The late Glen Campbell‘s final song finds new life on Elton John’s new album, The Lockdown Sessions. Hear the new, collaborative version of “I’m Not Gonna Miss You” below.
The heartfelt ballad, the last song that Campbell recorded before his death in 2017, gets a makeover on The Lockdown Sessions. John adds his distinctive glam-rock sound to the new rendition.
Anchored by building piano chords and the clever wordplay of the reflective song’s bait-and-switch title, “I’m Not Gonna Miss You” dwells on the beauty of lifelong love and family, making it a perfect track for looking back on an illustrious career such as John’s. Campbell originally wrote the song as a tribute to his wife Kim, and USA Today reports that the late artist’s team reached out to John to ask if he would be interested in recording a new version of the song.
“I’m Not Gonna Miss You” anchors the soundtrack for the documentary Glen Campbell: I’ll Be Me, and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song in 2015. At that year’s Oscars ceremony, Tim McGraw stood in for the then-ailing Campbell to perform the song live.
John composed his Lockdown Sessions tracks during the COVID-19 pandemic, after the legendary performer was forced to pause his Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour. The album features a star-studded cast of duet partners who join John for an array of new originals and classic covers, including Jimmie Allen, Lil Nas X, Stevie Nicks, Stevie Wonder, Eddie Vedder, Miley Cyrus and 2020’s Americana Music Association Artist of the Year winner Brandi Carlile, who joins John on the new track “Simple Things.”
“Some of the recording sessions had to be done remotely, via Zoom,” notes John of the unconventional album creation process, which he says reminded him of his early-career days as a session musician.
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