WASHINGTON�Ashley Campbell has the dream of any young musician: to belong to a band making a worldwide tour. Yet her dream has a sad twang to it. Her father is singer Glen Campbell, who went public last June with his diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease.
Campbell, 75, has spent the past year trying to raise awareness about the disease, an incurable, brain-wasting illness that affects 5.4 million people in the USA. That number is expected to triple as the Baby Boomers age.
Ashley Campbell, 25, and two of her siblings have joined their dad onstage as his backup band during his Goodbye Tour. The band was back together here Wednesday night at the Library of Congress for a special performance for members of Congress, put on by the Alzheimer's Association to raise awareness about the disease.
"I think music is therapeutic for him," says Ashley, who plays banjo in the band. "He's definitely sharper when he's on tour than if he's sitting home or playing golf. That's when I see him slipping. But if he can put that guitar in his hands and use his fingers to pick music, he's much better.
"Sometimes he'll get confused when he's singing and might forget some lyrics, but that's when the teleprompter helps him out. And he's not the only musician to use one of those. Not by far."
Ashley says her dad loves the crowds at the concerts � and the feeling seems to be mutual.
"The first night of the tour, I couldn't get over it," she says. "He got the rowdiest standing ovation when he came onstage. People were so supportive of him. I thought maybe it was just because it was the first night.
"Until the next night, when it happened again. And the next night, and the next night."
She says that at a concert before they came to Washington, her dad started singing Rhinestone Cowboy, and a man approached the stage from the crowd.
"He shouted, 'You are a hero, Glen. You are a hero, man.' "
Ashley says music was always part of their household when she was growing up. She played piano and guitar until she got to college. Then she discovered the banjo and bluegrass music.
"Banjo is my instrument now," she says. "When I would play at home, my dad would stand up and say, 'Well, look at you. You're really good on that. You are fantastic.' "
He asks her to invite her friends over, and they play bluegrass music together.
Before the Library of Congress performance, she talked about how important it is for her father to keep doing what he enjoys and to help spread the word about the need to find a cure for Alzheimer's.
"People like Glen Campbell and (basketball coach) Pat Summitt, who are using their voices to advocate for the disease, know it's not going to help them," but it may help others, says Angela Geiger, chief strategy officer for the Alzhiemer's Association. "That takes a special kind of courage."
The sound of courage Wednesday night rocked a jammed auditorium that holds several hundred.
The audience stood and cheered when Campbell came out onstage.
"Thank you," he responded. "I appreciate all of you."
Then he broke into one of his famous songs, Gentle on My Mind, and sang about the "rivers of my mind."
A guitar lick he hit to perfection sent the audience into loud applause again.
"It's important for people to know you can keep doing what you want, that life doesn't end right away when you get Alzheimer's," Ashley says.
Backstage, the adulation continued as Campbell signed autographs.
The Goodbye Tour continues through July.
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