Campbell relived his time with the Beach Boys in this video clip from one of his performances in the early Eighties. Born in Arkansas, Campbell, a self-taught guitarist who couldn't read music, moved to Los Angeles in 1960 at the age of 23 and soon became a member of the Wrecking Crew. He recorded songs for everyone from the Byrds to Elvis Presley to Frank Sinatra, but with the Beach Boys, Campbell nearly had a full-time gig.
"In 1965, I'll tell you what I did: I was a Beach Boy. I loved it. Played bass with the group," Campbell says in the video, in which he performs a medley of the band's hits that he cut with them. He had originally recorded with the group the year before, but when band leader Brian Wilson suffered a nervous breakdown in December 1964, Campbell was hired to take his place on tour, playing bass and singing harmonies. "I was in heaven then — hog heaven!" Campbell told Rolling Stone in 2011.
Campbell's tenure with the band lasted four months and allegedly included an offer to become a full-time touring member of the band. (The gig ultimately went to Bruce Johnston.) Campbell, who was signed to Capitol Records – the same label as the Beach Boys – and had already released three solo albums, passed on the opportunity, although he did later appear on the band's masterpiece, 1966's Pet Sounds. The following year, he scored his first major hit with "Gentle on My Mind," and in 1968 he topped even the Beatles in record sales.