First Time You Heard A Gordon Lightfoot Song

The first Lightfoot song for me was IYCRMM, and I had just started working for
my current employer. I remember I thought the song was drawn out but haunting, and I met an engineer whose last name was Lightfoot. I thought this was an unusual coincidence. My first album purchase was Sundown followed by Summertime Dream, and then I was totally hooked on Gord's music. I have since purchased archive rereleases of some of the earlier works, and can't wait for the last 4 to be reissued on Cd. At one of his concerts I attended, the opening song was The House you Live in, and it brought tears to my eyes because he made it sound like he was singing only to you.

[thermodynamic me]

I wish I could remember "the first time". What I do remember distinctly were Gord's incredible concerts at Tanglewood in the Berkshires during the mid 70's. I would do what I had to in order to get good seats. My girlfriend (now my wife of 23 years) would sit in awe as I drifted away enthralled by the music. That has not changed today. I am listening to The Soul Is The Rock as I type this. The music is timeless and moves my soul as much today as it did 30 years ago.

[BuddyP]

I wish I could remember "the first time". What I do remember distinctly were Gord's incredible concerts at Tanglewood in the Berkshires during the mid 70's. I would do what I had to in order to get good seats. My girlfriend (now my wife of 23 years) would sit in awe as I drifted away enthralled by the music. That has not changed today. I am listening to The Soul Is The Rock as I type this. The music is timeless and moves my soul as much today as it did 30 years ago.

[char]

It was '70 i believe - CHUM radio was playing it - If You Could Read My Mind - wow it was saying what I was feeling!! I was 15 and having boyfriend trouble. I fell in love with Gordon Lightfoot that day in my bedroom crying over a boy.
Been crazy about Gord ever since - dumped the boy!
I got special permission to go to Gord's concert in March '84 - I was 9 months pregnant and stood the whole time but that baby got indoctrinated that night. He's almost 16 and loves KORN and that stuff - he puts up with my obsession though. I loved Kris way back then too. When Rita and Kris were at Massey Hall one time Gord got on stage (a bit looped back then) and sang Bobby Magee with them. I got The Austin Sessions (Kris) for Xmas. He makes me weep.
Anyway it's nice to remember - I have so many "senior moments" about other things - not this stuff though. These are 14K gold.
char

[MARK]

Hi!

The first time I ever heared a Gordon Lightfoot song was while I was playing Lego in my room on the floor ( with 7 years or something)
My brother (Florian) has recorded a "Best of Gordon Lightfoot" Cassette. We were both having the same room, so he always played that cassette. And I liked it very much.
bye
Snob

[Snob]

Hi!

The first time I ever heared a Gordon Lightfoot song was while I was playing Lego in my room on the floor ( with 7 years or something)
My brother (Florian) has recorded a "Best of Gordon Lightfoot" Cassette. We were both having the same room, so he always played that cassette. And I liked it very much.
bye
Snob

Well, I guess I'm the 1st to say that it was SUNDOWN that lead to my discovery of Gordon Lightfoot & his music. . . . . . . . . . . . I was approx. 20 yrs. old at
the time, tired of what was being played on
the radio & looking for a different [tailored to my specifications] musician, group, etc. to hook unto. I fell in
love with SUNDOWN the first time I heard
it. I was driving in my 1967 Dodge Dart on
my way to class at Nassau Community College. It was a beautiful sunny spring
day. They had just played John Denver's
SUNSHINE over my AM radio [I didn't have
FM until several years later when I bought
a used Chevy Nova.] which I believe was
#1 on the charts at that time. Then came
SUNDOWN. I knew my search was over.
Unfortunately, I became so enthralled in the
song I didn't take notice of who was singing. And I remained ignorant until later that spring,when I started dating this guy that I met at a "Personal Awareness Conference" sponsored by the College. After one of our dates we went to his place. We started talking about our favorite songs on the radio & I immediately mentioned SUNDOWN which was a fine move since
it turned out he was a big GL fan, had
all his albums up to that time & we spent
most the night together listening to Gordon.
The very next day I went & purchased the
album SUNDOWN & then another every
time it was payday for my part time job. I've
been hooked since then & 20+ years later
I have never gotten the urge to seek another muscian to satiate my musical
hunger. Unfortunately, I can't say the same
about the boyfriend.

I didn't know it at the time, but that was
not my 1st encounter with GL. When I was 16 yrs I attended a concert at a Church [which has fabulous acoustics, by the way]to see then contemporary gospel singer Robert Edwin[who became a friend- a whole other story in itself - don't
worry! I'm not going there ] .He included in his set "RICHMAN'S SPIRITUAL" & "PEACEFUL WATERS".
He accredited to GL & went on & on about
what a great songwriter GL is & how he felt
priveleged to have GL's permission to cover his songs [both in concert & on recordings].
Well, at that time, I was only interested in
Edwin getting on with the singing & didn't
pay close attention to what he was saying
about some Canadian guy. Edwin's album
KEEP THE RUMOR GOING , which I owned, included those 2 songs. I was amazed when,several years later, after purchasing Lightfoot's earlier stuff, I finally put 2 and 2 together.

On a last note, soon after my
discovering GL I mentioned SUNDOWN
[she didn't connect until I sang a few bars]
to my younger sister who exclaimed "Oh,
you mean the guy who did IYCRMM" &
sang a few bars for me. I remember her
saying that she thought the line "just like a paperback novel, the kind the drugstores sell" was most interesting. Then I purchased my next album. . . you guessed
it - IYCRMM.

Dorothea

Well, I guess I'm the 1st to say that it was SUNDOWN that lead to my discovery of Gordon Lightfoot & his music. . . . . . . . . . . . I was approx. 20 yrs. old at
the time, tired of what was being played on
the radio & looking for a different [tailored to my specifications] musician, group, etc. to hook unto. I fell in
love with SUNDOWN the first time I heard
it. I was driving in my 1967 Dodge Dart on
my way to class at Nassau Community College. It was a beautiful sunny spring
day. They had just played John Denver's
SUNSHINE over my AM radio [I didn't have
FM until several years later when I bought
a used Chevy Nova.] which I believe was
#1 on the charts at that time. Then came
SUNDOWN. I knew my search was over.
Unfortunately, I became so enthralled in the
song I didn't take notice of who was singing. And I remained ignorant until later that spring,when I started dating this guy that I met at a "Personal Awareness Conference" sponsored by the College. After one of our dates we went to his place. We started talking about our favorite songs on the radio & I immediately mentioned SUNDOWN which was a fine move since
it turned out he was a big GL fan, had
all his albums up to that time & we spent
most the night together listening to Gordon.
The very next day I went & purchased the
album SUNDOWN & then another every
time it was payday for my part time job. I've
been hooked since then & 20+ years later
I have never gotten the urge to seek another muscian to satiate my musical
hunger. Unfortunately, I can't say the same
about the boyfriend.

I didn't know it at the time, but that was
not my 1st encounter with GL. When I was 16 yrs I attended a concert at a Church [which has fabulous acoustics, by the way]to see then contemporary gospel singer Robert Edwin[who became a friend- a whole other story in itself - don't
worry! I'm not going there ] .He included in his set "RICHMAN'S SPIRITUAL" & "PEACEFUL WATERS".
He accredited to GL & went on & on about
what a great songwriter GL is & how he felt
priveleged to have GL's permission to cover his songs [both in concert & on recordings].
Well, at that time, I was only interested in
Edwin getting on with the singing & didn't
pay close attention to what he was saying
about some Canadian guy. Edwin's album
KEEP THE RUMOR GOING , which I owned, included those 2 songs. I was amazed when,several years later, after purchasing Lightfoot's earlier stuff, I finally put 2 and 2 together.

On a last note, soon after my
discovering GL I mentioned SUNDOWN
[she didn't connect until I sang a few bars]
to my younger sister who exclaimed "Oh,
you mean the guy who did IYCRMM" &
sang a few bars for me. I remember her
saying that she thought the line "just like a paperback novel, the kind the drugstores sell" was most interesting. Then I purchased my next album. . . you guessed
it - IYCRMM.

Dorothea

[Frank v]

TO BE HONEST I CAN'T REMEMBER THE FIRST TIME I HEARD GORDON. MY FATHER USED TO LISTEN TO HIM AFTER WORK WHEN I WAS A BABY. FOR A FEW YEARS I NEVER HEARD ANY OF HIS SONGS UNTILL A CAMPING TRIP WITH THE BOY SCOUTS. ARE SCOUTMASTER TOLD US A STORY ABOUT A SHIPWRECK THE PLAYED THE WRECK OF THE EDMOND FITZGERALD. I RECOGNIZED THE SONG AND ASKED HIM WHO SANG IT. WHEN I GOT HOME I ASKED MY DAD IF HE HAD HEARD OF GORDON. HE SHOWED ME HIS VINLE COLLECTION OF GORDON. HE STOPPED LISTENING TO HIM BECOUSE OUR RECORD PLAYER BROKE , AND HE NEVER GOT A NEW ONE. I GOT A RECORD PLAYER AND STARTED LISTENING TO THOSE ALBUMS ,AND HAVE BEEN HOOKED SINCE. TO THIS DAY SUMMERTIME DREAM IS STILL MY FAVORITE CD.

[PAUL B.]

TO BE HONEST I CAN'T REMEMBER THE FIRST TIME I HEARD GORDON. MY FATHER USED TO LISTEN TO HIM AFTER WORK WHEN I WAS A BABY. FOR A FEW YEARS I NEVER HEARD ANY OF HIS SONGS UNTILL A CAMPING TRIP WITH THE BOY SCOUTS. ARE SCOUTMASTER TOLD US A STORY ABOUT A SHIPWRECK THE PLAYED THE WRECK OF THE EDMOND FITZGERALD. I RECOGNIZED THE SONG AND ASKED HIM WHO SANG IT. WHEN I GOT HOME I ASKED MY DAD IF HE HAD HEARD OF GORDON. HE SHOWED ME HIS VINLE COLLECTION OF GORDON. HE STOPPED LISTENING TO HIM BECOUSE OUR RECORD PLAYER BROKE , AND HE NEVER GOT A NEW ONE. I GOT A RECORD PLAYER AND STARTED LISTENING TO THOSE ALBUMS ,AND HAVE BEEN HOOKED SINCE. TO THIS DAY SUMMERTIME DREAM IS STILL MY FAVORITE CD.

[Chuck Darling]

I was around 10 years old and hear Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald at my grandmother's house on eight track. I have loved the music every since.

[Skippy]

I was around 10 years old and hear Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald at my grandmother's house on eight track. I have loved the music every since.

[Kasey]

Just like alot of you, it was IYCRMM. It was during one of the family car trips back in 1970, in some state or another. I remember dozing, lying flat on the back seat, the song comes on AND I SIT STRAIGHT UP! ("Who IS this? Mom, Dad! TURN THIS UP! Oh my god this is incredible!") Listened for the name afterwards and bought all the albums I could ASAP. I was in high school (summer between junior and senior...ok, that gave my age away...oh,well) and tried to "educate" everyone about Gord. Went on to college and saw him perform at the college (had my nose pressed up against the stage, of course) in '71, and countless concerts since then. I love all these Gord links. Love to have people sharing their thoughts so similar to mine about him. Wouldn't a Gord autobiography
be a fantastic read? (Gord - let's get ON that! )But "Beautiful" is really my all time favorite. (My college roommate's boyfriend was a DJ at the college radio station and he played it on the air for me at 7:00 am on my birthday- she woke me up to hear it - one of my fondest memories. It was a big sacrifice for her boyfriend to do this as this was NOT his type of music (jazz was)
but it meant alot to me.) I'm rambling, sorry. Anyway "from my head down to my shoes"
I love Gord, and always will, for making me feel good each and every time. (Now if he would just write a song about River Otters, my OTHER passion......)

[theotterjudy]

Just like alot of you, it was IYCRMM. It was during one of the family car trips back in 1970, in some state or another. I remember dozing, lying flat on the back seat, the song comes on AND I SIT STRAIGHT UP! ("Who IS this? Mom, Dad! TURN THIS UP! Oh my god this is incredible!") Listened for the name afterwards and bought all the albums I could ASAP. I was in high school (summer between junior and senior...ok, that gave my age away...oh,well) and tried to "educate" everyone about Gord. Went on to college and saw him perform at the college (had my nose pressed up against the stage, of course) in '71, and countless concerts since then. I love all these Gord links. Love to have people sharing their thoughts so similar to mine about him. Wouldn't a Gord autobiography
be a fantastic read? (Gord - let's get ON that! )But "Beautiful" is really my all time favorite. (My college roommate's boyfriend was a DJ at the college radio station and he played it on the air for me at 7:00 am on my birthday- she woke me up to hear it - one of my fondest memories. It was a big sacrifice for her boyfriend to do this as this was NOT his type of music (jazz was)
but it meant alot to me.) I'm rambling, sorry. Anyway "from my head down to my shoes"
I love Gord, and always will, for making me feel good each and every time. (Now if he would just write a song about River Otters, my OTHER passion......)

The first time I heard a GL tune was in Hornepayne, Ontario in the winter of 1967. That goes back a little way. I was in the O.P.P. then. A Lithuanian game warden worked there also and asked me if Ihad ever heard this Canadian guy sing, I said no and the rest is history. I have every vinyl record made I think and am now getting caught up on the cd craze. Just got the songbook for Christmas and love it. Now own my own business in Sault Ste. Marie and still listen to the music almost daily. My sons age 28 and 30 cant get enough of it. I think GL spent a few blurry days in Hornepayne with someone I knew back then, Paul Gulley.
just a small piece of history for you.

The first time I heard a GL tune was in Hornepayne, Ontario in the winter of 1967. That goes back a little way. I was in the O.P.P. then. A Lithuanian game warden worked there also and asked me if Ihad ever heard this Canadian guy sing, I said no and the rest is history. I have every vinyl record made I think and am now getting caught up on the cd craze. Just got the songbook for Christmas and love it. Now own my own business in Sault Ste. Marie and still listen to the music almost daily. My sons age 28 and 30 cant get enough of it. I think GL spent a few blurry days in Hornepayne with someone I knew back then, Paul Gulley.
just a small piece of history for you.

[Lightfoot678]

I remember very clearly when I first heard the music of Gordon Lightfoot. I was about 4 or 5 years old. My dad had a vinyl copy of Gords Gold that he would play all the time. First time he played it I didn't know who sang it. But I remembered the words to the songs. A few weeks later I was home one afternoon and had just had lunch and Dad asked if I wanted hear to Gordon Lightfoot. I said sure and he put the records on. The first songs I specifically remember were If You Could Read My Mind and Carefree Highway. After that whenever I heard a Gordon Lightfoot song on the radio I knew right away that it was Gordon Lightfoot.

Those songs planted the seeds in me that lead to my lifelong love of music. Now at 21 I play guitar. I listen to a lot of loud and heavy rock (IE: Korn). But I still love and appreciate the music of Gordon Lightfoot.

------------------
Look into his shiny eyes and if you see a ghost don't be surprised......Listen to the strings. That jangle and dangle while the old guitar sings.

The lake it is said never gives up her dead, when the gales of November come early.

[johnfowles]

another nice old topic I stumbled over sorry Florian now everybody including your Aged Aunt Charlene can see how very young you still are!!!
Anyway it's a chance to show another quilt square this one by the genial genius (Jenney) who thought up the idera of a fantastic quilt for our internet wedding present presented to us in Gord's presence on 4 August 2000 in Norwalk CT

This represents the very first song I remember hearing Gord sing on Montreal Radio (CJFM) some time in the summer of 1966
I am preparing a topic to describe the quilt in full with a link to a fully functional web page as soon as I can (sorry Laurel I found a major problem as no doubt you did too with the linking to full sized pix on my original choice of a free web site
grrrrrrrrrrrr!!
------------------
My Gordon Lightfoot webring
starts at
http://www.johnfowles.org.uk/lightfoot

[This message has been edited by johnfowles (edited August 22, 2004).]

[johnfowles]

another nice old topic I stumbled over sorry Florian now everybody including your Aged Aunt Charlene can see how very young you still are!!!
Anyway it's a chance to show another quilt square this one by the genial genius (Jenney) who thought up the idera of a fantastic quilt for our internet wedding present presented to us in Gord's presence on 4 August 2000 in Norwalk CT

This represents the very first song I remember hearing Gord sing on Montreal Radio (CJFM) some time in the summer of 1966
I am preparing a topic to describe the quilt in full with a link to a fully functional web page as soon as I can (sorry Laurel I found a major problem as no doubt you did too with the linking to full sized pix on my original choice of a free web site
grrrrrrrrrrrr!!
------------------
My Gordon Lightfoot webring
starts at
http://www.johnfowles.org.uk/lightfoot

[This message has been edited by johnfowles (edited August 22, 2004).]

[Tyler]

Okay John, what does the square represent? I have sat and thought and thought, very senior moment I think.

[brink]

Okay John, what does the square represent? I have sat and thought and thought, very senior moment I think.

[stationmaster]

Cobwebs and Dust, Cobwebs and Dust...

[LSH]

I h-a-a-te to leave you, but leave you I must

[Tyler]

Thanks SM, now that you tell me it was so easy. You, btw, are doing a fantastic job on your thread. Must take a long time finding all the pictures and animation. It's a fun topic.

[brink]

Thanks SM, now that you tell me it was so easy. You, btw, are doing a fantastic job on your thread. Must take a long time finding all the pictures and animation. It's a fun topic.