At 69, Lightfoot looks to his old pals for inspiration
By Anne Neville NEWS STAFF REPORTER
Updated: 09/20/08 6:41 AM
Gordon Lightfoot is looking forward to his Buffalo concert Sunday — unless the crowd demands that he sing the hula hoop song.
He chuckles as he recalls the first song he ever wrote, as a high school student in Orillia, Ont., with a keen eye for trends and a baritone like warm maple syrup.
“It was about the hula hoop craze that swept across American in 1955,” says Lightfoot, on the telephone from his “little office” at his quiet Toronto home. “It was about a father who could not keep up with his kids, who were hula-hooping. I took it to a publisher, and the guy was impressed that it was a topical song, because most of the songs he was getting were love songs. So he said, ‘Keep up the good work and give me a buzz if you write anything else.’
Gord did go on to write a few more tunes — including the haunting “If You Could Read My Mind,” the smoldering “Sundown,” and the classic ballad, “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald,” all monster hits in the 1970s that still get radio play. Other artists — from Dylan to Elvis — recorded his songs, too.
But somehow the hula hoop song — if it ever had a proper name, Lightfoot isn’t sharing it — never got recorded. Or performed. “Oh no, that would be torture!” he says, laughing.
After he’s revealed his first crack at songwriting, he frets, “I hope that people don’t start asking me for it! They might, you know!” He pauses, then concedes, “Maybe I’ll recite the lyrics or something.”
Lightfoot, 69, is enthusiastic about playing Shea’s, which he calls “a wonderful, wonderful place. I played there about 18 or 20 years ago, and I can sort of recall what it looked like. These reconditioned movie theaters have got the best sound, they’re absolutely great.”
It’s amazing that he can recall a venue from two decades ago, given the pace and extent of his touring. This year alone, Lightfoot did 38 shows between February and June, then took a few months off. He resumed touring this month, and until Oct. 26, he will sing almost every night and travel as far as California and Texas.
No plans to retire? “No!” he says. “I want to be like my buddies! I want to be like Bob Dylan, Kris Kristofferson, Willie Nelson. Even Tony Bennett, hey, let’s throw him in!”
What about Mick Jagger? “He doesn’t count, he’s one of the younger guys,” says Lightfoot with a chuckle. “Bob Dylan is two years younger than I am, Kris is two years older, Willie is four years older.”
These guys are more than just longevity role models for Lightfoot — they’re also pals, and most of their friendships go way back. In 1975, Lightfoot played at both of Dylan’s Rolling Thunder Revue shows in Toronto, and was later filmed singing Dylan’s “Ballad in Plain D” for Dylan’s film, “Renaldo and Clara.” In 1986, inducting Lightfoot into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame, Dylan praised Lightfoot as “somebody of rare talent and all that.”
On this tour, Lightfoot is accompanied by guitarist Terry Clements, keyboardist Michael Heffernan, bassist Rick Haynes and drummer Barry Keane, all of whom have been with him for a long time.
Lightfoot says his career “has had some down periods, you know. But it’s been coming back, it’s been getting stronger and it feels really good. We’re getting a wonderful response because everybody’s all pumped up these days. We’re going to stop when the election takes place, and we’re going to start back right after the inauguration, leading right into Valentine’s Day.”
The election? Yep. Lightfoot is immersed in current events. “Your cousin from the north, just like everyone, is very fascinated by what’s going on with the election, it’s just so full of interesting things. It’s the best entertainment on television. I’ve been watching it for a year and half, and it keeps getting better all the time.”
A typical day for Lightfoot begins at 8 a. m. and includes work in his downtown office, a trip to “the club — that’s the gym — back out to the house, have supper, practice, watch either CNN or CSI. By 11 o’clock I’m in bed, because the next day is going to be exactly the same. There’s a lot of family stuff, too, and you have to fit that in. My youngest child is 14, but I’ve got little grandchildren running around.”
But even a quiet routine must be deeply satisfying for Lightfoot, who came perilously close to death. On Sept. 7, 2002, he had driven from Toronto to Orillia to sing at the old Opera House. Backstage he suddenly suffered severe abdominal pains and was airlifted to McMaster Medical Centre in Hamilton. There he had emergency surgery for a ruptured abdominal aortic aneurism, a condition that’s usually fatal. He was in a coma for two months, followed by more surgery, a tracheotomy and another month in the hospital. Lightfoot didn’t do another concert until 2004, the same year he released his latest album, “Harmony,” most of which was recorded before his illness.
In concert, Lightfoot treats the crowd to a review of his hits.
After a moment’s thought, he chooses “If You Could Read My Mind” as his favorite. “It’s a spellbinder,” he says. “We love doing it, and every night it feels the same way, it never changes, it looks after itself just fine — it’s an easy song to play.”
But when his best-known tune, the epic ballad, “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald,” is mentioned, he says, “Oh, I love that one too! It is my favorite!” Then he concedes that, like children, all his songs are his favorites.
“The Wreck” has affected both his career and his life. “I’m glad I wrote it and I’m happy that so many people can relate to it,” he says. “And I’m happy for all the people I’ve met who are directly connected to it.”
Lightfoot has attended many of the Edmund Fitzgerald memorial services in the Mariners’ Church in Detroit, and a few years ago in Sault Ste. Marie he met with 800 family members of the 29 men who died on the ship.
“We love to do that song and people love to hear it — it’s an energetic song, it’s a powerful song,’ he says.
Concert Preview
“Gordon Lightfoot” 7 p. m. Sunday in Shea’s Performing Arts Center, 646 Main St.
Tickets are available at the Shea’s box office or through Ticketmaster.
aneville@buffnews.com