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Old 11-07-2019, 08:34 PM   #1
charlene
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Join Date: May 2000
Posts: 15,874
Default NEW BOOK!-ONCE UPON A RED EYE-Life on the road with Gordon Lightfoot-Richard Harison

ONCE UPON A RED EYE - Life on the road with Gordon Lightfoot, written by Richard Harison.

Life on the road with Gordon Lightfoot - and much more...
Published by Friesen Press - TBD 2019

ISBN-978-1-5255-5463-6 (Hardcover)
ISBN-978-1-5255-5464-3 (Paperback)
ISBN-978-1-5255-5465-0 (eBook)

MY REVIEW:
Richard has given the Lightfoot fan an exceptional, informative, up close and personal accounting of life on the road and in the air with Gordon and his band of music makers when he was at the pinnacle of his musical success story.
Memories of specific concerts, venues, cities, meetings of other renowned artists, details about sound mixing, stage lighting and guitar tuning are but a few of his stories told in a way that had me recalling concerts past and how I marveled at the seamless perfection I saw and heard happening onstage. There was also the need to get everyone to the venues with airline and hotel reservations, car rentals, truck rentals etc. at a time when the internet was not around! Most of the time things went as planned but when they didn’t Richard has some tales to tell!
I never realized the immense amount of complex work involved in giving the fan the best concert experience possible and for quite some time almost all of the organization to have a successful tour was done by Richard himself!
Richard relates his memories about the band members and Gordon over the years with an ease and humour only someone who was really ‘’in the know’’ can tell. His tales of others in the Lightfoot circle as well as many artists he met along the way are told with the same comfort and consideration. Some are amusing while others are poignant and heart stirring. Many fill in the story of his own life as his journey with renowned and world famous Gordon Lightfoot find him marvelling at how serendipitous it really has been.
A wonderfully informative read that will educate the fans while making them laugh and also marvel at the immense amount of work Lightfoot and the dedicated, loyal people who surround him have done for over 50 years and continue to do to this day.
Char Westbrook

WAYNE FRANCIS has reviewed the book too! READ it here:
http://lightfoot.ca/biograph.htm

ONCE UPON A RED EYE

Take A Trip On Board A Musical And Cultural Time Machine

In my over fifty years as a touring concert performer I certainly have both
enjoyed and appreciated a good measure of success, which has allowed me to
visit places I might not otherwise have been able to, as well as to meet people
that I have long admired for their talents in musical and other fields. But
I think what remains foremost in my mind is that I have always loved just
being there. I think I could sum the whole experience up simply by saying, “I
love the work!” If I didn't, I wouldn’t keep doing it.
And while I wrote and performed the songs, I would be remiss if I did
not acknowledge the contributions of the people who were with me on these
tours. Primarily, I have been very fortunate over the years to have always had
a band with such loyal and talented musicians, and I am truly thankful for
their contributions.
I have also had some fine technical help: road managers, sound engineers,
and lighting directors. Of these, Richard readily comes to mind. He was
touring with me for almost twelve years in the seventies during the time
frame of “If You Could Read My Mind,” “Sundown,” and “The Wreck of the
Edmund Fitzgerald.” During this time, at one point or another, he did all
three jobs mentioned above, sometimes simultaneously.
I know you will enjoy his accounts of our time together, which include
the humorous, the intense, and even the outright dangerous—things such as
airplane failures and three bomb threats. Yes, I love the work, and I will not
ever forget the contributions those close to me have made to that love.
—Gordon Lightfoot

NEXT POST - WAYNE FRANCIS REVIEW

redeye by char Westbrook, on Flickr
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