1978 WNEW concert questions

[dorkdog]

Hi folks,

Just got a copy of the 1978 WNEW Christmas broadcast - awesome stuff with PeeWee from just before Endless Wire I think...

I noticed on this concert Terry does not use his tremelo anywhere - unusual in the concerts I have seen - not even in Hangdog! Any idea why?

Also curious as to why Daylight Katy wasn't on the list - I think he performed that song in every concert I saw around that time.

Very tight performance, amazing voice that night.

dorkdog

[spocksbrain]

I have not heard of the existence of this show? So, it was a professional recording? I'd LOVE to hear this one myself.

[joveski]

is this 12 December 77?. i have a copy of it if that's the same one. New york, right?

[BILLW]

Yeah that'd be New York. WNEW was the BIG deal as far as radio was concerned for rock & folk acts.

Bill

[jj]

CEREBRAL PALSY BENEFIT - WNEW New York - Dec. 12, 1977

On December 12, 1977 in his final show of the year, Lightfoot made a triumphant appearance at Avery Fisher Hall in New York. It was a benefit concert for the Cerebral Palsy Association and was sponsored and eventually aired by WNEW radio in New York.

Lightfoot was given the following introduction by a representative from WNEW prior to taking the stage: "If you ever listen at all to us, you know we love him. Because he sings, and he says it and he writes it. We hope you love him, too. Our friend from Canada - Gordon Lightfoot!" The audience erupts in applause. Then it audibly increases as Lightfoot takes centre stage. It continues for a long time until the band can finally launch into Summertime Dream.

Throughout this show the crowd is totally engaged and Lightfoot has them in the palm of his hand. He and the band are incredible! His voice is outstanding! Lightfoot at one point mentions the "little gals" who were out doing Christmas carols before he came on, and how he thought they did so well. The overall ambience of the concert, the Christmas season, and the crowd's obvious and deep affection for Lightfoot, make this the best concert I've heard from this period - much better than the '76 Montreux show that has been circulated. Anyone fortunate enough to have heard and taped this radio broadcast for posterity, have a gem on their hands. The mix is very professional (again, the Montreux show pales in comparison) and with Endless Wire just a month from release, numerous songs are debuted from it - including a spellbinding, If Children Had Wings! And...The Last Time I Saw Her! A word for word, perfect version! All in all an incredible documentation of Lightfoot and where he was at musically in late 1977.

Here is a list of what made it onto the radio broadcast: Summertime Dream; The Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald; Race Among The Ruins; Don Quixote; If You Could Read My Mind; The Last Time I Saw Her; Hangdog Hotel Room; If There's A Reason; Sundown; The Pony Man; If Children Had Wings; The Circle Is Small; The Auctioneer; Early Morning Rain; I'm Not Supposed To Care.

[spocksbrain]

Ah yes, this was certainly one of the finest performances from Gordon in the 70s that was captured on tape. I'd like to hear the entire show one day. So far, only an hour or so has been released. My master tape of this was destroyed about five years ago, so I am missing If There's A Reason and The Auctioneer, which I left off of the CD I made because of time. (Hint: If anyone has MP3s...) The band was just incredible that night. The Last Time I Saw Her surpasses the record in my opinion. One thing that made the recording so special was the energy from the audience. They were all charged up about the music.

This was the first live Lightfoot I ever heard. I got this before I got Sunday Concert. I knew it would not be long after I heard this, that I would have to attend my first concert, and I did. It was the Knoxville performance at the TN Theater in 1998. That show certainly met and exceeded my expectations!