Gerde's Folk City, 11 West 4th Street, Corner of Mercer

[JohnStinson]

[IMG]file:///C:/DOCUME%7E1/JOHNST%7E1/LOCALS%7E1/Temp/moz-screenshot.jpg[/IMG]Calling all Lightheads.

Can anyone confirm that Gord played here. ...and perhaps when.??

I think he played here sometime in late 1965.

Thanks
John

[RM]

Although I couldn't find an answer to your question, the search was fascinating. I unearthed an interview with Bruce Langhorne, who was a regular performer at Gerdes Folk City (and also the inspiration for Dylan's Mr. Tambourine Man, although he was mainly a renowned session guitarist). His take on GL : (the interviewer's questions are in bold)

Gordon Lightfoot -- I find his case pretty interesting, because he really kept more feet in folk than rock, but there was still some folk-rock influence to his records. He did expand his sound a little, and you were on some of his early songs.

I didn't work or hang that much with Gordon. I did record with him. I think he did keep his feet more in folk, and I think he went on to do, like, country, which had its own evolutionary path, which also adopted electric music, which also expanded on folk roots. Which incorporated, like, traditional folk ballads -- a synthesis between Irish-English folk ballads with guitar and banjo and bluegrass, which, bluegrass got to be quite sophisticated. Just incredible virtuoso performances, and still some of the best virtuoso players nowadays are in Nashville.

You don't have to answer this if your contact with Gordon was pretty brief, but did you get any sense of what he thought of going from his folk-country roots to something more electric or contemporary?

No, I don't really know. I didn't know Gordon that well.

[Auburn Annie]

Sorry, can't confirm but it would not be surprising. He did play many venues in NY in the 60s, most of which were in the village. And Bob Dylan played at Gerde's. More intriguingly, their (Bob and Gord's) then manager-in-common, Albert Grossman, was a frequent attendee at Gerde's, probably trolling for new talent.

There is a book, 'Bringing It All Back Home,' by Robbie Woliver that tries to chronicle 25 years at Gerde's Folk City. Interviews, photos included. The bibliographic info is Pantheon Books, NY, 1986 ISBN 0-394-74068-8 (pbk.)

Maybe somebody can find a copy and check it out.

------------------------------------------------------------
Ah - more info:

AUTHOR: WOLIVER, ROBBIE
Title: Bringing It All Back Home (1st ed.)
Title: Hoot! A Twenty-Five-Year History of the Greenwich Village Music Scene (2nd ed.)

Pantheon Books, 1986, 1st ed. pbk; NYC, St. Martin's Press, 1996, 2nd ed. pbk.
Description: 258 p., incl many B&W photographs, 23 cm.

Notes: This book compiled by the co-owner of Gerdes Folk City gives the oral history of the Greenwich Village folk music scene from 1960-1985 through hundreds of conversational quotes from the musicians and others who were there at the time. It is the perfect companion to Eric Von Schmidt's history of the Cambridge folk music scene. It has fewer pictures than the Cambridge version of the story, but it does include an index, which is lacking in the other book.

One chapter (p. 62-91) is devoted to the story of Bob Dylan, with excerpts from the 1984 Kurt Loder interview in Rolling Stone,, and the reminiscences of Dave Van Ronk, Susan Rotolo, John Hammond Sr., Ramblin' Jack Elliott, David Blue, Arlo Guthrie, Joan Baez, Oscar Brand, Mike Porco, John Lee Hooker, Carolyn Hester, Judy Collins, and others.


Subjects: History


ISBN: 0-312-10995-4, $14.95 US, $21.00 Canada (2nd ed.)


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Contents
Author's Note / ix
The Village in the City / 1

Map / 2

In the New Bohemia / 5

The Fifth Peg / 16

American Folk Music Finds a Home / 24

Early Influences / 35

Bob Dylan: Making the Dream Possible / 62

Women / 92

Singer-Songwriters / 112

Passing the Basket / 134

Folk Music Plugs In and Turns On / 140

The Eclectic Seventies / 162

The Eighties: Just Like the Good Old Days / 200

Who's Who in Bringing It All Back Home / 234

Folk City Performer Roster, 1960-1985 / 249

Index / 251

[JohnStinson]

Thanks AuburnAnnie and RM!

From your responses I have some research to do. Just trying to get a more complete picture of Gords early gig tours and venues.

When I found the picture of Gerde's I started looking for pictures of other venues that are referenced in the few articles and books I have access to.
Didn't find any...as yet.

Thanks again.

I hope someone else, also can help me continue my search.

John

[Auburn Annie]

See, now this is why Gord needs to have his stuff archived, maybe at the U of Toronto or somewhere in Ontario. He must have scads of paper re the business end of his work, tucked away at home, in storage, at EMP, with Beverly, etc. Definitive recordings, throwaway pieces, notes to himself, partial lyrics/music, first drafts, unfinished tracks, financial records, poster art and venue handbills, playlists - all the detritus of a working musician. It would doubtless amuse him that people would have the slightest interest in these things but I do hope *somebody* is squirreling this stuff away for a future Lightfoot museum or at least collection.

[charlene]

I'm sure he has everything/all of it..whether he wants to give it up for a gallery/museum etc. is another kettle of fish..
lol
I'd be glad to offer my services to help catalogue it tho..and donate all of my stuff!

[Jesse Joe]

I would gladly donate my stuff as well. It would never be destroyed. After Im gone who knows what's gonna happen to it. ??? I should make a will for this... lol

[gwen snyder]

So maybe one of you 2 (CHar or Auburn Annie) needs to contact Gord and SERIOUSLY offer your services because it needs to be done. AND it needs the input of this day (ie current historical light/reference).
So have you contacted him yet? "We dance around and around and around"