? About Early Recordings.

[Affair on Touhy Ave.]

Well I'm certainly sad about Gord's passing but the time will come for all of us and there've been some close to him in age who have gone and those still alive soon will.

Enjoy them while you can and we can still enjoy Gordon's stuff as well as others music.


Anyway:
On a music form I belong to there was some discussion concerning a 1962 release.

http://forums.stevehoffman.tv/thread...174137/page-27


You'll have to scroll down to a member named "Revolver" but he claims of a rumor of Gordon buying copies of this LP and destroying them.

I'm certainly don't wanna sound negative at a time like this and it's been a long time since I've been here.

[Andy T.]

Is your question, was that true that Gordon bought up and destroyed unsold copies of that LP collection of his early singles?

Yes he did. He was a bit annoyed that someone was to capitalizing upon his success by getting the rights to, and re-issuing those early 60s recordings. Gordon would rather have the public buy his newest material... and the old stuff was, well, dated in comparison. So he bought the company out and halted sales and destroyed the unsold stock.

Gord did relent a little in later years, two of those tracks made it onto the SONGBOOK Rhino Records box set.

Recommended reading: books published in recent years from Gordon's former road manager Richard Harison and biographer Nicholas Jennings.

[Affair on Touhy Ave.]

It's kind of ashame he felt that way.

I think as an artist of any kind you need to put the audience first and I'm sure Gordon's actions could have deprived those who weren't familar with his earlier work.

[Andy T.]

Yes I think it was kind of selfish.

But you need to look at it from his point of view. He was trying to make a buck or two in the music world. He no longer made any money from those early recordings, and having them out there for sale meant: well, he was competing against himself with dated material that he made no royalties on. And it might confuse to public as to the singer/songwriter he had recently become.

That adds up to a pile of negatives. And so, Gord took action...