Toni Tennille's Blog: Gord Memories

[Blackberry John]

While trying to find info about music guests on the Captain & Tennille's old show, I stumbled upon Toni T's blog and her memories of Gord in the 70s and how his recent concert might have inspired C&T to hit the road again...

There are a couple of blog posts about Gord (scroll down) Here is one:Feb.4,2007

http://www.captainandtennille.net/to...ke_blog_07.htm

Last night Daryl and I attended a concert at a local Indian casino, not far from our home in La Quinta. This is a rare event for both of us for more than one reason. We are “day people”.... usually up by 5:30AM, and lights out by 10PM. Also, Daryl is really uncomfortable in crowds. He’s a very quiet and private person, and crowds make him quite anxious. And neither of us enjoys going to casinos. We lived in Nevada for over 20 years, and rarely went to one. Casinos are loud, hectic, smoky places, and we prefer a more “serene” atmosphere on our rare nights “on the town” (God, we sound totally DULL).
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What would make us dress up, get in the car, and try to find our way on dark and pot-holed roads to a casino we have never been to? Gordon Lightfoot.
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Those of you who read TONI’S TAKE regularly may remember the recent column I wrote about Gordon... how he had invited us to his beautiful home in Toronto after our concert at the Canadian National Exposition in Toronto in 1978 (or 1979).... our experience as part of the audience for his debut in Las Vegas in the late 70s... and how we used to perform his songs at The Smokehouse in Encino, CA in the early ‘70s, long before we ever even dreamed of having a hit record.
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Not a night went by at The Smokehouse that I didn’t sing BEAUTIFUL and IF YOU COULD READ MY MIND LOVE, but BEAUTIFUL was my favorite, because it was a love song in the deepest sense of the word, and expressed my growing love for Daryl.

Those words by the songwriter and poet, Gordon Lightfoot, were favorites of mine back in those days. And the music was so lovely... gentle, honest, and true. It has probably been thirty years since I last sang BEAUTIFUL, but I wanted to hear Gordon sing it, in person, at least one more time.
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The Entertainment Office at the casino arranged front row seats for us. The show room was very large.... it probably seated about 3000 people, and by the time the show began, most of the seats were full. Gordon is Canadian, and many, many Canadian “Snowbirds” come down to the Palm Springs area to spend the winter. I would say that quite a few of them were in the audience last night.
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Gordon almost died of an abdominal aneurism a few years ago. Daryl and I first heard of it when we were in Vancouver BC shooting a Kohl’s Christmas commercial. I picked up a local paper, and there was an article about Gordon’s illness, and how he was struggling to recover so he could sing and write again. My heart just sank at the thought of possibly losing this wonderful songwriter, whose music was so much a part of my past. Thank God he made it through, and began writing, and even touring again. Last night’s concert was his eighth concert in nine days... a tough schedule for even a very healthy person.
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Within minutes of the scheduled start of the concert, Gordon and his band, without fuss or fanfare, took the stage. He was backed by a keyboardist, a drummer, a bass player and a lead guitarist, all of whom were superb musicians.
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Gordon was so very thin and frail in appearance...certainly not the robust and strong young man I remember. The familiar baritone was a shadow of its former self... possibly because this was his eighth concert in a row, but the heart and soul of the man were still there in full force. He sang for 90 minutes.... songs I knew and loved, and wonderful songs that were unfamiliar (to me), but bearing his unmistakeable stamp. He varied the mood and the tempos, and carried the audience along with him as he sang and talked.
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Often, during the show, flashes of the fiesty and mischievious Gordon I remembered from the past would emerge, mostly as he talked about how the ideas for songs came to him. “Once,” he joked, “I was playing golf with my ex brother-in-law, and when we got to the first tee, he pronounced to the rest of us, ‘Either step up or step back,’ and that gave me an idea for this song,” a bluesy, mid-tempo number which he proceeded to sing with humor and gusto.
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But it was when he strummed the opening chords to BEAUTIFUL that I found myself swept back to those early days in The Smokehouse with Daryl. And as he sang the well-loved words, I was absolutely struck through the heart, and I found myself in tears. I glanced over at Daryl, and as our eyes met, I could see that he was right there with me, remembering. So much time has passed so quickly, but here we are, and the words mean even more to us now.

Before the show, a young woman took a seat next to us, and I thought she was probably a wife or girlfriend of a band member, because the front-row seats were very difficult to come by. As we waited, we chatted a little bit...she did not recognize us.... and she told me that she had gotten the ticket by going to the casino website. She said it is not that difficult to get single tickets at the last minute, and that you often end up with terrific seats, as she did.
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Her name was Gwen, and she told us that she had seen her first Gordon Lightfoot concert when she was ten years old, and had been a fan ever since. In fact, she had seen him in concert three times in the past year! But what was most wonderful to me about her story, was that she was a Marine Biologist... a professor at Cal State Long Beach... and that she had been inspired to become one because of a song Gordon wrote about the sea and the creatures in it. She heard him sing it when she was a little girl, and it changed the course of her life.
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After the show we went backstage to thank Gordon, but it was incredibly crowded in the Green Room.... at least fifty people were in there, waiting to shake his hand, or have their photo taken with him. There were the head honchos of the casino, two Canadian Senators and their wives (very charming people), and various other Lightfoot fans. I had told Gwen that I would tell Gordon about how much his song had meant to her, and how it changed her life, but it was a zoo backstage, and I could see he was tired, so I just gave him a quick hug and Daryl and I thanked him. I don’t think we really needed many words to express how we felt about him. I’m sure he could tell.
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His show was simple, quiet and intimate, even in that huge room. Just the man and his incredible songs. It was all that was needed. Gordon, may you live, sing and write for many, many more years. We are forever grateful to you. GORDON in 1974 / GORDON Today
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By the way, I did not ask permission to reprint part of Gordon’s lyrics for BEAUTIFUL in this week’s column, but I don’t think he would mind.

[ May 12, 2007, 07:55: Message edited by: Blackberry John ]

[charlene]

how "beautiful"..
I'm glad they at least got to say hello and let him know just by their prescence that they still thought so admirably of him.
very heart warming indeed..

[ May 12, 2007, 17:33: Message edited by: charlene ]

[Borderstone]

"Captain & Tenille" are one of my many favorites from the 1970's. No surprise to me that they would know Gordon,I'm sure a lot of 70s acts were close friends.

I hope they do come here to Phoenix,I missed a chance to see them at California's,Del Mar fair in 1978 at age 10.

I watched their show when I was young and vividly remember seeing "Muskrat Love" depicted by two people dressed up as cute Muskrats acting out the song in pantomime. (Yes,being little I thought they were real! ) :D

I even have Toni's 1984 solo LP,"More Than You Know",a collection of standards.

[gwen snyder]

This is such a wonderful gesture from friends and fellow performers. Gord is certainly a performer who would be someone that other performers would hold as a truly sincere individual. His music speaks that truth in every song he sings...

[imported_Next_Saturday]

And another entry--sounds like GL has revised his former approach to Vegas:
http://www.corfid.com/vbb/showthread...461#post115461
January 14, 2007

GORDON LIGHTFOOT | CIRCLES
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First of all, thanks to all of you who have written so far about which C&T songs you would like to hear us do in concert. It has been absolutely fascinating to both of us to read your comments and preferences. I was particularly heartened to find that so many of you would like to us to do songs I wrote, such as LOVE ME LIKE A BABY, HONEY COME LOVE ME, DEEP IN THE DARK, CIRCLES, BUTTERSCOTCH CASTLE, BABY YOU’VE STILL GOT IT, KEEPING OUR LOVE WARM, and others. I have been passing your requests on to Daryl, who is keeping a list of your most requested songs. And, of course, we would definitely do the hits... LOVE WILL KEEP US TOGETHER, SHOP AROUND, MUSKRAT LOVE, DO THAT TO ME ONE MORE TIME, etc.
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We know that most audiences ALWAYS come to hear the artist’s hits. Which reminds me of the time Daryl and I went to see Gordon Lightfoot in concert in Las Vegas, of all places. Gordon, a Canadian, is a brilliant songwriter, and Daryl and I used to perform some of his songs when we worked at The Smokehouse in Encino, California in 1972-74. Some of my favorite songs by Gordon are IF YOU COULD READ MY MIND, BEAUTIFUL, and THE FIRST TIME EVER I SAW YOUR FACE. Gordon also has a very distinctive voice, rather plaintive and melancholy.
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It was VERY unusual to have a performer of Gordon’s “hipness” perform in Las Vegas at that time... it was in the late 1970s, I believe. Any venue in Vegas was considered “plastic” and “square” for pop artists then, so most of us avoided it like the plague, trying to stay away from the “stigma” of Vegas. It actually seems stupid to me now that we even concerned ourselves with stuff like that. However, Daryl and I were VERY surprised to learn that Gordon would be performing there. But we really wanted to see him in concert, so we booked our reservations, and were there in the audience along with all of his fans who had made the trek to Vegas to see him.
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I don’t know how many of you have ever seen a classic Las Vegas show, but at that time the shows were very UP UP UP and moved right along at a fast and furious clip, stopping only now and then for the accasional ballad. The audience’s attention was never allowed to waiver for one second!
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After we waited almost 45 minutes for Gordon’s show to begin (shows are NEVER late in Vegas... they want YOU out in the casino, gambling your money away for as long as possible), the showroom lights dimmed, and the announcer said, “Ladies and Gentlemen, Mr. Gordon Lightfoot.” The audience responded with thunderous applause and excited anticipation. Gordon slowly strolled onstage, very casually dressed in jeans (absolutely NO Vegas glitz or glam), his eyes on his band, not even glancing at the audience. When he reached center stage, he TURNED HIS BACK TO THE AUDIENCE AND TUNED HIS GUITAR for what seemed like an eternity! All of us in the audience maintained a respectful but uncomfortable silence while the tuning was going on.
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Finally, he turned to the audience, and started playing the intro to a tune none of us had ever heard before. It turned out to be from his just-released album, and, of course it was a very good song... as all of his are.... but it was unfamiliar to most of us. After the song was over, the audience applauded politely, expecting Gordon to then break into one of his hits. Instead, he played seven brand new songs from the new album, and he rarely spoke to the audience at all. By this time, people were grumbling and muttering to themselves, and some were leaving.
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In my case, I had been wondering how Gordon would approach his Vegas concert, and if he would make any changes because of the venue. Well, he didn’t. He played it just like any of his concerts. And as a consequence, he lost his Vegas audience. He finally played several of his hits, but by that time all was lost. He never played Vegas again, and I don’t blame him. It wasn’t his style, and he didn’t NEED to play there. His concerts were always packed with music lovers... not necessarily gamblers!
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Today it seems that EVERYBODY plays Vegas. The “stigma” is pretty much gone. It is just a convenient place for performing artists to reach a wide audience of people from all around the country and the world.

[Auburn Annie]

Lord, I do hope the new owners were aware of Gord's "visitors" coming up to the kitchen and helping themselves, lol.

[charlene]

Toronto is over run with raccoons..especially in the Rosedale ravine where Beaumont Rd. is.. hills and creeks and forests..and the Don River - there's lots of wildlife and natural habitat..
many homes in Rosedale are designate "heritage" homes: the old Lightfoot place is one of them.

5 BEAUMONT RD
Part of the North Rosedale Heritage Conservation District, enacted by City Council on Sept. 30, 2004
interesting history about the former owner of 5 Beaumont (where he died) and his property on Seven Mile Island in Scugog county.

http://www.scugogheritage.com/misc/sevenmile.htm

[ May 14, 2007, 12:19: Message edited by: charlene ]

[Jesse Joe]

That's probably where 'Sea Of Tranquility' comes from...



Hey Annie can you just see the new owners, when they first open the back door !!!

[ May 14, 2007, 12:34: Message edited by: Jesse-Joe. ]

[Borderstone]

"Oh the raccoons of Toronto,
do whatever they just want to but
then again,they've been there for awhile!"

"If you think they're cute or pretty,
with their black mask faces lookin' witty,
then it's-a guarnteed to make ya smile."

"Rosedale bound,Rosedale bound!
They run and jump along the ground!"
"Rosedale bound,Rosedale bound,
raccoons live free,not payin a pound!" :D

[The Rez]

Thanks for the Toni Tennille info.

I'd not thought of C&T in a bit-o-time.
Her sister is married to a guy named Andy Boettner.
Andy was one of C&T's back up singers.

He's an excellent vocal coach, also [The Seth Riggs Method]
and coaxed much of those fine vocals out of his sister-in-law.

Andy also taught Doogie Howser [Neil Patrick Harris] and my daughter
[Summer Joy] Her lesson came right after Doogie's. This was mid 90s.

Toni would visit Sister every now and again when Summer was having
a lesson. Very kind lady. Y'all have me talked into looking everyone
up again . . . some 12yrs later.

I'd forgotton those Midnight Specials frequented by the likes of
Gord and C&T. After Saturday nite gigs at a Newport Beach saloon,
they'd set up the Big Screen for next day's football, so we got to
see most of each weeks Midnight Special.

Great Show that was . . . Give The Wolfman a Howl-Out . . . !

Rez

[ May 17, 2007, 16:08: Message edited by: The Rez ]

[louisemnnpls]

From Post by "Blackberry John" 5/12/2007 7:49
Re: Toni Tennille's Blog - Gord Memories

"But it was when he strummed the opening chords to BEAUTIFUL that I found myself swept back to those early days in the Smokehouse with Daryl.
And as he sang the well-loved words, I was absolutely struck through the heart, and found myself in tears. I glanced over at Daryl, and as our eyes met, I could see that he was right there with me, remembering. So much time has passed so quickly, but here we are, and the words
mean even more to us now."

Just think of how many of us can relate to that on a personal level. This is the reason for the quote by Gord, that I use for my signature.

[goguygo]

Now I'm even more bummed that I sold my front row ticket to that concert.

Hey guys did you see this yet?

YouTube - Toni Tennille THE LAST TIME I SAW HIS...

[Jesse Joe]

No myself I had never heard this, very beautiful. She does a great job with this Lightfoot GEM !

Thanks for posting this Music Fan.

[jj]

music fan, there's a great little blog (i think that's what it is?) by her talking of GL...search back within a year or so

question: why does one have to enter all those letters and numbers when doing a search? is the act of searching some sort of security risk?...i can hardly tell the difference between a "l" and a "1" as it is, let alone first thing in the morning...escpecially when they put light yellow type against a just slightly darker yellow background

[charlene]

Can't answer the security question James..everywhere I go on the web those damn things are there!

Thanks for pointing out the blog jj!

I could not get in this entry due to security user "unfriendly" reasons, to post the short cut for the clip to her rendition of song "The Last Time I Saw Her". Here is it is again

YouTube - Toni Tennille THE LAST TIME I SAW HIS...

Happy listening!!

Originally Posted by jj

music fan, there's a great little blog (i think that's what it is?) by her talking of GL...search back within a year or so

question: why does one have to enter all those letters and numbers when doing a search? is the act of searching some sort of security risk?...i can hardly tell the difference between a "l" and a "1" as it is, let alone first thing in the morning...escpecially when they put light yellow type against a just slightly darker yellow background

Thanks for pointing out the blog jj!!!

[jj]

glad ya enjoyed it, music fan...kind woman, large mouth

char, and sometimes i do a search and it doesn't ask, very odd

[RM]

Originally Posted by jj

char, and sometimes i do a search and it doesn't ask, very odd

Please allow me to add to the mystery.........my experience has been that if you are logged in, you won't be asked to decipher the undecipherable letters and numbers when doing a search.

[jj]

that is much helpful...thank you, mr. rm

[Jim Nasium]

After watching Toni, check out Glen Campbell's version of same song, also pretty good. With more than a nod to Gordon's version.

[jj]

Originally Posted by Jim Nasium

After watching Toni, check out Glen Campbell's version of same song, also pretty good. With more than a nod to Gordon's version.

check out this earlier thread:

http://www.corfid.com/vbb/showthread.php?t=19728


when you guys listen to the Songwriters broadcast, you will hear Gord say how this song is the one that stirs memories of his first wife and makes him quite sad...that was one of the various tidbits during the 2 hour chat that i'd never heard him mention before

[charlene]

when he said that JJ he was ready to say more but stopped himself. I thought he sounded very sad and seemingly apologetic, sorrowful if you will. It was emotional for him I think-he wasn't just 'saying' it.

[jj]

i agreee, char....i also thought when he was singing FAFCB to Ingrid at last Massey, he was probably also seeing images of Brita as he looked down at Ingrid's face....quite personal moments in a public setting

as GL has said in hindsight, he's never intentionally meant to hurt anyone