Legends Glen Campbell And Roy Clark Bring Down The Roof With ‘Ghost Riders’ Performance

Aug 06, 2020

From September 1990, Glen Campbell and Roy Clark play Ghost Riders in the Sky, with some help from Jeff Dayton. Campbell and Clark's version of this song is on the soundtrack album for the 1985 movie Uphill All the Way.

People often say that the oldies are better than modern songs and in some ways, they are right. Nothing beats the nostalgic feeling one gets when listening to a song from their childhood. There is something different about the songs released during the 60s, 70s, 80s, and 90s. Our current music just cannot compare to the melodies of the olden decades.

If you are a lover of the classics, you are probably familiar with Ghost Riders in the Sky. Songfacts cites that this song first appeared in the 1985 film, Uphill All the Way. This song was one of the hit pieces from the film's soundtrack and also appeared in old TV shows such as "Bonanza."

This song gives you the sensation of the typical Western world with cowboys riding horses into the sunset and tumbleweeds blowing across the field.

This song was written by Stan Jones in 1948. It was covered by both vocals and instrumentals and nearly every country singer has performed this song at least once. 

Glen Campbell and Roy Clark performed this song live in a duel of two guitar legends. Glen Campbell is an excellent guitarist who has appeared in the band, Beach Boys. He had also accumulated hundreds of song credits by the age of 27, according to All Music.

Campbell was not only a guitarist, however, but he could also play any instrument with strings. This included the banjo and mandolin. 

Roy Clark is best known for his role as the co-host of Hee Haw during the 90s. He has appeared on many TV shows since and has delved into the world of country music. His song, Yesterday When I Was Young put his name on the country music top song charts.

Like Campbell, his career has been solely based on his skills with his guitar, and he is quite skilled as well. He had won two national banjo championships by the young age of 15. Even at the age of 85, Clark was still active with his guitar and performed nearly 110 concerts per year.

With two men this talented, one can only imagine how amazing their live performance must have been. The pair performed an instrumental version of the song with a live band behind them.

When viewing the video of their performance, one can only stare in awe as the two match each other perfectly with their guitars and hit every note. The song sounds more like a battle between the two guitar lords, yet neither one succumbs and admits defeat.

The video of their performance is the perfect tribute to their legendary existence. Many beginner guitar players look to the feats of these guitarists for inspiration as their skills could not be matched by any ordinary person. Glen Campbell passed away in the year 2017 and Roy Clark followed a year later.

Since their deaths, many aspiring country singers and guitarists have followed in their footsteps. They have even performed renditions of the singers' own pieces. Glen Campbell and Roy Clark are now gone, but their talents will never be forgotten. They continue to live on in the hearts of everyone who knew them.

We love listening to the classics! What are some of your favorite classics and what singers inspire you? Be sure to ask your friends and give us your opinions!