Who the hell was the dude at the end that killed Barbara Jean (was that her name?) I saw every scene he was in, but couldn't find a connection. Did he kill her so that chick who sang at the very end could sing?

How did Tom get Lily Tomlin's number? Did I miss another scene?

Why was Scott Glenn's character in the film? Did he have something to do with Barbara Jean?

I think Kenny, the killer, was an Arthur Bremer type (the guy who stalked and then shot George Wallace). I think he had been stalking Hal Phillip Walker, the Replacement Party candidate for President, and planned to shoot him at the Tuesday rally. But I think Barbara Jean got to him with her breaking down at Opryland and her behavior at the rally and possibly some of the lyrics in her songs hit him close to home. Therefore, he ended up shooting her instead while Walker was still in his car waiting to speak.

It didn't have anything to do with trying to give Albuquerque her singing break; he could not have known that would happen and I'm sure he didn't care. Although he did talk to her earlier in the film (well, actually she did most of the talking when they were walking away from the big pileup on the freeway), they really didn't know each other. A surprise in the movie was that Albuquerque actually could sing but what happened to her was almost pure luck, although it did have something to do with the fact that she was in the right place at the right time because of her persistence.

One of the wonderful things about the film is that Altman doesn't explain everything for us. I'm sure there are other equally valid interpretations.

As for your second question I really don't remember but there's a connection through Linnea's husband Delbert (having to do with his part in putting the rally together) and I think Linnea and Tom may have met in the past.

As for the third question PFC Glenn Kelly's mother had lived next door to Barbara Jean and once saved her life. His mother loved Barbara Jean and he seemed to idolize her. He promised his mother he'd see Barbara Jean sometime during his army travels. See his little story at the 99 minute mark on the DVD (I just popped it in to find that scene; great scene BTW with Mr. Green's wife having just died but Kelly's not knowing that). Anyway, his connection with Barbara Jean was very simple and totally innocent.

who was it that died in the middle of the movie? the scene before that had a man and a woman in bed together, and then the next shot is in a church with people mourning??