
• Gomez for a radio session
• Wade Hayes
• British Electric Foundation on Music of Quality and Distinction
• Steve Hogarth on the H Natural tour
• Freedy Johnston on Unlucky
• Landfacts - Meters Remix on "For Your Consideration" EP^[2]
• Shawn Lee on Soul Visa
• The Lettermen on I Have Dreamed
• Hank Marvin on Solid Gold Collection
• The Meters, on "Struttin'"
• Dwight Yoakam, on Under the Covers
• Optiganally Yours on Spotlight On...
• Peter Nero on Love Story
• R.E.M. on their "Bittersweet Me" single
• The Rolling Stones at their concert in Wichita, Kansas on their "A Bigger Bang" tour on 1st October 2006 (Short intro and chorus only)
• Scud Mountain Boys on Pine Box
• Sergio Mendes and Brasil '66 (Billboard Hot 100 hit in 1969)
• Stone Temple Pilots with Glenn Campbell on a rare black and white video
• "Tennessee" Ernie Ford
• These Animal Men secret track on Come on Join the High Society and Childline Charity compilation CD
• Urge Overkill, on Americruiser/Jesus Urge Superstar (listed as "Witchita Lineman")
• Jimmy Webb, on Ten Easy Pieces
• The White Stripes various Live Shows
• Cassandra Wilson, on Belly of the Sun
• Steve Poltz various live shows
• Culturcide spoofed it on Tacky Souvenirs of Pre-Revolutionary America
• Spoofed in a Pinky and the Brain sketch on Animaniacs with the line "I am a telephone repairman from this area"
• Homer Simpson, in the Simpsons episode Co-Dependent's Day
• Tony Joe White
• The UK band Gomez covered the song in May 2008 in a BBC Radio 2 session.

Arrangement

In the first recording, by Glen Campbell, a notable feature of Al de Lory's orchestral arrangement is that the violins and a Gulbransen Synthesizer mimic the sounds that a lineman might hear when attaching a telephone earpiece to a long stretch of raw telephone or telegraph line i.e. without typical line equalisation and filtering. One would be aware of high-frequency tones fading in and out, caused by the accidental rectification (the rusty bolt effect) of heterodynes between many radio stations (the violins play this sound); and occasional snatches of Morse Code from radio amateurs or utility stations (this is heard after the line of lyric, "is still on the line"). Heterodynes are also referenced in the lyric, "I can hear you through the whine".^{[citation needed]}

The bass solo was played by Campbell himself on a Danelectro six-string bass borrowed from friend and session bassist Carol Kaye; the pulsing effect is tremolo from a Fender amplifier. On a 1969 appearance on the Smothers Brothers TV show, Campbell played the solo on a Fender Bass VI six-string bass guitar.^{[citation needed]}

References

1. ^ The Greatest Songs Ever! Wichita Lineman Article on Blender :: The Ultimate Guide to Music and More
2. ^ http://space.troo.net/foryourconsideration/03_landfacts_manfieldline.mp3

• The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits, 6th Edition, 1996

Chart positions

External links

• Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Songs of All Time: Wichita Lineman