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R.I.P. Gordon Lightfoot


lawajava

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My dad was part of a folk quartet way back in the day (early 60s), and they opened for Mr Lightfoot on four separate occasions when he played at The Riverboat in Toronto, a legendary coffeehouse (closed way back in 1978) that hosted many folk acts over the years. He said Lightfoot was the nicest man -- zero edge, friendly, very supportive of his fellow artists, and a first-class live performer. 

My dad's adventures as a touring musician during the mid-century folk revival are part of our family folklore, and my dad mentioned it to me this morning on a Zoom call. He was quite upset to learn the Gordon had passed away. He recalled the time they had finished their opening set and Gordon was on stage doing his, when a string broke on his guitar. Gordon decided to call my dad's quartet back to the stage while he got it fixed. As my dad recalls it: "he looked into the audience to where we were sitting enjoying the show, and said 'hey, let's get the boys back up here to do a few more numbers", at which point he smiled and gave my dad and his bandmates a friendly "c'mon get up here" wave. My dad says he and his buddies looked at each other with a "ugh, do we even have a few more songs we can do?" and then got back up, pulled some unrehearsed charts from their repertoire and just went for it. He said it was a great experience, and Mr. Lightfoot was very complimentary after the show. 

His passing is a real loss. I think my dad and I will be listening to Gordon Lightfoot recordings a lot over the coming days...

 

 

 

Edited by Amicus717
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When I feel like I want to “listen to something and relax” he’s my often pulled up playlist.  His music and songs soothe my nerves.  I’ve liked him since the 70s.  Lots of groups have come and gone from my listening enjoyment. I still listen to him.  He’s had staying power.

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Decided I needed to make a full Discography playlist of Gordon and didn't realize I had 25 albums from him!  (Not counting several videos!)  ?

I think I know what my Sunday "chill music" will be. ?

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On 5/3/2023 at 5:58 PM, Grem said:

Yes we are getting there.

First song I heard from him. 

This was a song that when I heard it as a kid gave me "future memories." It resonated with me so much it was like I knew that someday I'd understand exactly what he was singing about and my future self was telling me to pay close attention. If that makes sense. Subsequent romantic failures confirmed this, unfortunately.

(James Taylor's "Fire And Rain" was another one like that. I eventually experienced all of the things that he sings about. Recovery from drug addiction, breakup of a band due to drug issues, deaths of friend(s) due to drugs and depression. It's amazing how many people don't know that song is actually about really horrible things. I think they listen only to the chorus and not the verses?)

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3 hours ago, Starship Krupa said:

(James Taylor's "Fire And Rain" was another one like that.

Great song. Love it too. Listened to Mud Slide Slim when it came out. Another great story teller.

 

3 hours ago, Starship Krupa said:

Recovery from drug addiction, breakup of a band due to drug issues, deaths of friend(s) due to drugs and depression.

Yep. 

Edited by Grem
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3 hours ago, craigb said:

Although I had to take some breaks, I'm STILL going through his discography that I started last weekend (or was it the weekend before??? ?).

At least I'm now into the 1990's! ?

If you have a VPN, try selecting a server in Canada. CBC released a Gordon Lightfoot documentary on 22 March, that's now available for streaming in Canada only.

CBC's Gordon Lightfoot documentary

Edited by John Maar
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