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Old 06-03-2019, 10:58 AM   #59
charlene
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Join Date: May 2000
Posts: 15,877
Default Re: HOT DOCS-Lightfoot documentary - interviews/photos/articles-Apr.-2019

PART TWO:

Good news for his fans is that a new album is in the works. "I have songs that I've found that I'd forgotten about, so I have filled up the song bucket to the point where I know I can make another album, and there will be one.

"We are trying to figure out how to go about it right now. It could be like the Springsteen album Nebraska, but without the harmonica. There is no bass or drums on that record, and that is the way my record will be I think."

Lightfoot's determination to pursue music as his career came at an early age, though in our interview he does reminisce about early jobs. "Growing up in Orillia, I worked in a plant and I drove a truck all through high school. I loved doing that. One of the most interesting times was when I ran a laundry route, up through Muskoka, three days a week, up to Parry Sound.

"A linen supply company had an agency there. I remember this guy, Roy O'Halloran, as every time I went there something would be lost. I used to dread going there! I told that story recently when I played a show at a beautiful little hall in Parry Sound."

Linen delivery's loss was certainly music's gain. Asked to reflect further on his career, the troubadour tells us that "with all sincerity, I am so happy with it. I do wonder where I would be if I hadn't been able to get any covers of my songs. I guess I was trying to prove something at the beginning. I was under contract to write more tunes, and the next thing I knew I'd write another album!"

Gordon Lightfoot is rightfully ranked right up there with Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, and Leonard Cohen in the pantheon of great Canadian songsmiths, and all four have had their classic material covered by hundreds of artists. Fittingly, as our interview time expires, Gord leaves us with an anecdote about his compatriot, Joni.

"I was just talking to Elliot Roberts, her manager, five days ago. I have known Joni since 1964. I remember that she [and husband] Chuck had a 4-story walkup in Detroit. She sat down with Tom Rush and me in her kitchen one night, back before she even had a record deal. She played practically her whole first album for us, at her kitchen table."

"Tom went out and recorded three of those songs, and he was the first person to cover Joni's songs."

Not even Mitchell can compare to Lightfoot in terms of songs covered, however. Here is just a partial list of those who have covered his timeless material: Bob Dylan, Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Marty Robbins, Eric Clapton, Jerry Lee Lewis, Judy Collins, Johnny Mathis, Anne Murray, Olivia Newton-John, Sarah McLachlan, Barbra Streisand, Peter Paul & Mary, Harry Belafonte, Jane’s Addiction, Richie Havens, Glen Campbell, Headstones, Toby Keith, and Rheostatics.

Unsurprisingly, Gordon Lightfoot has been inducted into both the Songwriters Hall Of Fame and The Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame.

Martha Kehoe sums up the man's illustrious career this way: "Making Gordon Lightfoot: If You Could Read My Mind reinforced the knowledge that Gord was meant to do what he did, to create what he did, during his life .. that he had a calling, if you will. And that he worked hard at it, and continues to do so."
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