By the Time I Get to Phoenix

This article is about the single. For other uses, see By the Time I Get to Phoenix (disambiguation).
Not to be confused with By the Time I Get to Arizona.
"By the Time I Get to Phoenix"
Single by Glen Campbell
from the album By the Time I Get to Phoenix
B-side"You've Still Got a Place in My Heart"
ReleasedOctober 23, 1967
RecordedAugust 29, 1967
StudioCapitol, Hollywood
GenreCountry pop[1][2]
Length2:42
LabelCapitol
Songwriter(s)Jimmy Webb
Producer(s)Al De Lory
Glen Campbell singles chronology
"Gentle on My Mind"
(1967) 		"By the Time I Get to Phoenix"
(1967) 		"Hey Little One"
(1968)
Official Audio
"By The Time I Get To Phoenix" (Remastered 2001) on YouTube

"By the Time I Get to Phoenix" is a song written by Jimmy Webb. Originally recorded by Johnny Rivers in 1965, it was reinterpreted by American country music singer Glen Campbell on his album of the same name. Released on Capitol Records in 1967, Campbell's version topped RPM's Canada Country Tracks, reached number two on Billboard's Hot Country Singles chart, and won two awards at the 10th Annual Grammys.[3] Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI) named it the third most performed song from 1940 to 1990.[4] The song was ranked number 20 on BMI's Top 100 Songs of the Century.[5] Frank Sinatra called it "the greatest torch song ever written."[6] It was No. 450 on Rolling Stone magazine's Top 500 Songs of All Time.[7]

Background and writing

The inspiration for "By the Time I Get to Phoenix" originated in Jimmy Webb's breakup with Susan Horton. They remained friends after her marriage to Bobby Ronstadt, a cousin of singer Linda Ronstadt. Their relationship, which peaked in mid-1965, was also the primary influence for "MacArthur Park", another Webb composition.[8]

Webb did not intend the song to be geographically literal. "A guy approached me one night after a concert [...] and he showed me how it was impossible for me to drive from L.A. to Phoenix, and then how far it was to Albuquerque. In short, he told me, 'This song is impossible.' And so it is. It's a kind of fantasy about something I wish I would have done, and it sort of takes place in a twilight zone of reality."[9]

Webb called the song a "succinct tale" with an "O. Henry-esque twist at the end, which consists merely of the guy saying, 'She didn't really think that I would go,' but he did." Although the protagonist in the song plans to leave his lover, Webb did not leave Horton.[9]

Covers

In 1990, Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI), which monitors songs in its role as a performance rights organisation, listed "By the Time I Get to Phoenix" as the third-most performed song from the period from 1970 to 1990,[4] and in 1999 listed it as the 20th most performed of the 20th century.[5] Many cover versions have been recorded. Charted versions include:

  • Isaac Hayes' version of the song, included on the album Hot Buttered Soul, runs for 18 minutes and 40 seconds, and recounts the events that transpired before the actual roadtrip.[10] The track was edited to under seven minutes for single release, hitting #37 on both the U.S. pop and R&B charts in 1969, and #48 in Canada.[11]
  • The Mad Lads covered the song in 1969 for Stax Records; their version reached #28 on the R&B singles chart and #56 in Canada.[12]
  • Wayne McGhie and the Sounds of Joy covered it on their 1970 album, which had little success at the time but was reissued on Light in the Attic Records in 2004.[13]
  • Anne Murray and Glen Campbell recorded a medley of "I Say a Little Prayer" and "By the Time I Get to Phoenix" in 1971. The track hit #1 on the Canadian country charts and charted on the U.S. country charts and the U.S. and Canadian pop charts (#19[14]).
  • Isaac Hayes and Dionne Warwick released the song as a live medley with "I Say a Little Prayer" in 1977. The single reached #65 on the R&B singles chart.[citation needed]

Chart performance

Chart (1967–1968) Peak
position
US Hot Country Singles (Billboard)[15] 2
US Billboard Hot 100[16] 26
US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[17] 12
Canada Country Tracks (RPM)[18] 1
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[19] 9

References

  1. ^ Breihan, Tom (August 6, 2019). "The Number Ones: Glen Campbell's "Rhinestone Cowboy"". Stereogum. Retrieved June 26, 2023. ...a series of lush, considered, heartsick country-pop singles that Campbell recorded with his Wrecking Crew comrades: 1967's "By The Time I Get To Phoenix"...
  2. ^ Marsh, Dave (1989). The Heart of Rock & Soul: The 1001 Greatest Singles Ever Made. Plume. p. 573. ISBN 0-452-26305-0.
  3. ^ "Past Winners Search". National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Retrieved December 14, 2014.
  4. ^ a b "BMI list of Most Popular Songs from 1940–1990". Broadcast Music, Inc. September 2, 1990. Archived from the original on April 2, 2003.
  5. ^ a b "BMI Announces Top 100 Songs of the Century". Broadcast Music, Inc. December 13, 1999.
  6. ^ Takiff, Jonathan (January 17, 1992). "The Man Behind The Hits". Philadelphia Daily News. Archived from the original on December 21, 2014.
  7. ^ "Rolling Stone - 500 Greatest Songs (Music Database :: Dave Tompkins)". cs.uwaterloo.ca. Retrieved June 19, 2022.
  8. ^ Boucher, Geoff (June 10, 2007). "'MacArthur Park' Jimmy Webb, 1968". Los Angeles Times.
  9. ^ a b Gross, Terry (February 10, 2004). "Jimmy Webb: From 'Phoenix' To 'Just Across The River'". Fresh Air. NPR.
  10. ^ Birchmeier, Jason. Hot Buttered Soul at AllMusic. Retrieved December 16, 2014.
  11. ^ "RPM Top 100 Singles - October 4, 1969 (actual chart not avail.)" (PDF).
  12. ^ "RPM Top 100 Singles - August 30, 1969" (PDF).
  13. ^ Bill Reynolds, "McGhie doesn't blow his covers". Hamilton Spectator, July 5, 2004.
  14. ^ "RPM Top 100 Singles - December 4, 1971" (PDF).
  15. ^ "Hot Country Singles". Billboard. Vol. 80, no. 2. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. January 13, 1968. p. 37. ISSN 0006-2510.
  16. ^ "Glen Campbell Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
  17. ^ "Glen Campbell Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard.
  18. ^ "Top RPM Country Tracks: Issue 100164." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. January 27, 1968.
  19. ^ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 100145." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. December 30, 1967.