"Rhinestone Cowboy" is a song written and recorded by

Larry Weiss Laurence D. "Larry" Weiss (born March 25, 1941) is an American songwriter and musician. He wrote " Rhinestone Cowboy", a US no.1 hit for Glen Campbell in 1975; and co-wrote " Bend Me, Shape Me", " Hi Ho Silver Lining" and several other internatio ...

in 1974, then popularized the next year by American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

singer

Glen Campbell Glen Travis Campbell (April 22, 1936 – August 8, 2017) was an American country musician and actor. He was best known for a series of hit songs in the 1960s and 1970s, and for hosting ''The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour'' on CBS television from ...

. When released on May 26, 1975, as the lead single and title track from his album '' Rhinestone Cowboy'', it enjoyed huge popularity with both country and pop audiences.

Background and writing

Weiss wrote and recorded "Rhinestone Cowboy" in 1974, and it appeared on his

20th Century Records 20th Century Fox Records (also known as 20th Fox Records and 20th Century Records, or simply 20th Century Fox Film Scores and Fox Records) was a wholly owned subsidiary of film studio 20th Century Fox. The history of the label covers three distin ...

album ''Black and Blue Suite''. It did not, however, have much of a commercial impact as a single, although it peaked at number 71 in Australia in August 1974. In late 1974, Campbell heard the song on the radio and, during a tour of

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, decided to learn it. Soon after his return to the United States, Campbell went to

Al Coury Albert Eli Coury (October 21, 1934 – August 8, 2013) was an American music record executive and producer who was vice-president of Capitol Records, co-founder of RSO Records, founder of Network Records and general manager of Geffen Records. C ...

's office at

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007), and simply known as Capitol, is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-base ...

, where he was approached about "a great new song" – "Rhinestone Cowboy". Several music writers noted that Campbell identified with the subject matter of "Rhinestone Cowboy" – survival and making it, particularly when the chips are down – very strongly. As Stephen Thomas Erlewine of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

put it, the song is about a veteran artist "who's aware that he's more than paid his dues during his career ... but is still surviving, and someday, he'll shine just like a rhinestone cowboy."

Personnel

Credits sourced from Mix *

- lead and harmony vocals; 12-string acoustic guitar *

Dean Parks Weldon Dean Parks (born December 6, 1946) is an American session guitarist and record producer from Fort Worth, Texas. Parks has one Grammy nomination. Albums Parks was member of the North Texas State One O'clock Lab Band before moving to Los A ...

- electric guitar *

Ben Benay Ben is frequently used as a shortened version of the given names Benjamin, Benedict, Bennett, Benson or Ebenezer, and is also a given name in its own right. Ben meaning "son of" is also found in Arabic as ''Ben'' (dialectal Arabic) or ''bin ...

- electric guitar *

Fred Tackett Fredrick O. Tackett (born August 30, 1945) is an American songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Originally a session player on guitar, mandolin, and trumpet, he is best known as a member of the band Little Feat. In addition to his work with Li ...

- acoustic guitar *

David Paich David Frank Paich (born June 25, 1954) is an American keyboardist, singer, and songwriter, best known as the co-founder, principal songwriter, keyboardist, and secondary vocalist of the rock band Toto (band), Toto since 1977. He wrote or co-wrot ...

- piano *

Dennis Lambert Dennis Earle Lambert (born May 18, 1947 in Brooklyn, New York) is an American musician, songwriter and record producer. Career Lambert began his music career in 1960 when he signed to Capitol Records as a recording artist. By the mid-1960s, ...

- clavinet; piano (low notes at end of chorus) *Scott Edwards - bass guitar * Ed Greene - drums *Gary L. Coleman - tambourine; snare drum; cymbals * Tom Scott - flute *

Don Menza Don Menza (born April 22, 1936) is an American jazz saxophonist. Career Menza was born in Buffalo, New York, Buffalo, where he attended Grover Cleveland High School (Buffalo, New York), Grover Cleveland High School. After serving in the U.S. ...

- flute

Chart performance

Released in May 1975, "Rhinestone Cowboy" immediately caught on with both country and pop audiences. The song spent that summer climbing both the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

Hot Country Singles Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data along with digital sales and streaming. ...

and ''Billboard'' Hot 100 charts before peaking at No. 1 by season's end – three nonconsecutive weeks on the country chart, two weeks on the Hot 100. ''Billboard'' ranked it as the No. 2 for 1975. It also topped the charts in Canada and several other countries. During the week of September 13 – the week the song returned to No. 1 on the ''Billboard'' country chart, after having been nudged out for a week by " Feelins'" by

Conway Twitty Harold Lloyd Jenkins (September 1, 1933 – June 5, 1993), better known by his stage name Conway Twitty, was an American singer and songwriter. Initially a part of the 1950s rockabilly scene, Twitty was best known as a country music performer. ...

and

Loretta Lynn Loretta Lynn (; April 14, 1932 – October 4, 2022) was an American country music singer and songwriter. In a career spanning six decades, Lynn released multiple gold albums. She had numerous hits such as "Hey Loretta", "The Pill (song), The P ...

– "Rhinestone Cowboy" topped both the country and Hot 100 charts simultaneously. This was the first time a song had accomplished the feat since November 1961, when "

Big Bad John "Big Bad John" is a country music, country song written and originally performed by Jimmy Dean. It was released in September 1961 and by the beginning of November it had gone to number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, ''Billboard'' Hot 100. It won ...

" by

Jimmy Dean Jimmy Ray Dean (August 10, 1928 – June 13, 2010) was an American country music singer, television host, actor and businessman. He was the creator of the Jimmy Dean (brand), Jimmy Dean sausage brand as well as the spokesman for its TV comm ...

did so. "Rhinestone Cowboy" was one of six songs released in 1975 that topped both the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and Hot Country Singles charts. The other songs were "

Before the Next Teardrop Falls ''Before The Next Teardrop Falls'' is the debut studio album by Tejano music, Tejano singer Freddy Fender. Released in 1974, the album includes the number-one hits "Before the Next Teardrop Falls" and "Wasted Days and Wasted Nights". It peaked ...

" by

Freddy Fender Freddy Fender (born Baldemar Garza Huerta; June 4, 1937 – October 14, 2006) was an American Country and Tejano singer, known for his work as a solo artist and in the groups Los Super Seven and the Texas Tornados. His signature sound fused cou ...

, " (Hey Won't You Play) Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song" by B. J. Thomas, "

Thank God I'm a Country Boy "Thank God I'm a Country Boy", also known as "Country Boy", is a song written by John Martin Sommers and recorded by American singer/songwriter John Denver. The song was originally included on Denver's 1974 album '' Back Home Again''. A version re ...

" and " I'm Sorry"/" Calypso," both by

John Denver Henry John Deutschendorf Jr. (December 31, 1943 – October 12, 1997), known professionally as John Denver, was an American Country music, country and Folk music, folk singer, songwriter, and actor. He was one of the most popular acoustic m ...

, and "

Convoy A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support and can help maintain cohesion within a unit. It may also be used ...

" by C. W. McCall. The song was also the sole Glen Campbell track in a promotional-only compilation album issued by Capitol records titled ''The Greatest Music Ever Sold'' (Capitol SPRO-8511/8512), that was distributed to record stores during the 1976 holiday season as part of Capitol's "Greatest Music Ever Sold" campaign, which promoted 15 "Best Of" albums released by the record label. After Campbell's death in August 2017, "Rhinestone Cowboy" charted on the Country Digital Song chart at No. 12. , the song had been downloaded more than 368,000 times in the digital era in the United States.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

All-time charts

Certifications

Re-recorded version

Campbell recorded a new version of the song on his 2013 studio album, '' See You There''.

Awards

"Rhinestone Cowboy" was certified gold for sales of 1 million units by the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

. The song became one of Glen Campbell's signature songs and won numerous awards from the

Country Music Association The Country Music Association (CMA) is an American trade association with the stated aim of promoting and developing country music throughout the world. Founded in 1958 in Nashville, Tennessee, it originally consisted of 233 members and was the f ...

Academy of Country Music The Academy of Country Music (ACM) was founded in 1964 in Los Angeles, California, Los Angeles, California as the Country & Western Music Academy. Among the founders were Eddie Miller (songwriter), Eddie Miller, Tommy Wiggins, and Mickey and Chris ...

, and

American Music Awards The American Music Awards (AMAs) is an annual American music awards show produced by Dick Clark Productions since 1974. Nominees are selected on commercial performance such as sales and airplay. Winners are determined by a poll of the public and ...

. It also obtained nominations for a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

for Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male, as well as for

Record of the Year The Grammy Award for Record of the Year is presented by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without re ...

, but did not win.

Use in films

"Rhinestone Cowboy" served as the basis for the film '' Rhinestone'' (1984), starring

Sylvester Stallone Sylvester Gardenzio "Sly" Stallone (; born July 6, 1946) is an American actor and filmmaker. In a Sylvester Stallone filmography, film career spanning more than fifty years, Stallone has received List of awards and nominations received by Syl ...

and

Dolly Parton Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, actress, and philanthropist, known primarily as a country music, country musician. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton's debut album ...

The song also made the soundtracks of the films ''

High School High ''High School High'' is a 1996 American comedy film about an inner city high school in the Los Angeles, California area, starring Jon Lovitz, Tia Carrere, Mekhi Phifer, Louise Fletcher, Malinda Williams, and Brian Hooks. It is a spoof of fi ...

'' (1996) and ''

Daddy Day Care ''Daddy Day Care'' is a 2003 American family comedy film starring Eddie Murphy in the lead role, Jeff Garlin, Steve Zahn, Regina King, and Anjelica Huston. Written by Geoff Rodkey and directed by Steve Carr, it marks Murphy and Carr's secon ...

'' (2003). "Rhinestone Cowboy", along with several other Glen Campbell tracks, was used in '' War on Everyone'' (2016) A cover of “Rhinestone Cowboy” is the last song played in

Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American Rock music, rock singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Nicknamed "the Boss", Springsteen has released 21 studio albums spanning six decades; most of his albums feature th ...

’s companion film of his 2019 album '' Western Stars''. “Rhinestone Cowboy” was featured in the opening scene of Jon Stewart's film '' Irresistible'' (2020).

Notable cover versions

"Rhinestone Cowboy" has been covered by artists including

Thom Yorke Thomas Edward Yorke (born 7 October 1968) is an English musician who is the vocalist and main songwriter of the rock band Radiohead. He plays guitar, bass, keyboards and other instruments, and is noted for his falsetto. ''Rolling Stone'' desc ...

and

Radiohead Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon-on-Thames, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. The band members are Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards); brothers Jonny Greenwood (guitar, keyboards, other instruments) and Colin Gre ...

Troy Cassar-Daley Troy Cassar-Daley (born 18 May 1969) is an Australian country music songwriter and entertainer. Cassar-Daley has released thirteen studio albums, two live albums and five compilation albums over 30 years, including the platinum-selling '' The ...

and Adam Harvey,

Soul Asylum Soul Asylum is an American rock band formed in 1981 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Their 1993 hit " Runaway Train" won the Grammy Award for Best Rock Song. The band was originally called Loud Fast Rules, with a lineup consisting of Dave Pirner ...

Belle and Sebastian Belle and Sebastian are a Scottish indie pop band formed in Glasgow in 1996. Led by Stuart Murdoch, the band has released twelve studio albums. They are often compared with acts such as the Smiths and Nick Drake. The band took their name from ...

Lloyd Green Lloyd Lamar Green (born October 4, 1937) is an American steel guitarist noted for his extensive country music recording session career in Nashville performing on 116 Chart Hit, No.1 Country music, country hits including Tammy Wynette's “D-I-V-O- ...

Charley Pride Charley Frank Pride (March 18, 1934 – December 12, 2020) was an American Country music, country singer. Beginning his career as a Negro league baseball player in the early-1950s, he later pursued a career in country music, becoming the gen ...

Chris LeDoux Christopher Lee LeDoux (October 2, 1948 – March 9, 2005) was an American country music singer-songwriter, bronze sculptor, and hall of fame rodeo champion. During his career, LeDoux recorded 36 albums (many self-released), which have sold mor ...

and

White Town Jyoti Prakash Mishra (born 30 July 1966), better known by his stage name White Town, is a British-Indian singer, musician, and record producer, producer. He is best known for his 1997 hit song "Your Woman". Early life Jyoti Prakash Mishra was ...

. In 1975,

Cher Cher ( ; born Cheryl Sarkisian, May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Goddess of Pop", she is known for her Androgyny, androgynous contralto voice, Music an ...

performed it live during her '' The Cher Show''. The American country singer

Slim Whitman Ottis Dewey "Slim" Whitman Jr. (January 20, 1923 – June 19, 2013) was an American country music singer and guitarist known for his yodeling abilities and his use of falsetto. Recorded figures show 70 million sales, during a career that spanne ...

covered the song in 1976 on his ''

Red River Valley The Red River Valley is a region in central North America that is drained by the Red River of the North; it is part of both Canada and the United States. Forming the border between Minnesota and North Dakota when these territories were admitted ...

'' album. Also in 1976, Canadian comedian Nestor Pistor recorded a parody version, "Winestoned Plowboy", which was itself a modest hit on Canada's country music charts in 1977.

Johnny Carson John William Carson (October 23, 1925 – January 23, 2005) was an American television host, comedian, and writer best known as the host of NBC's ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' (1962–1992). Carson is a cultural phenomenon and w ...

performed a comedic cover version to open the March 4, 1976, broadcast of ''

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' is an American television talk show broadcast by NBC. The show was the third installment of ''The Tonight Show''. Hosted by Johnny Carson, it aired from October 1, 1962 to May 22, 1992, replacing ''T ...

''. The episode was released on DVD in 2016 along with other episodes from that particular week, with Carson referencing his preparations for the performance and

Doc Severinsen Carl Hilding "Doc" Severinsen (born July 7, 1927) is an American retired jazz trumpeter who led the NBC Orchestra on ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson''. Early life Severinsen was born in Arlington, Oregon, to Minnie Mae (1897–1998) ...

and the NBC Orchestra performing instrumental versions of the song each night. After his performance, Carson announced that songwriter Larry Weiss was in the audience, a fact he claimed to be unaware of when he sang it a few minutes earlier. South African singer Ray Dylan covered it on his album ''Goeie Ou Country - Vol. 3''. Canadian country singer George Canyon covered it in 2016 for the #ForeverCountry series. In 2019,

covered the song in his documentary film and live album promoting his studio album '' Western Stars.''

Non-English versions

Belgian singer Claire recorded the song in 1975 as "Vreemde Vogels" ("Strange Birds") and had a hit with her version in Flanders. It made it to No. 14 on the

Ultratop Ultratop is an organization which generates and publishes the official record charts in Belgium. Ultratop is a non-profit organization, created in 1995 on the initiative of the Belgian Entertainment Association (BEA), the Belgian member organiz ...

Flanders chart, staying in the chart for 5 weeks. It also made it to No. 2 on the Vlaamse Top 10 chart. In 1975, with lyrics more in line with the English original lyrics, it was recorded as "Cowgirl dorée" by the French Canadian singer

Renée Martel Renée Martel (26 June 1947 – 18 December 2021) was a French Canadian French Canadians, referred to as Canadiens mainly before the nineteenth century, are an ethnic group descended from French people, French colonists first arriving in ...

. The French lyrics of Martel's version were written by

Robert Charlebois Robert Charlebois (born June 25, 1944) is a Canadian author, composer, musician, performer and actor. Charlebois was born in Montreal, Quebec. Among his best known songs are ''Lindberg'' (the duo with Louise Forestier in particular), ''Ordi ...

. The song was covered in 1976 in French as "Je m'appelle Michèle", interpreted as an autobiographical piece by French singer

Michèle Torr Michèle Torr (born Michelle Cléberte Tort 7 April 1947) is a French singer and author, best known in non-Francophone countries for her participation in the Eurovision Song Contest for Luxembourg in 1966 and for Monaco in 1977. Early career ...

. Filipino singer comedian Fred Panopio covered it as a parody song version, "Ang Kawawang Cowboy, which was released in 1976. In 1977 it was released as a duo by Peter Belli and Ulvene in Danish under the title "Verdens bedste kone", and in 1977 in Finnish as "Muukalainen oon kai" interpreted by Kari Tapio.

Rikki & Daz version

In 2002, the British duo Rikki & Daz (made up of

Daz Sampson Darren "Daz" Sampson (born 28 November 1974) is a British singer-songwriter, record producer and football manager. Sampson is known for his commercial dance music, as part of several groups, and his television appearances. He has had nine Top 3 ...

and Ricardo Autobahn (real name John Matthews) released a revamped version of the song in a different arrangement, with additional lyrics and music. Titled "Rhinestone Cowboy (Giddy Up Giddy Up)", the single actually features Glen Campbell singing in the refrain. A music video was also released including Campbell.

Track listing

#"Rhinestone Cowboy (Giddy Up Giddy Up)" (Radio Edit) – 3:22 #"Rhinestone Cowboy (Giddy Up Giddy Up)" (Extended Version) – 5:01 #"Rhinestone Cowboy (Giddy Up Giddy Up)" (Shake Before Use Remix) – 6:00 #"Rhinestone Cowboy (Giddy Up Giddy Up)" (

Spray Spray or spraying commonly refer to: * Spray (liquid drop) ** Aerosol spray ** Blood spray ** Hair spray ** Nasal spray ** Pepper spray ** PAVA spray ** Road spray or tire spray, road debris kicked up from a vehicle tire ** Sea spray, refers to ...

Remix) – 5:27 Plus
:''Music video of "Rhinestone Cowboy (Giddy Up Giddy Up)"

Charts

References

External links

Lyrics of this song
* {{Authority control Songs about cowboys and cowgirls 1975 singles Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Billboard Hot Country Songs number-one singles of the year Cashbox number-one singles Irish Singles Chart number-one singles 1975 songs Glen Campbell songs Capitol Records singles George Canyon songs Songs written by Larry Weiss Songs about fame