Update: Alzheimers Wasting Glen Campbell

Glen Campbell with wife Kim Woolen (NBC News photo)

Glen Campbell is known as country music's first crossover artist. He played guitar for The Beach Boys on "Pet Sounds," had hits of his own, including "Galveston" and "Rhinestone Cowboy," and made a name for himself as an actor in the western "True Grit."

But today, according to The Tennessean, more than three years after his diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease, Campbell lives alongside other residents at a Nashville facility dedicated to caring for those with degenerative brain disorders.

His wife, Kim Woolen, said Campbell is content and physically healthy but has lost most of his ability to hold a conversation.

"He talks in kind of a word soup," she said. "Every now and then a sentence comes out, but he rarely, rarely understands anything anyone says to him. He's cheerful for the most part. He enjoys eating and hugs. He'll still pick up the guitar and doodle with it."

Woolen said she considers the facility an extension of their home and visits Campbell every day she is in town, which is most days. When she's not available, Campbell has a steady stream of friends who come keep him company.

Now, NBC News reports, he is in late Stage 6 of the disease. Stage 7 is the end of the line.