R.I.P Gord

[charlene]

https://www.monroenews.com/story/ent...d/70225621007/

SUZANNE NOLAN WISLER The Monroe News
After returning from the Vietnam War, Tom Treece joined a band named Brussel Sprout.

One winter night in 1976, the Brussel Sprout band members were in Canada to record their first album when they met a music legend.

Gordon Lightfoot and his band also were recording at Toronto’s Eastern Sound Studio. Thanks to a game room with a back entrance, Treece got to watch the famed Canadian folk singer/songwriter record his hit song “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.” Lightfoot died earlier this month at age 84. His famous song recounts the November 1975 sinking of the freighter the SS Edmund Fitzgerald during a storm on Lake Superior. All 29 men aboard died.

“Gordon Lightfoot was in the studio, just finishing the ‘Summertime Dream’ LP,” Treece, of Monroe, recalled. “He didn’t have enough time to finish the last song and asked us if we would consider letting him buy one day of our reserved time in the studio. Instead of letting him buy it, we asked if he could play on one of our songs as a guest artist.”

Lightfoot never sang on the Brussel Sprout’s album, but Treece witnessed music history that night.

“The rest of my band left. I stuck around and snuck into a side room. There was a game room all the artists waited in to record. I hung out there. It was dark, and nobody was around at all. I sat there silently. It was late in the evening,” Treece said.

Then, Lightfoot entered the recording room.

“I was 10 or 12 feet away from him. He didn’t know I was there. He would have kicked me right out of there. He was adamant, nobody in the studio. He turned out all the lights in the studio and got as far away from the glass as he could be. Just the overhead light was shining down on his paper, where the lyrics were scribbled on. You couldn’t have scripted it better,” Treece recalled. “I was silently watching through the window as he recorded the song.”

Lightfoot sang the final version of the nearly six-minute “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald” in just one take. Then, he noticed Treece.

“He showed me the ‘Time’ magazine and told me how he had written the song based on reading about the sinking of the ship. We had a half-hour discussion on that song. It was a wide-eyed young kid’s and songwriter’s dream to be able to sit there and just enjoy talking with one of the great songwriters of history,” Treece said.

Lightfoot even asked Treece to come to the band’s after-album party.

“He invited me to his house to hang out with him and his band,” Treece said. “There were gold records all over the walls and three grand pianos on the main floor. It was in downtown Toronto and was a mansion. It was just a magical time for me.”

The next day, back in the studio, Lightfoot played “Summertime Dream” for the Brussel Sprout band members and asked them which single he should release first to radio stations.

“The others said, ‘Summertime Dream,’ the title cut,” Treece said. “I was just enamored with ‘Edmund Fitzgerald.’ It was so haunting and so perfect. I said, ‘I think that’s the one.’ But it was long. Hit songs then were 3 minutes to 3 minutes, 20 seconds,” Treece said. “’Edmund Fitzgerald’ shouldn’t have been a hit."

Treece still enjoys hearing and singing Lightfoot's song.

“It was just a beautifully recorded and produced song. It certainly was one of his great songs and a real classic. It’s stood the test of time. It still gets played. I still get requests to play it,” Treece said.

Three weeks after the Lightfoot encounter, Brussel Sprout recorded its first and only self-titled album. The seven-man band also included fellow Monroe residents Roger Manning, who sang and played harp, and John Vass, who sang and played drums. Treece sang and played rhythm guitar.

“We toured coast to coast and in Canada. It was a great experience. We wrote all our own music. I just loved it. We got a recording contract with MCA Records. Our labelmates were Lynyrd Skynyrd, Elton John, Conway Twitty,” Treece said. “But our music never caught on. It was ahead of its time.”

Treece and his wife, Renee, went to several Lightfoot concerts through the years. Their last one was about six years ago in Toledo. Treece said Lightfoot didn’t seem well then.

“He was not in good shape. That he was able to continue playing at an advanced age and condition kind of shocked me. But he got up on that stage and cranked them out. We were able to go backstage and connect with him. I tried to remind him of our time together. He didn’t even remember it. He just wasn’t in a condition to remember it. He signed Renee’s shirt; she was all excited,” Treece said. “He sure loved singing and performing his songs. I think he couldn’t quit. It was in his blood, in his soul. I could almost see him doing what I want, having a heart attack and dying on stage doing what I love doing.”

About a year ago, Treece got a book in mail. It was a biography on Lightfoot. The author found Treece’s 2006 Monroe News column about meeting the music legend.

“He found my column online and used an excerpt in the book. He sent me an autographed copy. It said, ‘Tom, in appreciation for our shared stories about this amazing man,’” Treece said. “I was honored that he used some of my writing to describe Lightfoot in his book.”

[charlene]

https://flic.kr/p/2oERpbD

g&m - lightfoot-may 3 2023 copy 3 by char Westbrook, on Flickr

[charlene]

https://www.cbc.ca/amp/1.6831194?fbc...15B7Ow_RE1k1n0

Prince Edward Island
Islanders join in celebration of Gordon Lightfoot's musical legacy

Lightfoot's songs are 'part of the Canadian landscape,' Catherine MacLellan says

CBC News

Posted: May 06, 2023

Gordon Lightfoot touched the hearts of many Canadians throughout his decades-long career. In light of his death earlier this week, some Prince Edward Islanders are among those sharing how the folk music icon's songs impacted their lives.

Lightfoot died at a Toronto hospital on Monday at the age of 84.

The Orillia, Ont.-born singer-songwriter has left behind a musical legacy that inspired generations of Canadian musicians.

In 2010, Summerside singer Catherine MacLellan was invited to perform at a Canadian Songwriter Hall of Fame event that featured Lightfoot and The Tragically Hip's Gord Downie having a conversation in which they reflected about their respective careers.

MacLellan said that performance was probably one of the most anxiety-inducing experiences she's ever had as a musician.

"They asked me to come and sing a couple of my own songs and to sing a Gordon Lightfoot song while both of them were on stage behind me — and it was terrifying," MacLellan said.

"I couldn't believe two of my greatest heroes [were] on stage behind me while I was performing. I was just so nervous that I was going to mess it up and just, I don't know — it's one of those moments I'll never forget."

MacLellan performed a song by Lightfoot at the event, along with some of her own music. She would go on to win a Juno Award in 2015 for her album, The Raven's Sun.

But 13 years ago, she was still a relative newcomer to the music industry. MacLellan said Lightfoot was sweet and very generous when they met that "terrifying" night — and offered her some career advice backstage.

You always got to give 'em a toe-tapper.
— What Gordon Lightfoot told Catherine MacLellan in 2010

"You always got to give 'em a toe-tapper," MacLellan recalls him saying.

"Anytime I got to see him perform after that, I realized he really meant it ... It might be a sad song or it might be these intimate songs that he would sing always, [but] people were always tapping their toes and having a great time listening."

Other Islanders agree with MacLellan.

"My wife and I saw him on the Confed Centre stage in 1989 as the 'surprise guest' on the old CBC-TV show Front Page Challenge," Mike Stratton said in reply to a CBC P.E.I. Facebook post asking people to share their memories of Lightfoot.

"Nobody in the Charlottetown audience knew he would be on the show and it was such a treat! Supposedly, Gord liked the venue so much, he arranged it to be a stop on his 1990 tour. My wife and I were lucky to get tickets to that as well. What a magical night that was ... I've been to many shows since, but Wendy and I agree that Gordon Lightfoot's concert that evening still ranks as the best."

Like MacLellan, Paul Pettipas wrote that he grew up listening to Lightfoot's music.

"It's so evocative. It transports me to different places and times," he said. "Only got to see him in concert once, sadly. But so glad I did. The older I have gotten, I have grown to appreciate his genius level more and more."

Other Islanders said they were very fortunate to have encountered Lightfoot in person.
"Had the privilege of meeting him in 2014 after his Summerside show. Just a class act," wrote D'Arcy Ellis.

"I met Gordon Lightfoot at a birthday party for Stompin' Tom that band Whiskey Jack throws every year since Tom passed," said Alan Dalton. "He liked the hockey jersey I was wearing and I talked to him about hockey for over 25 minutes.

"What a great man. Really made everyone he met feel special."
Still more Islanders shared the special occasions — and people — Lightfoot's music reminds them of.

"In the early '70s, his songs were all over the AM radio," Ed Terrell said. "We spent our summers on P.E.I. listening to these now-classic hits."
"Years ago I bought his music book with many of his songs in it," wrote Jane Wilson. "I learned to play many of them on my guitar ... Christian Island is one of many that I loved to play. A true legend whose songs and stories will remain with us."

Those songs are a part of the Canadian landscape.​​​​​
— Catherine MacLellan.

"Long drives coming home from my grandparents at Christmas time. My Dad would play Gordon Lightfoot as we dozed full of candy with gifts on our laps," Misty-Lynn Tomkins Caseley said.

"We played Gordon Lightfoot at my father's memorial. Hopefully they have met up on the other side."

MacLellan said she can't remember the first time she heard Lightfoot — but his music was always there for her.

"Those songs are a part of the Canadian landscape," she said. "I might not even have known that they were Gordon Lightfoot songs. They were just songs that were surrounding me."
With files from Mainstreet P.E.I.

[charlene]

https://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainmen...gacy-1.6829139

What made Gordon Lightfoot great: Remembrances from musicians, writers
Lightfoot's enduring songs, love for performing and a 'typically Canadian' humility are being praised.

Chris Iorfida · CBC News · Posted: May 02, 2023 12:28 PM EDT | Last Updated: May 2

Gordon Lightfoot's death at the age of 84 after six decades of songs that have resonated with Canadians and music fans worldwide has led to an outpouring of tributes.

Lightfoot led the way for Canadian performers to follow at a time when the music industry in Canada was in its infancy, legend Anne Murray told CBC's Q on Tuesday.

"He was a role model for people," said Murray. "He was really proud of the fact that he and I stayed at home and had international careers.

"Neither one of us wanted to go anywhere. He thought that was wonderful."

For Jim Cuddy, Lightfoot's music has been an inspiration for a half-century. The singer-songwriter remembers performing (That's What You Get) For Lovin' Me as a 10-year-old for family members, and his group Blue Rodeo contributed Go-Go Round to 2003's Beautiful: A Tribute To Gordon Lightfoot, an album also featuring tributes from Cowboy Junkies, Tragically Hip and Quartette.

"He showed us how to embrace our Canadian-ness and how to be ourselves," Cuddy told CBC News Network. "He was an inspiration in that right to his dying day."

Lightfoot's music has been part of the fabric for many Canadians, including musicians J.P. Cormier and Lori Cullen.

Cormier vividly recalls his brother buying the 1976 single The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald "the day it came out" and wearing out his own vinyl copies of Lightfoot records.

Lightfoot was the "only touchstone I needed to become a writer and performer," Cormier said.

Cullen's introduction to the music came when a Grade 3 teacher at her Mississauga, Ont., school strummed a version of Pussy Willows, Cat-Tails.

"To hear that song when I was so young and to immediately feel how authentic it was, it felt like a part of where I came from, even when I was that young," said Cullen.

Musician-author Dave Bidini wrote an entire book about the Canadian bard's music as connective tissue, in 2011's Writing Gordon Lightfoot: The Man, the Music, and the World in 1972.

"Everyone talks about how you provided a cultural bridge: how you bridged town to city, country music to folk, folk to pop, old to new, square to hip, Canadian music to hit radio, and, later, sixties sound to the seventies," writes Bidini. "Even now, when people see you or hear you, they see the past being bridged to the present."
Songs built to last and to be shared

Nicholas Jennings, author of 2016's Lightfoot, said whether it was as a chronicler of Canadiana through songs featuring the outdoors or trains, or on matters of the heart, Lightfoot "managed to write from a deeply personal place but make it universal in such a way that everyone … could relate to those songs."

Cuddy found that to be the case, as well.

"There are some perfect songs where you can't imagine any alteration of the melody, any alteration of the lyrics or any alteration of the performance, even though many people have done it. If You Could Read My Mind is one of those songs," said Cuddy.

To Cuddy's point, the adaptability and sturdiness of that particular classic has been proven through the years. In addition to faithful covers that hew closely to Lightfoot's 1970 original there was: Skeeter Davis's country weeper featuring steel guitar, a disco version by Viola Wills, a 90s house update performed by Stars on 54 that hit the pop and dance charts worldwide, and a number of instrumental versions — including an elegiac horn arrangement from Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass and a classical version by the Saint John String Quartet.

The roots musician Cormier, meanwhile, released The Long River: A Personal Tribute to Gordon Lightfoot, an 18-song collection featuring songs like Steel Rail Blues, Home from the Forest and Early Morning Rain.

While many terrific songwriters can put together enough work for a greatest hits compilation, Lightfoot compiled "an incredible catalogue of songs," said Jennings.

As such, in 2012 he became one of a select group of Canadian performers to be inducted into the U.S.-based Songwriters Hall of Fame, joining Paul Anka, Leonard Cohen and Joni Mitchell.
A true craftsman

While songwriters often speak of channelling songs that come to them in a burst, Jennings said listeners should understand Lightfoot was more often than not a true craftsman.

"He struggled over them, he was such a perfectionist," said Jennings. "He laboured over the words, wanting to get every single phrase, every poetic turn right."

Cuddy chuckled at that trait, relaying a story of Lightfoot advising him of the exact beats per minute for a drummer to follow throughout if Blue Rodeo planned on tackling the seven-minute epic Canadian Railroad Trilogy.

"He didn't want us to be around that [tempo]; he wanted it to be exact," said Cuddy.

'Lived to perform'

While some older songwriters of his esteem could rest on their laurels or concentrate on studio work, Lightfoot endured the rigours of touring to continue to play his favourites before appreciative audiences. At the time of his death, he had upcoming shows on his schedule.

"Gordon Lightfoot lived to perform. He was known as a songwriter, but what he cherished most of all was his time on stage with his audiences," said Jennings.

Lightfoot was born and raised in Orillia, Ont., at a time when its population was about half the size of its current 33,000.

Jennings, who remained in touch with Lightfoot long after writing a biography, said the musician stayed a "small-town guy until the very end."

"He never really understood why people made such a fuss about him," said Jennings.

Murray agreed that Lightfoot was hardly effusive about his talents, describing the attitude as "typically Canadian."

"He really didn't think himself to be anything special at all, but he certainly was."

[charlene]

https://www.cbc.ca/music/gordon-ligh...ongs-1.6809171

Gordon Lightfoot's life in 10 songs

From 'Early Morning Rain' to 'Sundown,' we look at highlights of the songwriter's prolific career
CBC Music · Posted: May 01, 2023 9:43 PM EDT | Last Updated: May 15

Award-winning singer-songwriter Gordon Lightfoot died on May 1, 2023, aged 84, ending a career that spanned more than five decades and included honours such as the Order of Canada and an induction into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame.

Lightfoot once called songwriting "15 per cent inspiration and 85 per cent perspiration," and penned iconic hits including "If You Could Read my Mind" and "Sundown." His musical catalogue is rich with songs that help illustrate his journey from a burgeoning Orillia-born talent to one of Canada's greatest musicians.

A veteran performer into his 80s, Lightfoot helped shape the canon of folk music with his heartfelt and historical songs that touched so many. He released 21 albums and numerous compilations, selling more than seven million records worldwide and earning a slew of awards, including 16 Junos and inductions into the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame, Canada's Walk of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame. Below are 10 songs that showcase how Lightfoot became one of the pioneering forces in Canada's music scene.

'Early Morning Rain'

This folk song was written by Lightfoot in 1964, but the seeds of inspiration for it were germinating years prior, according to an interview with American Songwriter. While watching airplanes on a rainy day, Lightfoot recalled the imagery of "an airplane climbing off into overcast," and five years later while watching his first-born child, the song finally took shape.

The famous tune would go on to be covered by artists including Ian & Sylvia, Bob Dylan, Judy Collins and even rock star Elvis Presley.

Early Morning Rain - YouTube

'Ribbon of Darkness'

Lightfoot released his debut album, Lightfoot!, in 1966, which included his single "Ribbon of Darkness." Although Lightfoot originally wrote the song and released it in 1965, it was covered that same year by Marty Robbins — and gave Robbins a No.1 hit on the U.S. Country Singles chart. Despite the song's cheerful melody and bright whistling, Lightfoot's lyrics told the melancholy story of a lost lover: "Oh how I wish your heart could see/ how mine just aches and breaks all day."

In later years, Connie Smith, Jack Scott and Bruce Cockburn also covered "Ribbon of Darkness," with the latter recording the song as part of a Lightfoot tribute album.

Ribbon Of Darkness - YouTube

'The Canadian Railroad Trilogy'

To commemorate Canada's centennial in 1967, Lightfoot penned what has become arguably one of his most iconic songs of all time. "The Canadian Railroad Trilogy" was commissioned by CBC for a New Year's Day broadcast, and mentions the Rockies, the Prairies and Gaspé. Through his vibrant lyrics, Lightfoot details the majestic beauty of nature and the climactic construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway: "For they looked in the future and what did they see?/ They saw an iron road runnin' from the sea to the sea."

"The Canadian Railroad Trilogy" won a special award from the Canadian Railway Hall of Fame in 2003, and seven years after that it was transformed into an illustrated book.

Canadian Railroad Trilogy - YouTube

'Black Day in July'

In July 1967, the Detroit race riots began after a police raid of an illegal after-hours drinking club. The resulting protests and confrontation between the city's Black residents and the police force lasted five days, and resulted in 43 deaths and numerous injuries. Lightfoot wrote "Black Day in July" to recount the bloodshed, with vivid lyrics illustrating the destruction: "And the people rise in anger and the streets begin to fill/ and there's gunfire from the rooftops and the blood begins to spill."

"Black Day in July" was released around the same time as the assassination of civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968, causing many radio stations in America to ban the song.

Black Day In July - YouTube

'If You Could Read My Mind'

One of Lightfoot's biggest hits was the heartbreak-driven "If You Could Read My Mind," which was inspired by the dissolution of his first marriage. The song was written in 1969 and released a year later on the album of the same name, hitting No. 1 on the Canadian Singles chart. Covers of the song spanned genres from country to disco, with musicians including Barbra Streisand, Olivia Newton-John, Kenny Rogers, Liza Minnelli, Johnny Cash and Stars on 54 putting their spin on the ballad.

The song also shares a title with the 2019 documentary Gordon Lightfoot: "If You Could Read My Mind," directed by Martha Kehoe and Joan Tosoni. The film earned a Canadian Screen Award nomination in 2020.

Gordon Lightfoot - If You Could Read My Mind -...

[charlene]

'Sundown'

The title track of Lightfoot's 1974 album was another of his biggest hits, and he wrote it about his girlfriend at the time, Cathy Smith. While wondering what Smith was doing while out at a bar with her friends, Lightfoot started crafting the song at home. He explained to American Songwriter that he thought the track resonated with fans because it had "a good beat," "interesting harmonic passages" as well as "a great arrangement and not too bad of a vocal."

Lightfoot's relationship with Smith was reportedly sometimes violent, and the lyrics illustrate the dark nature between the pair: "She's a hard-loving woman, got me feeling mean."

"Sundown" has been covered by musicians including Toby Keith and Depeche Mode.

Gordon Lightfoot - Sundown (Official Audio) -...

'Carefree Highway'

Another of Lightfoot's chart-toppers from his 1974 album was "Carefree Highway." He composed the song while driving in a rental car through Arizona with his bassist, as he told Mass Live about the inspiration: "All of a sudden, this sign went flashing by. It said, 'Carefree Highway.' And I looked at the bass player and he looked at me, and I said, 'That must be, like, a title of a song.'" Lightfoot wrote the words down on a page of the rental contract and tucked it away in his wallet. After finding the scrap of paper two weeks later, he wrote "Carefree Highway," which he turned into a song about a failed romance with a woman named Ann — although he said it was written while wondering if his relationship with his girlfriend at the time would last.

Carefree Highway - YouTube

'The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald'

Lightfoot's sombre hit "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" was inspired by the sinking of the bulk carrier S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald on Lake Superior in 1975, a tragedy that killed all 29 crew members. Lightfoot learned about the incident from a Newsweek article and wrote the song, which was released in 1976.

"It's just one of those songs that just stands the test of time and it's about something that, of course, would be forgotten very shortly thereafter, which is one of the reasons I wrote the song in the first place. I didn't want it to be forgotten," Lightfoot told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel about immortalizing the wreck in song.

"The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" hit No.1 on the Canadian charts, was nominated for two Grammy Awards and was covered by artists including the Dandy Warhols, Tony Rice and more.

Gordon Lightfoot - Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald...

'If It Should Please You'

Lightfoot's 1988 album, Gord's Gold, Vol. 2, was a compilation that included re-recordings of hits such as "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald." The first track on the album, though, was a new one called "If It Should Please you," and the country-tinged song was one that Lightfoot often performed live but had not been previously recorded. With a catchy, dulcet melody, the track demonstrated what audiences could expect from Lightfoot in concert: "So I'm itching to please you, with a topical song/ and a few golden oldies and a little hoedown." With all the classics in his catalogue, Lightfoot showcased the true breadth of music in his arsenal with the recording of "If It Should Please You."

If It Should Please You - YouTube

'Why not Give It a Try'

Lightfoot was still churning out new music in his 80s, and in 2020 released his first-ever solo recordings. "I actually tried for several months to orchestrate these tracks and I even tried rewriting five or six of the songs," he told the Absolute Sound about the aptly titled album, Solo. "Finally, I decided these tracks were fine, since they were recorded before any of my health issues. We listened to them again as solos and decided we couldn't make them sound any better."

Solo was Lightfoot's first album in 16 years, and "Why not Give It a Try" the closing track. It was the final bow on his 21st album; a simple ode to experimenting with new things, whether it be dancing, travel or staying true to oneself. "Would you like to go dreaming, would you like to go free?" he sings, stripped-back and simple with just voice and guitar.

"This one is special; it's a really good one, but it's as different as it's ever going to get," he told the Toronto Star.

Gordon Lightfoot - Why Not Give It A Try -...

[charlene]

https://www.cbc.ca/music/in-gordon-l...yone-1.6827145

In Gordon Lightfoot's songbook, art is for everyone
How the songwriter’s utilitarian approach to inspiration proved beauty belongs to all of us

Andrea Warner · CBC Music · Posted: May 02, 2023 1:14 PM EDT | Last Updated: May 15

For Gordon Lightfoot, there was never a right or wrong way to draw inspiration. He was a prolific, award-winning songwriter who made meaning out of the mundane and observed the macro and micro of everyday in his lyrics and lines. He turned a commission into a Canadian classic, a breaking news story into the "best song" he ever wrote, and a stolen glance at an Arizona road sign into a hit song.

"You can start with a title if you want, or go fishing for words in a magazine, like People magazine or something, you'll see an ad with some fancy language to it," Lightfoot told CBC Music in 2013. "I've done that, honestly, I've even gone into a paint store and picked up the titles of paint samples."

Lightfoot was not an overly precious writer, a cultured aesthete wrenching words and phrases from a head stuffed full of canonical greats. Instead, Lightfoot's omnivorous approach to creation made him an accidental disrupter of the highbrow, a brilliant songwriter subverting the vaunted purity of divine artistic genius.

"I'm a fairly normal sort of person," he said in a 1975 interview. "I'm not particularly smart and I'm not particularly stupid. Maybe it's the general normality of it, with a touch of art."

Lightfoot may not have set out to democratize the playing field with his unpretentious approach to music, but the staying power of his songs acts as radical permission for other aspiring writers and artists. The source of the inspiration doesn't matter; it's what you do with it that counts.

Lightfoot died on May 1, 2023. This year also marks the 65th anniversary of Lightfoot's foray from Orillia, Ont., to Los Angeles to study music composition and the beginning of his "official" music career (even though he'd been singing and performing since his youth). Lightfoot wrote his first song in 1955 but it would be a full decade of playing and performing before he shifted to sets comprising mostly his own tunes. "I didn't have to rely on my own material at the beginning," Lightfoot told American Songwriter in 2008. "There were so many good songs around that I kept learning them."
Rain, planes and trains

But in 1965, that all changed. Lightfoot began performing his own songs, and other bands began recording them. By the time he released his debut album, Lightfoot!, in 1966, the record's biggest success, "Early Morning Rain," had already been a hit for Ian & Sylvia and Peter, Paul and Mary. Lightfoot once called it "the most important song I've ever written," and estimated that it was nine years in the making. The inspiration came years earlier during his time in Los Angeles when, in a fit of homesickness, he went to the airport to watch the planes come and go. It was in the morning, and, yes, it was raining.

In the early morning rain with a dollar in my hand
With an aching in my heart and my pockets full of sand
I'm a long way from home and I miss my loved ones so
In the early morning rain with no place to go

Lightfoot abided by a key rule of good writing: "Show, don't tell." He didn't specifically say he was broke and lonely in L.A., but the "dollar in his hand" and "pockets full of sand" and "no place to go" conveyed his situation perfectly.

On his second record, 1967's The Way I Feel, Lightfoot showcased his ability to thrive creatively under commission. CBC tasked Lightfoot with writing a song that would celebrate the history of the country for the Canadian Centennial, which would kick off with a televised event on New Year's Day, 1967. According to scholar Chris Hemer, since Lightfoot had already written a couple songs about trains at that point, CBC suggested something on the Canadian Pacific Railway and recommended a book from the CBC library on William Cornelius Van Horne, who designed Canada's first transcontinental railway. Lightfoot wrote "Canadian Railroad Trilogy" in just three days, and it quickly became one of the country's most celebrated folk songs, though its legacy has been recontextualized over the years.

Given the source material and the purpose of the commission, it's not surprising that "Canadian Railroad Trilogy" embraces a certain kind of nationalism. Lightfoot does reference the lives lost in the building of the CPR, but the lack of specifics contribute to Canadian myth-making. There's no mention of the settler-colonial violence inflicted on Indigenous people who were displaced and whose lands were stolen, nor the more than 15,000 exploited Chinese migrants who helped build the railroad — and an estimated 600 of whom were killed on the job. In a video essay about the song, journalist Nick Lefevre acknowledges the CPR was "a feat in engineering and it did change the country, but from a humanitarian perspective, it was a tragedy and a crime."
Love undone

Lightfoot also mined his own relationships and love affairs for inspiration and catharsis.

"In some cases the songs are autobiographical; some events and traumas that have to get handled, one way or another, go into the tunes," Lightfoot said in a 1998 interview. "And it's easier and cheaper than going to a shrink."

"If You Could Read My Mind" is one of those songs, written in the midst of the breakup of his first marriage. He had a new home on a small farm in the country, a new record label, and he was drinking "quite a bit." (He quit in 1982.) The song is a series of devastating lines that capture the haunted longing and bittersweet aftertaste of a breakup.

If I could read your mind love, what a tale your thoughts could tell
Just like a paperback novel, the kind the drugstores sell
When you reach the part where the heartache come
The hero would be me, but heroes often fail
And you won't read that book again because the ending's just too hard to take

It's a song written from the perspective of a narrator not quite ready to contend with their own accountability, who masks his willful ignorance in a performance of vulnerability. But Lightfoot's own child called him on this early on. "There's a line in the song that goes, 'If you read between the lines, you'll know that I'm just trying to understand, the feeling that you lack.' My daughter, who was just a girl at the time, heard the song and asked me, 'Don't you lack any feelings, daddy?' She got me to change the line to 'the feelings that we lack.' She said I was putting the whole onus of the divorce on her mother."

The title track of his 1974 album, Sundown, is another song inspired by Lightfoot's volatile love life. The music has a darkly rhythmic groove, irresistible and insistent, and the words convey an urgency and tension that skew toward the sinister.

I can see her looking fast in her faded jeans
She's a hard loving woman, got me feeling mean
Sometimes I think it's a shame
When I get feeling better when I'm feeling no pain
Sundown you better take care
If I find you been creeping 'round my back stairs

The "muse" behind "Sundown" was Lightfoot's then-girlfriend Cathy Smith. According to Lightfoot, one night Smith went out partying with her friends, leaving him home alone, restless, jealous and watching the sunset. He channelled his frustration into writing "Sundown." But according to several publications, including the Globe and Mail, Lightfoot's jealousy turned to violence at least once when he allegedly broke Smith's cheekbone during a fight.
Breaking news

Within the first decade of his solo career, Lightfoot released 10 studio albums. During this time, his record labels also released six compilations of his greatest hits and best songs. The most successful, by far, was 1975's Gord's Gold, a sprawling double vinyl featuring 22 of his most popular tracks. Many of these songs are considered foundational to the Canadian music canon. But one of the biggest and most surprising hits of Lightfoot's career was still to come.

Lightfoot released "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" in 1976, a re-telling of the tragic real-life sinking of the SS Edmund Fitzgerald on Lake Superior, Nov. 10, 1975, which claimed the lives of all 29 people on board. "I saw the story on TV, about five hours after it happened, so I collected every newspaper for the next couple of weeks and the song came out," said Lightfoot, who wrote and recorded the song in a rare one-week burst. "It's basically a straightforward account of how the events actually unfolded."

When suppertime came, the old cook came on deck saying
Fellas, it's too rough to feed ya
At seven PM a main hatchway caved in, he said
Fellas, it's been good to know ya
The captain wired in he had water coming in
And the good ship and crew was in peril
And later that night when his lights went out of sight
Came the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald

[charlene]

Writing: a life's work

Most of Lightfoot's songs were written over months, sometimes years, and he devoted decades of his life to the practice. In a 2010 interview, Lightfoot assigned a numerical value to his songwriting process, telling the Montrealer that it was "15 per cent inspiration and 85 per cent perspiration. I will stand by that — it's hard work. Writing is a solitary process, and it can be exciting and draining at the same time. I wrote songs under contract for 33 years, and now I can relax a little and focus on our performances."

In another 2010 interview, Lightfoot described recording 20 albums under contract as "pretty rough work… That caused a lot of the bumpiness too, because it caused me to be isolated and cut myself off from my people and my kids, so I could work on the songs. I wanted to do it because by that time I was supporting a band, was supporting a crew, and had acquired two or three children. But I don't regret any of it."

Lightfoot was under contract and writing was his job. I have always appreciated his matter-of-fact honesty about spending 33 years and 20 albums doing that work and the effort that he put into it, that it was thrilling, isolating and exhausting. It was also labour. He couldn't afford to be too high-and-mighty to turn up his nose at People magazine or to make a trip to the paint store to find what he was looking for in "Bitter Green" (just a guess on my part).

But in that work, in these songs, we see how beauty — or the illusion of it — can be coaxed from violence and tragedy, the mundane, the everyday and the unexpected. For 65 years, he showed us how beauty belongs to all of us, not just the classically educated or the affluent and cultured. Art is for everybody in the landscape of Gordon Lightfoot's greatest hits.

[charlene]

https://muskokatoday.com/2023/05/lig...4tuxbXtoWdhCmk

Muskoka Today - Mark Clairmont

May 7, 2023
LIGHTFOOT COMES ‘HOME’ TO REST IN ORILLIA AS CELEBRATION OF LIFE FULL OF MUSIC AND MEMORIES HE COULD HAVE WRITTEN HIT SONG ABOUT

Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com

ORILLIA — “I can say I shared a stage with Gordon Lightfoot.”

Dan Moses was among 2,000 fans and friends from Kingston to Kentucky who lined up this afternoon and evening to pay their respects to Lightfoot “came home” to rest in his hometown.

The music teacher at Base Borden was among the first two dozen people two hours before visitation began at St. Paul’s United Church.

A French horn player in the Victoria Symphony, he’d never heard his favourite folk singer live, but was “lucky” to now be teaching a four-month music course to reservists like himself and couldn’t miss the opportunity to pay his respects.

Like some 700 others in the first hour, he began by listening to Lightfoot songs on his phone before turning to those close to him and sharing favourite stories about Mariposa’s most famous musician and son.

Sylvia Rogan and her partner Sharon Korpan came up from Toronto. They arrived shortly after 10:30 a.m. Korpan, a former geography teacher said she spoke about Lightfoot in her classroom, calling him “Canadian royalty.”

Ed Zeally was another Torontonian in line early on with a handful of in bloom roses he waited to leave.

Ray Rama and his wife, Wendy, “had to be here,” because as an immigrant “he taught me Canadian culture.” As with many the Richmond Hill couple often saw the teacher at Massey Hall and Ray called Lightfoot’s passing “one of the saddest days of my time since becoming a Canadian.”

His favourite song is “Song for A Winter’s Night,” which he plays every Christmas.

Rick Melson got up at 4:30 a.m. driving from Kingston. He was listening to “Pussy Willows, Cattails” — but admitted Seven Island Suite was his favourite song due to the “beauty of the places he wrote about.”

Ron Jones knew his old “friend” from his days in Toronto at the Steeles Tavern in the 1960s after arriving from Newfoundland where Lightfoot “is very big.” The singers and composers were closer then occasionally sharing a billing. The 82-year-old is font of information when it comes to Lightfoot, his life and lyrics, which he was without a loss at finishing when asked to finish a melodic opening line.

He, too, loves “Winter’s Night,” saying Lightfoot “made me cry” the first time he heard it — and adding that when the Scarborough resident plays it some people also shed a tear.

Jones, who’s seen every Lightfoot Massey concert since 1967, came to town Saturday to visit at the City Grill Lightfoot’s nephew Steven Eyers — one half of ‘Even Steven’ with Steven Owens.

Another Lightfoot inspired singer Don James and his wife, Sandy, came down from Nobel. They lived in the Sunshine City for 20 years and he still performs Lightfoot shows, including one at July 7 at the Stockey Centre in Parry Sound that he booked two months ago.

It was a public celebration of life that Lightfoot could have written and made a hit song about.

For the homecoming was at the same church where he emerged from choir as a boy and went on to international fame. Many in the lineup knew him growing up and were happy to say goodbye to a friend they knew more as a neighbour than a star.

Lightfoot had been very ill for in recent months said Rick Haynes, his bassist for 55 years, and who was with him at the end last Monday at Sunnybrook Hospital in Toronto when his close friend died.

He said Sunday’s visitation wasn’t at all bitter-sweet when asked.

“No — it’s just difficult,” he told MuskokaTODAY.com.

Haynes said in a media scrum in the church “he meant a lot to me personally. I’m the guy who started with Gord 55 years ago and stuck with him in the times when he maybe wasn’t in the high points of his career, because I thought he deserved more recognition that he was getting by in large most of the time.

“I think Gordon was the best. There’s a lot of great songwriters out there. I don’t think there’s any are better than Gordon.”

Is there was a lyric or line that sticks out as he watched the procession going around the coffin his music playing and photos on a screen above?

“There are so many — “If you could read my mind? ‘The legend lives on’ and that’s one I’m thinkin’ about today.”

Asked what he thought Lightfoot would feel about the outpouring from the community and country, Haynes said “I think he would be humbled by it and he’d like it. Because he loved his community and his fans.”

And “the last months were rough. But Gordon was resolved and he was at peace. One of the things he said to me very recently was ‘my life’s work is done and I’m ready.”

Haynes said Lightfoot repeated that a few times. But their last conversation was hard as Lightfoot had “some difficulty speaking. His breath was going away.”

A sad ending for an artist whose life was singing and with his words painting pictures of what he saw.

Haynes said Lightfoot was not averse to church. His funeral was preplanned years ago said Minister Karen Hilfman-Millson who will lead Monday’s private family service.

Fellow friend and promoter Bernie Fiedler said his last words to him were: “Bern, I’m tired and ready to go. I think he really felt it that he was ready to go.”

Fiedler, who had worked with Lightfoot for 60 years and was the founder of the famed Riverboat Cafe music venue in Toronto’s Yorkville, where Lightfoot became a ’60s legend along with the likes of fellow Canadian folk and rock icons Joni Mitchell and Neil Young, and Americans James Taylor and Simon and Garfunkel, said: “To my mind, one of the saddest things for me was to see him lying in bed. He had really suffered and I think this was a real good thing actually. It turned out that way. I think he’s at peace now. I think he wanted it that way.”

Haynes said: “He told me a few times ‘I’m not afraid to die. I’m ready.’ And I can say he really wasn’t in a lot of pain towards the end. People have tried to do something with that. But he wasn’t. He was at peace in a lot of ways.”

Fielder said: “I don’t know anybody who will ever forget his music.”

He said down the road they’re going to try and do a musical tribute, including with his original band. He already has Burton Cummings, Tom Cochrane, Tom Rush and Murray McLaughlan. A lot of them have already agreed they’ll come and do a song at Massey Hall.

Haynes said Lightfoot’s passing has already “gone way beyond our borders,” noting that Billy Joel “gave a shout-out to Gordon on Friday night I think” and did “Sundown” as part of medley on stage live. Billy was a fan of Gord and we were supposed to meet together if we got to go to Florida in March. There’s a lot of huge fans of Gordon in the music business and some of them were present at the American Song Writers Awards in New York City when Gord was on the red carpet and Gord was the recipient of the American Song Writers Award, which was a huge deal to Gordon.”

Fiedler added: “What I loved about Gordon most was he was so proud to have come from Orillia. He never looked toward living in the United States as is, I think, common knowledge, because he mentioned it many times. That and besides he was so kind to numerous people, especially to myself when I got in to trouble with the tax department. I mean he just bailed me out so big. Huge, huge guy. He didn’t care for himself on anything. He was happy. He gave everything to everybody. He was just in to song writing. He loved his life that way and couldn’t care less about what would happen to him. He was just a happy guy.”

remainder in next post

[charlene]

part 2

And what does his life show for younger artists today?

“He was a professional songwriter first. He was a great showman, his shows were fantastic. Even last year in November three nights sold out at Massey Hall was unbelievable. The fact that he closed the hall when they renovated it and he came back and finished it off when they opened the hall again. I think that meant a lot to him and to a lot of us. And a tribute today, they’ve got the hall open and they have the stage (on it) with a book for people to sign. That to me was very appropriate.”

“Gord was a workaholic,” said Haynes. “Gord was the hardest working entertainer, musician, songwriter that I have ever worked with in my life that I have ever seen.”

Last year they did almost 60 shows.

“He really worked hard. He had the best work ethic. You asked about young people and what they can take away from Gord, it’s his work ethic first. You can’t buy talent. But you can work hard on work ethic.

A regular in recent years again at the Mariposa Folk Festival, he ensured its return to Orillia was a success in 200o by agreeing to headline.

Haynes said “he was always available. One thing that stands out about Gordon is his loyalty. He was always extremely loyal to the community, Canada, the people who worked with him.

Haynes said in his early years he could be perceived as honest, but he really wasn’t.

“He was really humble and he really enjoyed playing. When we were making records, he was under contract, he had to produce records, write songs every year. When the contracts was fulfilled, he said ‘that’s great, now we can just do shows.’”

Lightfoot was also “an adventurer” who years ago took up the CBC’s offer to play in Frobisher Bay, now Iqaluit where “the whole town came out,” they were billeted and he played with just one light bulb that was like a spotlight for him.

“He loved it.”

“You all know how he went down the Rain Forest of Brazil. He was an adventurer in a lot of ways. And all about his canoe trips.”

While Lightfoot told me years ago after a Massey show that the Wreck made his career in the U.S., Haynes said “Sundown” was “his most successful on the charts.”

Fiedler said “Early Morning Rain” was his favourite song “he told me.”

“‘If You Could Read My Mind’ definitely has the most staying power,” added Haynes, who said he was told an L.A. call-in radio station this week had people calling in asking ‘Please play Gordon.’ They didn’t care which song.”

Fiedler concluded the outpouring today and all week “has been fantastic. I can only thank everybody for this.”

He said he will miss his “humour. He was just so personable. Just unbelievable.”

Fiedler noted a pool party years ago with musicians where a little baby fell in the pool “and everybody was like ‘Oh!’”

And Gord Lightfoot jumped in and pulled the baby out of the water.

“It was so cool, he was really just down to earth.”

Haynes wrapped up by expressing what Canada meant to Lightfoot.

“It meant everything. He loved Canada. He didn’t think there was a reason ever to leave the country.”

And Orillia, “it meant everything to him. That’s why we’re here.”

Rev. Ted Reeve paid tribute to Lightfoot earlier in the morning beforehand during St. Paul’s church service. A few still in the congregation remembered hearing the young protoge sing in the church.

An hour after visiting began, church bells at St. Pauls and St. James Anglican Church next door on Coldwater Street rang out 30 times — once each the mariners number for each of the 29 sailors who died on the Edmund Fitzgerald, which Lightfoot immortalized in his legendary “Wreck” Great Lakes anthem.

And and one for Lightfoot’s passing.

A private family service will take place at 11 a.m. at St. Paul’s followed by an interment at the family plot where his parents Gordon Sr. and Jessie and their daughter Beverly are buried.

[charlene]

https://muskokatoday.com/2023/05/leg...t-family-home/

May 8, 2023
LEGENDARY SON TO BE BURIED OVERLOOKING LIGHTFOOT FAMILY HOME

Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com

ORILLIA — Following his funeral today, some time at a later date Gordon Lightfoot will be buried in his family’s plot with his parents and sister.

St. Andrew’s and St. James’ Cemetery overlooks his childhood home, in the northwest end of Orillia, where he grew up and lived until about 1959-60.

And where he sang his way to elementary school on nearby Westmount Street, before running down to St. Paul’s to sing in the choir and eventually go on to international fame.

Harvey Street, a mix of small, older homes, was where Lightfoot developed his small town sensibilities and sensitivities.

Paul Hill bought the family stead from Lightfoot and his mother’s estate in 1998 after Jessie died at 88. Her year-younger husband, Gord Sr., predeceased her in 1974 after a life as a Wagg’s laundry and dry-cleaning owner where his son was humbled by the tumble.

Hill told me he was enticed from Toronto with prospect of purchasing a “century home.”

At first he wasn’t clear on the seller after an original sale fell through.

It wasn’t until two weeks later — when the real estate asked if he knew his new digs were owned by Lightfoot — that he realized it was a famously local musical landmark.


Hill said at first he was unaware of its local significance and that the singer was from Orillia.

But when he began teaching at all the public high schools in the small Ontario city he quickly became aware of the troubadour’s community prominence and Canadian presence.

About six months after the sale Lightfoot and sister Beverly Eyers arrived for a look when he “heard I was renovating and wanted to see what I had done.”

He joked that if Hill kept the renos going “I may have to buy it back.”

Lightfoot ended up living in Toronto’s Bridle Path, with Drake as a neighbour, and came one other time for a visit and something to do with a documentary. “Lightheaded” is about Gordon’s fans and is soon due out on Amazon.

Hill says there is nothing left in his home of the family or Lightfoot. No music or pictures.

While the Canadian icon was being memorialized by the public five minutes away, Hill was busy lamenting with his neighbours the prospect of an eight-storey condo project towering over their mostly not famous homes.

When Lightfoot is finally laid to rest up the hill, Hill hopes that’s the only towering presence he can withstand.
More stories …

Fred Schulz has seen, heard and photographed dozens of Lightfoot concerts, thanks to his mutual friend Bernie Fiedler, Lightfoot’s promoter for 60 years.

Schulz, who says he retired last fall after booking shows at the Barge for some five decades and is now working part-time doing the same at Gravenhurst Opera House, has many stories about driving to Massey Hall and Mariposa with his Muskoka friends the Marians and others as well as times with Lightfoot’s good friends the Good Brothers on the Barge in Gravenhurst.

After one of the Lightfoot’s shows last year, when he knew concert appearances were becoming fewer and further between, he detained the singer from his adoring fans long enough to “get everything I owned signed by him.”

Sing in choir and solo …

Former St. Paul’s minister Rev. Karen Hilfman-Millson, who presided over this morning’s private funeral, got to know Lightfoot well over the past 20 years or more.

She said he had come back a few times over the years to sing and perform and for filming of a documentary.

In 2006 she invited him to come back for the St. Paul’s 175th anniversary, when she and archivist Robert Chapman interviewed him for the church’s history project.

Notably the next year he came back and sang in the choir.

“We did a worship service and he told two things that he wanted to do. He said: ‘The first thing I want to do is come out of the choir and sing my solo like I did when I was kid.’ So we put him in the choir and he came out sang his solo ‘Sit Down Young Stranger.’

“And then he wanted to have tea with the ladies after church. So we had tea.”

He returned in 2011, 2013 and in 2017 for his documentary “If you could read my mind,” when he talked about growing up in Orillia and singing in the church and Kiwanis Festival that always had its contest tests at St. Paul’s.

The retired reverend, who still lives in Orillia, said “I have scads of memories.”

Hilfman-Millson added “I had a very continuous flow of tears” last Monday when she heard he had died.

“I actually got a lot of condolences from people, which is very nice.”

She has also read a lot on Facebook the past week and wrote an article for the Broadview Magazine, the United Church magazine, which is online.

Rev. Ted Reeve, who co-officiated at the funeral, said he had “a few encounters with him over the last few years at Mariposa Folk Festival and university events. And I always found him quite a gracious guy to hang out with. And I appreciated his sensibilities about St. Paul’s and his family’s connections here.”

Reeve said “of course” he mentioned him at Sunday morning’s service before the public wake.

“I had a prayer for him when I ended my sermon by talking about him.”

Music still fresh in mind …

Bassist Rick Haynes, 78, and his son, Jeremiah, who were two of the pallbearers along — with four of Lightfoot’s children Mary, Galen, Eric and Fred — said they haven’t listened to any of Gord’s music this week even though it was hard to miss it on radio, TV and online.

“It’s still too fresh,” said Rick. “We know it so well.”

Jeremiah, who told his dad about the Bill Joel “shout-out” Friday, said they’ll soon get back to enjoying it a different way now.

Lightfoot Fan Club …

“Char” Westbrook, of Whitby, represented Lightfoot’s Fan Club, which started in 2000 as a FB discussion forum and memorabilia exchange. Lightfoot appeared on it a five or six times for chats and he told she could ‘put it out there.’ That’s the way he referred to the internet.”

Westbrook was “very grateful that I had his music in my life. And it the later years come to know him and the families. This is beautiful. It’s lovely and very understated, not an over the top Massey Hall event or the Gardens.

“This is Gordon Lightfoot. His church. His home. He is home here. It never left him. The small town boy never, ever left home and he’s just back where he should be.”

Sharing the stage …

Preeti Nichol, of Bracebridge, too was “emotional, but glad to be here.”

Friend Neil Hutchinson left a guitar pick on his coffin saying he should used one he played with a day before at ‘Lunches with Lightfoot’ at Fyne Thymes Bistro and Bakery in his hometown.

“Huge fan” Ray Rama, of Richmond Hill, was also moved. “It’s been really sad,” he said, adding what he said as he paused beside the singer who helped the immigrant understand Canada. “I said my thanks. Keep the memories.”

Jim Shepherd, who was walking by the church, stopped at the light and said he grew up with Lightfoot and went to the same two-room classroom on Westmount Road. The 84-year-old said he wasn’t as big a fan, though “there were a couple of songs” that weren’t too bad.

[charlene]

Photos were included online with the articles.. (NOT taken by me!) A single potted rose was among well more than a dozen floral tributes on the stage from family, friends and fans who either came or sent them.
IMG_3379 by char Westbrook, on Flickr

Steve Lippert gets ready to pull the bell chain as organist and choir director Blair Bailey co-ordinates with St. James Anglican church bellringers for a salute of 30 bell tolls at 2 p.m.
IMG_3429 by char Westbrook, on Flickr

Lightfoot fan club member Charlene Westbrook, of Whitby, signs one of several books of condolence on her way out. ( I signed: Miss you. Love you. Thank you Gordon. I'll Tag Along.. Char & Lisa Westbrook )
IMG_3428 by char Westbrook, on Flickr

A 1947 quilt with the names of Lightfoot and fellow Cub members is embroidered twice with his name top and centre.
IMG_3421 by char Westbrook, on Flickr

Then there’s a photo of him, front row left, on the Orillia District Vocational Institute high school track team 1956-57; and a second ‘Woman’s Association’ record of him singing two much-appreciated numbers.
IMG_3415 by char Westbrook, on Flickr

Another piece of church history notes Lightfoot stepping forward to entertain with “two amusing solos” by Lightoot.
IMG_3416 by char Westbrook, on Flickr

This roll call shows Lightoot as singing in the bass section in the mid- to late 1950s.
IMG_3419 by char Westbrook, on Flickr

Church archivist Robert Chapman dug up old letters and notes in which Lightfoot was regularly remembered as far back as the shortly after the second world war.
IMG_3420 by char Westbrook, on Flickr

A number of enlightening historical photos and memorabilia about Lightfoot were on display as mourners left the church.
IMG_3375 by char Westbrook, on Flickr

A good-old “Kentuckian” got a warm welcome from a church volunteer after he came up to join fellow fans from Canada.
IMG_3281 by char Westbrook, on Flickr

Don and Sandy James wore their Orillia Lightfoot Days t-shirts when they came down from Nobel.
IMG_3274 by char Westbrook, on Flickr

Ron Jones met up with Lightfoot at the Steele Tavern in Toronto. They kept in touch over the years and Jones has an encyclopediac knowledge of his old friend.
IMG_3272 by char Westbrook, on Flickr

Family and friends brought lots of flowers and a few signs remembering their hometown hero. Each had a personal message.
IMG_3261 by char Westbrook, on Flickr

Inside the church many lingered to take in the moment, hugging and crying, listening to his songs and watching a slide show of Lighfoot from his start to finish.
IMG_3401 by char Westbrook, on Flickr

[charlene]

Family, friends and fans said goodbye as Lightfoot can be poignantly seen stage left packing off with his guitar, leaving the room this afternoon amid tears.
IMG_3414 by char Westbrook, on Flickr

The lineup lasted all day from 10:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. with a light rain from 1 p.m. till visitation ended.
IMG_3335-1 by char Westbrook, on Flickr

Rick Haynes, Lightfoot’s bassist of 55 years, and Bernie Fielder his promoter for 60 years spoke to the media as hundreds of fans filed past his coffin Sunday. Hayne said it was a “difficult” day and Fielder said the Canadian folk legend told him he was “ready to go.”
IMG_3363 by char Westbrook, on Flickr

‘Lunch with Lighfoot’ singer Neil Hutchinson, of Bracebridge, left one his guitar picks on the coffin as he paid his respects with Preeti Nichol Sunday afternoon.
IMG_3387-2 by char Westbrook, on Flickr

Sylvia Rogan gets a hug from fellow fan Ed Zeally. The two met and exchanged stories while waiting in line this morning.
IMG_3264 by char Westbrook, on Flickr

Gordon Lightfoot came home to rest in the church where he emerged from the choir and went on to Canadian and international singing fame. His wife Kim, centre left, followed his coffin into St. Paul’s United Church this morning with Lightfoots daughter Meredith, sons Galen, Eric, Fred and band member Rick Haynes and his son Jeremiah acting as pallbearers. The visitation went on till 8 p.m. with more than 2,000 fans, friends and his family celebrating his life. He was 84.
IMG_3311 by char Westbrook, on Flickr

IMG_3315-1-480x280 by char Westbrook, on Flickr

Owner Paul Hill said Lightfoot visited his family stead a couple of times and once joked with retired high school teacher that he’d have to buy it back with all the renovations.
IMG_3436 by char Westbrook, on Flickr

The Lghtfoot family home where he grew up is a nice unassuming local Orillia landmark not far from where the singing sensation will eventually find his final resting place.
IMG_3434 by char Westbrook, on Flickr

Rev. Karen Hilfman-Millson asks mourners to pause for a moment as church bells rang out Sunday at 2 p.m. The 30 bell peals included 29 for the men lost on the Edmund Fitzgerald and finally once for Lightfoot.
IMG_3425 by char Westbrook, on Flickr

“Char’ Westbrook, who had Lightfoot chat with her five or six times “out there on the internet,” said he was finally “home.”
IMG_3391 by char Westbrook, on Flickr

Pallbearer Jeremiah Haynes takes a moment outside the church after helping carry in the coffin yesterday morning.
IMG_3336 by char Westbrook, on Flickr

Schulz made sure to get everything he owned signed by his friend in one of their final times together, including this ‘Songbook’ box set of CDs addressed to him.
IMG_3176 by char Westbrook, on Flickr

Schulz captured this lovely photo of Lightfoot at the unveiling of a bust at the Orillia Opera House where today flowers are all around it.
fred-statue-480x280 by char Westbrook, on Flickr

Fred Sculz caught up with Gord again in recent times after one of his last Massey concerts. Photos Fred Schulz
fred-gordie by char Westbrook, on Flickr

[charlene]

A proud moment was when Lt.-Gov. Elizabeth Dowdeswell honoured the singer-songwriter who made good.
fred-award by char Westbrook, on Flickr

[charlene]

https://www.orilliamatters.com/local...et-you-6978662

'Rest easy, Mr. Lightfoot. We will never forget you'

After an emotional week of tributes and rites, Orillia shifts gears, moves back into a 'whirlwind of arts and culture events,' says columnist
Anna Proctor
May 10, 2023 6:15 PM

Well, it’s certainly been quite the week here in Orillia. Our hometown hero, Gordon Lightfoot, put us on the international stage this past week, no doubt about it. And Orillia, and St. Paul’s United Church in particular, did him very proud.

All of the arrangements were handled perfectly, and I have heard from more than one source, everyone was so very kind, respectful, and welcoming.

Lightfoot planned this 10 years ago, and he knew what he was doing. He knew Orillia and St. Paul’s was where he wanted to be, and where he wanted his loved ones to be taken care of with love and respect. Hats off to you, Orillia. You did good. Rest easy, Mr. Lightfoot. We will never forget you.

[charlene]

https://www.savingcountrymusic.com/r...3og6dRa72ht0NQ

It would only take a small penthouse to accommodate the amount of music artists who if you disappeared their legacies in their entirety, it would irreparable and forever change the very fabric of music as we know it today. In a world teeming with interpreters, reenactors, imitators, and outright frauds, only a few select songsmiths truly touched music in foundational manners integral to audio expression, and irrespective of genre. Start and end that list with whomever you wish. But damn well make sure you include Gordon Lightfoot within that small and exclusive company.

Gordon Lightfoot was a Canadian, not a Statesman. He was only country in spurts, or by accident. But even the shit kickers and the honky-tonkers out there will conclude that Gordon Lightfoot was undeniably essential, at least the ones who know their stuff, are worth their salt, and honest. And the others? Well screw them. It’s their loss if they don’t know the gold they’re missing in a catalog rendered timeless and awesome through tales of the land and the people upon it, and how those people love, and live, and eventually, and tragically, die.

No matter who you were, or where you were from, Gordon Lightfoot told your story. And he did it in a way that pulsated with the magic and mystery in life that only life itself could match in emotion, memory, and ferocity. Folk traditions were the underlying foundation that Gordon Lightfoot utilized to express his inspirations, always putting the words before the music, and the message ahead of the melody. But if electric or eclectic instruments expressed the sentiment more accurately, Lightfoot accommodated. The muse was always in charge. Lightfoot was only the vessel.

So much of music colors our lives, works like timelines in our relationships and life’s other landmarks. But Gordon Lightfoot’s music went so much deeper. It wasn’t ephemeral. It was monumental. We made life-altering decisions based on the wisdom we once gleaned from a Lightfoot lyric. We remember a place, or a moment in history and tie it to a Lightfoot song not just in the way it serenaded us in the moment, but in the way it influenced its outcome.

Yes, Gordon Lightfoot left behind ample songs you can conclusively label as “country.” There’s his early song “Cotton Jenny.” There’s the entirely of his 1974 masterpiece Sundown that’s more important than entire eras of other artists in the strokes of influential mastery it captured. But let’s not diminish Lightfoot’s legacy in conversations of genre. Not in this moment. His work stands irrespective of any limitation. It was epic in its ability to stoke the imagination. We all lived heroically and died tragically on the Edmund Fitzgerald, and we have Gordon Lightfoot to thank for it.

May Day is what they call it in many parts of the world—a day when we commemorate the laborers who built our modern society and the infrastructure we all enjoy, including many who died in that service, just like the 29 men who perished in the icy waters of Lake Superior, yet still live in the minds of all of us to this day due to Lightfoot. They died, but he allowed them to live again. And now Gordon Lightfoot is dead, but he’s still very much alive in our hearts, and minds, and souls. Because his music outlives him, and will outlive us all.
© 2023 Saving Country Music

[charlene]

https://www.carpentertheologian.com/...DWwDWvnVDronFU

Carpenter Theologian Blog
Home BLOG What I Learned from Gordon Lightfoot, 1 of 3
What I Learned from Gordon Lightfoot

n honor of Gordon Lightfoot’s passing on Monday night at 84 (a year older than my dad), I’m reposting this first part of a three-part series I wrote in 2020. My deepest sympathies to his family, fans, and friends. And I’m so grateful my son Tim and I got to see him live last year on April 5th in Phoenixville, PA.

If you could read my mind, love,
What a tale my thoughts could tell.
If You Could Read My Mind, ©1969 by Gordon Lightfoot

I know it had little to do with the fact that “his debut album… came out on United Artists in January 1966,” the same month and year I was born.[1] Still, there are few artists I’ve enjoyed, resonated with, and been influenced by more than Gordon Lightfoot. Among other things, I share a connection with Presbyterianism, small-town roots, a commitment to authenticity, and a delight in the wildness of nature.

I was introduced to Lightfoot’s music at seventeen by a friend, mentor, and another excellent singer-songwriter and guitarist, Richard Fuller. And for those who don’t know, Gordon Lightfoot was one of the brightest stars of the folk music genre, famous especially for his strong use of emotion, the consistently “high quality of his compositions,” and a band that featured Terry Clements’ amazing guitar work. A rugged Canadian with a huge talent, drive, and work ethic, I’ve identified with Lightfoot’s exquisite songs about “nature and love and the refined natural beauty of living.”

For good and, at times, for ill (more on that next week), Lightfoot’s songs were a balm to my repressive upbringing, inhibited soul, and the depression—anger turned inward—and cynicism I carried with me for a good part of my life. I found an honesty, humanness, and celebration of the goodness of creation (Gen. 1:31) in his expressions that I rarely experienced in the church.

In his very accessible biography (my favorite read from 2018), Nicholas Jennings notes that:

“Lightfoot did have a strong Presbyterian, almost Calvinist streak, in him. He professed not to be religious, but having grown up in a small Ontario town where churches and Protestant thinking dominated, he always held himself to a strict moral code. Throughout his life, Lightfoot faced issues of sin, redemption and repentance—and when reflecting on himself actually thought in those biblical terms. Guilt, a somewhat strange concept in the decadent world of rock and roll, would weigh heavily on him throughout his life as he judged whether he was a good husband, father or son.”[2]

Gordon and his fellow singer-songwriter and friend Joni Mitchell shared this “survivalist notion” to never go back to the “restraints” and “narrow-minded disapproval” of their childhood. Joni’s ex-husband, Chuck Mitchell, observed that this “was one of Joni’s main drives and I think Gordon’s too.”[3]

Yet his career took off in large part because he retained the genuineness of those small-town roots: “In an age of the ‘super cool,’ he digs deep into the warmth of the heart to relate some basic feelings about human longing and desire.’ Once embarrassed about his unpolished small-town ways, Lightfoot was finding that his lack of artifice had become an asset.”[4]

Lightfoot also gave me a love for history and place. Songs like Canadian Railroad Trilogy, Don Quixote, and The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald still bring legends to life. Many of his songs champion the beauty of the wilderness, the sea, or majestic creatures like the Blue whale. Some celebrate simple things like listening to music, a winter’s night, hard work and courage, or Rainy Day People. Others tell tales of regret, love—including illicit affairs, addiction to alcohol, and life on the road.

Throughout his prime, Lightfoot relied on rigorous “marathon outings to work off what he called his ‘spare tire’ from heavy drinking.” One example is when he took “a physically challenging 673-mile canoe trip on the Back River of Canada’s Northwest Territories… the country’s twentieth longest river and the most demanding of the eleven wilderness trips that he did.” This trip was especially “grueling because of the large portages” he and his five partners had to make with their two canoes.

Here’s Lightfoot’s personal account of this trip—one of my favorites from Jenning’s biography:

“We were icebound on the Back River, at a place called Beechey Lake. We weren’t able to travel through certain lakes because they’d be plugged with ice. We carried the canoes ten miles one day, after which there was another three-mile portage. So we ended up portaging thirteen miles—the longest I ever did. We figured we’d stop at the ten-mile point, camp and continue in the morning. But we got such a head of steam that we did the whole thing. It only got dark about one hour each night, so we kept going. It was really, really hard work. Some of the portages on that trip were filled with mud and mire and mush and we had to lift the canoes sideways in order to get through some of that stuff. We got involved in some stretches of river where we traveled eight miles but only wound up going one mile. It’s called a serpentine. We had two tents for camping, and we’d cook with small mountaineering gas stoves. There wasn’t much firewood up in the tundra. We did some fishing, but mostly we took all our own food in with us. Saw all kinds of wildlife, including a grizzly bear with her cubs. I enjoyed watching the muskox. They loved to play on the sides of the slopes, run back and forth in groups. They’re huge animals. I stood about twenty feet away from one; he looked at me, I looked at him and he just ambled off. I got inspired to write some songs on those trips, which are some of the most glorious experiences I ever had.”

https://www.carpentertheologian.com/...t-part-2-of-3/

I ain’t the kind to hang around

With any new love that I’ve found

Since movin is my stock ‘n trade,

I’m moving on I won’t think of you when I’m gone…

I’ve got a hundred more like you, so don’t be blue

I’ll have a thousand ‘fore I’m through
For Lovin’ Me/Did She Mention My Name, ©1966, 1968, 1975 by Gordon Lightfoot

The cold, detached state-of-mind reflected in the lyrics above may have been part of what made Lightfoot famous; however, his actions consistent with this authentic expression of his soul took a devastating toll on his family. In the real world, cheating spouses and dead-beat dads don’t make us laugh like the character Reese Bobby, Ricky’s Bobby’s father, in Talladega Nights. They bring pain and hurt of the worst kind.

We can learn a lot from Lightfoot about “how not to be”—especially toward our wives and children. On his third marriage, he has six children that we know of. “…(In the Seventies, he was also briefly in a relationship with Cathy Smith, who was with John Belushi on the night he overdosed.) You wonder if all those relationships come rushing back when he sings songs he wrote about those situations — ‘If You Could Read My Mind,’ for instance, is about the collapse of his first marriage in the late Sixties.”[1]

Happiest on the road, Lightfoot’s “long absences… not to mention his infidelities—had ruined his [first] marriage and put distance between him and his kids.” On this Lightfoot reflects, “Have you ever had your son look at you with an accusation that you walked out on him?’” Jennings, his biographer, concludes: “Thrilling through it was, being in constant motion took a toll that Lightfoot would have to live with all his life.”[2]

Regret is a common theme in his music. For example, in his song “Second Cup of Coffee,” he confesses to sleep that is “filled with dreaming of the wrongs that I have done/ And the gentle sweet reminder of a daughter and a son.”

The daughter referenced is Ingrid, his oldest from his first marriage. She finally asked him to stop singing “For Lovin’ Me:” “I didn’t want him to sing it, because it made me angry… I knew it was about my mom. It‘s pretty self-explanatory. ‘I’m not the kind to hang around’ and ‘the new love that I’ve found.’ My dad was going through a lot of women. My mom didn’t need to be reminded of that.”[3]

[charlene]

Reflecting back, Lightfoot admits:

“In my first family, I’m afraid, at that particular time I guess I wasn’t around long enough to be of service to them, and I do regret that a great deal to this day,” he said. “[I] keep the lines of communication open at all times and see them regularly and the two grandchildren as well… My new family is growing and needs more attention. Since I won’t be following the route I did in my first marriage, I will be dealing with it practically. I hope I can handle it.”

At Care Net, the Christian ministry I work for, we focus on the private, hidden issue of abortion—often the collateral damage resulting from a promiscuous lifestyle like Lightfoot’s. In offering compassion, hope, and help to men and women facing pregnancy decisions, we’ll gently remind them that children—whether born or pre-born—are not lives worth sacrificing but lives worth sacrificing for. Lightfoot’s had to learn this the hard way.

Thankfully, “making amends for past mistakes… [has] become a priority. Responsibilities to… children…[are] now paramount.” Jennings notes: “If he’s sinned in the past, Lightfoot’s future was going to be all about redemption.”[4] Indeed, aging, a near-death experience in 2002, and the pain of regret have given him a different perspective than he had throughout his prime. Here’s evidence of that from his children:

“He’s definitely changed after the aneurysm,” adds Ingrid, “paying more attention to all of us and calling more.”[5]
Says Fred, his oldest son: “In my younger years I didn’t see much of Dad, but he’s been very supportive of my kids, especially Ben, who’s extremely autistic, and comes to visit a lot.”[6]
Meredith, one of his children from a later marriage observes: “One of the things that I admire about him is that he realizes he has room to grow… He’s still learning things about himself.”

https://www.carpentertheologian.com/...t-part-3-of-3/

“Writing songs is about finding the time, because it’s an isolated thing. You need to lock yourself in a room to do it, in one shape or another, whether it’s an empty house or hotel room.”
Gordon Lightfoot in Nicholas Jennings, Lightfoot (Viking, 2017), 88.

[charlene]

I mentioned in Part 1 that, among other things, Lightfoot and I share a connection with Presbyterianism, small-town roots, a disciplined work ethic, a commitment to authenticity, and a delight in the wildness of nature. We also share a similar approach to the creative process, a wandering heart, and a profound need for Christ’s atonement.

And what’s more, even today—especially when I’m doing finish carpentry, Lightfoot’s music is still a favorite. It’s beauty, earthiness, familiarity, detailed lyrics and finger-picking have always helped me relax, focus, and do my best creative work.

But in certain past melancholy or dark moods, although Lightfoot’s music soothed my soul, it wasn’t the remedy I needed. Sometimes his songs exacerbated my depression when I needed to choose joy. Or sometimes they kept me marinating in loneliness when I needed community. By way of examples, sometimes his music kept me from prayer, a much-needed conversation with Pam, or was a pre-cursor to destructive habits like overeating, eating poorly, or viewing porn. Lightfoot had his own vices—in fact, his journey toward addiction began with using alcohol to deal with the stress in his first marriage: “When things got complicated with Brita, alcohol gave him an easy way to forget his problems—if only for a while. ‘It made me feel better,’ he says, ‘and if I felt better, I could work better.’

A lot has changed since that marriage ended in 1973. Aging, a near-fatal brain aneurism in 2004, and a third marriage to actress Kim Hasse (see above) have given Lightfoot a softer heart and a wiser perspective: “It’s funny—as you get older, you complain less because you get mellower, and with that mellowness comes a bit of humor.”[1]

Last week, we saw proof of Lightfoot’s change-of-heart in the testimonies of his children. And here’s some further evidence from his own words and those of his biographer:

“I’ve made a few mistakes in my career, I’ll admit them. For the last many years, I’ve been in a process of atonement. Honestly, I try really hard to please, particularly when it comes to my family. I feel a really strong responsibility to them.”[2]
It’s hard to imagine a more humble and self-effacing superstar. Ever since he’d quit drinking, making amends preoccupied Lightfoot. Sometimes he called it a process of atonement. Later, he took to saying he was in a state of repentance. Either way, the duty weighed heavily on him.”
“He’d always professed not to be especially religious, but guilt, remorse, redemption remained powerful forces for the man who once sang ‘Forgive me Lord for I have sinned.’ Lightfoot’s ‘sins’ were a heavy burden on him… and he wanted desperately to atone. He was doing a pretty good job.”[3]

Notice how I italicized statements that reflect Lightfoot’s concept of atonement above. It is clear he knows something of repentance—that is, he has changed his mind and done an about-face regarding some of his “sins.” I want to take issue, however, with his idea of atonement and suggest that, as many have learned from him, he has yet something critically important to learn from others. Lightfoot views atonement as something he is capable of doing for himself and, to be fair, it’s a view held by even many religious people. Indeed, in most religions, the message is focused on what we need to DO to save or atone for ourselves. In Christianity, the message is focused, rather, on the atonement of Christ—what he has DONE on the cross:

“He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.” (1 John 2:2, NIV)
“Unlike those other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices every day. They did this for their own sins first and then for the sins of the people. But Jesus did this once for all when he offered himself as the sacrifice for the people’s sins.” (Hebrews 7:27, NLT)

And here’s the truth and good news for Gordon Lightfoot or any of us: None of us can atone for our sins, and salvation is a gift found only in dependence upon the finished sacrifice of Christ.

“Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God…” (John 1:12, NIV)
“But to one who without works trusts him who justifies the ungodly, such faith is reckoned as righteousness.” (Romans 4:5, NRSV)

Gordon Lightfoot is—by this world’s standards—a legend. He’s scored timeless hits, befriended Bob Dylan, and has been inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame. And he’s still got it: At 80, he has a new album and 40 tour dates in Canada and the U.S. this year! Still inspiring others, I hope Lightfoot comes to accept and root his acts of repentance in the love of the Ultimate Father who has already—amazingly—provided atonement for his sins by his Son.

In conclusion, may I suggest that a little-known band from the 90’s—that, unlike Lightfoot, was literally a “Legend” in name only—might still be helpful in getting this vital issue of atonement right. Below are the relevant lyrics and you can listen to their full song here.

All alone,

You were all that I could depend on,

The failure of my life has been atoned,

And you’ve been right beside me all along…

Carry me,

You always carry me,

Carry me,

You breathe new life in me,

The love of the Father is always guaranteed,

The hands of the Father will always carry me.
“Carry Me” by Legend (Legend Seven) | from the album Legend

[charlene]

https://www.savingcountrymusic.com/r...3og6dRa72ht0NQ

It would only take a small penthouse to accommodate the amount of music artists who if you disappeared their legacies in their entirety, it would irreparable and forever change the very fabric of music as we know it today. In a world teeming with interpreters, reenactors, imitators, and outright frauds, only a few select songsmiths truly touched music in foundational manners integral to audio expression, and irrespective of genre. Start and end that list with whomever you wish. But damn well make sure you include Gordon Lightfoot within that small and exclusive company.

Gordon Lightfoot was a Canadian, not a Statesman. He was only country in spurts, or by accident. But even the shit kickers and the honky-tonkers out there will conclude that Gordon Lightfoot was undeniably essential, at least the ones who know their stuff, are worth their salt, and honest. And the others? Well screw them. It’s their loss if they don’t know the gold they’re missing in a catalog rendered timeless and awesome through tales of the land and the people upon it, and how those people love, and live, and eventually, and tragically, die.

No matter who you were, or where you were from, Gordon Lightfoot told your story. And he did it in a way that pulsated with the magic and mystery in life that only life itself could match in emotion, memory, and ferocity. Folk traditions were the underlying foundation that Gordon Lightfoot utilized to express his inspirations, always putting the words before the music, and the message ahead of the melody. But if electric or eclectic instruments expressed the sentiment more accurately, Lightfoot accommodated. The muse was always in charge. Lightfoot was only the vessel.

So much of music colors our lives, works like timelines in our relationships and life’s other landmarks. But Gordon Lightfoot’s music went so much deeper. It wasn’t ephemeral. It was monumental. We made life-altering decisions based on the wisdom we once gleaned from a Lightfoot lyric. We remember a place, or a moment in history and tie it to a Lightfoot song not just in the way it serenaded us in the moment, but in the way it influenced its outcome.

Yes, Gordon Lightfoot left behind ample songs you can conclusively label as “country.” There’s his early song “Cotton Jenny.” There’s the entirely of his 1974 masterpiece Sundown that’s more important than entire eras of other artists in the strokes of influential mastery it captured. But let’s not diminish Lightfoot’s legacy in conversations of genre. Not in this moment. His work stands irrespective of any limitation. It was epic in its ability to stoke the imagination. We all lived heroically and died tragically on the Edmund Fitzgerald, and we have Gordon Lightfoot to thank for it.

May Day is what they call it in many parts of the world—a day when we commemorate the laborers who built our modern society and the infrastructure we all enjoy, including many who died in that service, just like the 29 men who perished in the icy waters of Lake Superior, yet still live in the minds of all of us to this day due to Lightfoot. They died, but he allowed them to live again. And now Gordon Lightfoot is dead, but he’s still very much alive in our hearts, and minds, and souls. Because his music outlives him, and will outlive us all.
© 2023 Saving Country Music

[JohninCt.]

Thanks Charlene, excellent post, glad you found it.

[charlene]

https://wng.org/articles/the-passing...ian-1686017678

The passing of a dedicated folk musician
MUSIC | Gordon Lightfoot was a meticulous craftsman
by Arsenio Orteza
Post Date:
June 8, 2023 Issue Date:
June 24, 2023
Steve Snowden/Getty Images

Long after Peter, Paul & Mary had faded into sepia and Bob Dylan had gone electric, Gordon Lightfoot kept the spirit of folk music alive on pop radio, scoring the last of his six U.S. Top 40 hits during the same year that Saturday Night Fever established the dominance of disco.

Lightfoot died on May 1. He was 84. When his hometown of Orillia, Ontario, honored him with a statue in 2015, he’d been a Canadian legend for the better part of 50 years, inspiring national pride with songs that bore witness to his native land’s history, spirit, and terrain.

A meticulous craftsman, he learned early to write his own lead sheets and developed a songwriterly diligence that earned him the respect of his peers. More than any other factor, it was this ability to block out the world and focus on matching melodies and words that saw him through the chaos that he brought upon himself by womanizing and drinking his way through the 1970s.

The first of his three marriages ended in divorce (its dissolution inspired his U.S. breakthrough, “If You Could Read My Mind”), and his relentless touring made him an absentee father more often than not. His drinking, meanwhile, lowered his resistance to groupies in general and to the opportunistic rock-scenester Cathy Evelyn Smith in particular. Seven years after their volatile affair, Smith was charged with involuntary manslaughter for her role in the overdose death of the comedian John Belushi.

Lightfoot, it seemed, had dodged a bullet.

In the meantime, he scored his second-*biggest and most unlikely hit with “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald,” an elegiac, six-minute folk ballad that, were it not for the stranglehold that Rod Stewart’s “Tonight’s the Night” had on the position, would’ve gone to No. 1.

He sobered up in 1982 and became as much of a gym rat as his schedule would allow. But by that point pop music had undergone an MTV-spearheaded revolution that kicked sensitive neo-folkies in their 40s to the curb. Lightfoot kept writing and recording, but his hit-making days were over.

Not so his days as a concert draw. He averaged more than 70 shows a year from 2010 to 2016. He also made a *priority of repairing the family ties that he’d let fray.

He did not, however, seem inclined to revisit the mainline Protestant faith of his upbringing. His unironic 1980 outtake “Forgive Me Lord” was sandwiched, chronologically speaking, by the songs “Heaven Don’t Deserve Me” and “Return Into Dust,” both of which viewed eternal verities through an emphatically agnostic squint. Whether one of those three—and, if so, which one—played in his head as his end drew nigh, only those who could read his mind can say.
Screenshot 2023-06-28 at 20-26-16 The passing of a dedicated folk musician by char Westbrook, on Flickr

[charlene]

VIDEO:

https://barrie.ctvnews.ca/video?clip...06&jwsource=em

[charlene]

https://torontosun.com/news/local-ne...lieve-hes-gone

WARMINGTON:
Gordon Lightfoot cheated death so often, hard to believe he's gone

Joe Warmington
Published May 02, 2023

Gordon Lightfoot wore cheating death like a badge of honour and with a sense of humour.

Lightfoot planned to do it again when he confronted serious medical issues last month which forced him to postpone tour dates. But even this cool cat only had so many lives.

The world tried to kill Lightfoot off so many times that when word spread of the legend’s death at 84 Monday night, it was difficult to believe.

Even a couple of weeks ago, he told me he was holding out hope his latest health setback was temporary and he’d be able to get back up stage.

“We don’t know what is going to happen, but I am doing my best,” he said.

Lightfoot always did his best, no matter the odds.

In 2002, they wrote him off after a near-fatal aneurysm, but he not only came back, he toured for 20 more years.

“I just keep going,” he joked.

The best story came in 2010 with a simple tweet that he had died.

“I heard it on the radio when I was in the dental chair,” he told me.

He called into AM640’s Charles Adler to say reports of his death were premature. I caught up with him that day; he got such a kick out of that, hamming it up by placing his thumb to his wrist to check to see if he had a pulse.

“I looked in the mirror and said, ‘I don’t look dead.’”

Lightfoot’s legacy will never die. And, his songs are a big reason for that.

Whether it’s Rainy Day People, Early Morning Rain, Sundown, The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald, If You Could Read My Mind, Carefree Highway, or The Canadian Railroad Trilogy, the catalogue is not just his but ours. He is a generational Canadian storyteller and always will be.

“Musically and lyrically, there is no one else like him,” said musician and historian Tony Gosgnach, who was the first to suggest a state funeral.

This is not only appropriate but a necessary sendoff for this humble but brilliant icon. For me, Lightfoot will live on for the kind of man he was away from stardom. His legacy will be his passion for Canada and his love for Canadians.

Lightfoot was born in Orillia, but all of Canada was his hometown

“He was a very special person who made everybody feel special themselves,” said George Bigliardi, from the famed Bigliardi Steak House where Gordon was a regular. “I met him in 1967, the same year the Maple Leafs last won the Stanley Cup and we were friends ever since.”

Thanks to George, his wife, Carol, and their daughter, Victoria, I got to know Gordon as a friend, as well.

They invited me to many birthday parties and celebrations and often I would be sitting next to Gordon and his wife, Kim, listening to amazing stories about his times hanging with everybody from John Lennon to Bob Dylan.

But what I found fascinating was the way in which Gordon was toward taxi drivers, waiters, photographers, autograph hounds and even Occupy Toronto protesters.

In 2011, in St. James Park, he just showed up in the middle of the tent city to check on his then teen-daughter, Meredith, who was camping there. He didn’t say anything political, other than to remind everyone there are many perspectives, and people on all sides need to talk to each other peacefully. He believed and embodied that.

Lightfoot was interested in people. He cared about them.

When I was in his dressing room in Oshawa with photographer Veronica Henri, I saw how he tuned his guitars for hours, looking for perfection. In his music room at his Toronto home with photographer Craig Robertson, we saw his work ethic and how he would rehearse to keep his skills honed.

None of his greatness was by accident.

There’s no question there should be a state funeral because for Canadians, his death is like losing a family member. He touched the whole country deeply for many decades.

And not always on stage.

In 2008, on a cold winter evening, he came out for the repatriation of a fallen Canadian soldier whose body was being sent downtown to the coroner’s office behind Toronto Police headquarters. There was a delay, but he would not leave.

“I want to pay my condolences to the family,” he said.

It didn’t surprise me since two years earlier at the Red Rally for the troops I helped organize with Louise Gray, of the Toronto Police Association, and Justin Van Dette, Lightfoot not the only showed up but stayed for hours to talk with the families of serving soldiers.

While they say he’s now gone, in Canadian’s hearts, Gordon Lightfoot never will be. The legend will live on!

[charlene]

VIDEO AT LINK:
https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/article...GfpE-1Mb7nUKx0
Honorary 'C': Gordon Lightfoot once served as honorary Maple Leafs captain

TORONTO -- When Maple Leafs brass held a meeting ahead of the NHL's 75th anniversary season, several big names -- John Candy, Anne Murray and Mike Myers to name a few -- were considered for the honour of serving as Toronto's honorary captain for the 1991-92 campaign.

``A lot of the U.S. (teams) went for comedians or people who were super-involved (with the team) or whatever,'' former Leafs public relations director Bob Stellick said Tuesday. ``We thought there really was nobody more iconic than Gordon Lightfoot.''

Lightfoot, a legendary singer-songwriter who died Monday at 84, was presented with a Maple Leafs jersey -- complete with a 'C' -- by former captain Darryl Sittler in a 1991 pre-game ceremony at Maple Leaf Gardens.

``I dropped the puck for Wendel (Clark) and for Steve Yzerman,'' Lightfoot recalled in a 2012 interview with CBC's ``Hockey Night in Canada.'' ``I remember it very well.

``I was so awestruck by the whole scene that I just dropped that puck and got the heck out of there.''

The Toronto resident wore a black tuxedo for the occasion. Stellick, who helped co-ordinate plans with Lightfoot's agent, recalled the singer-songwriter was shy and rather quiet.

``These people that are backslappers or jock-sniffers or whatever they are, he was the absolute opposite of that,'' Stellick said. ``He came in and was low maintenance and did his thing.''

At the time, the Maple Leafs were coming off a last-place finish in the Norris Division.

Optimism was higher for the regular-season opener and Lightfoot helped make it a special night. The Maple Leafs beat the Detroit Red Wings 8-5.

``We thought, 'We're an iconic franchise,' and we were looking for someone who was an iconic Ontarian,'' Stellick said. ``We certainly didn't want to do politicians or anything like that or someone who just happened to be hot that year.

``The 'Canadian Railroad Trilogy' and 'The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald,' these are (songs) that resonated with Canadians and we thought it would be fun and relevant for the 75th anniversary.''

Lightfoot told the CBC that he was a Maple Leafs fan and that he and his bandmates would follow the team's results when they were out on tour.

Lightfoot met with the team's directors before the pre-game ceremony, Stellick said, and got an ``extraordinarily warm welcome'' when he walked out on the ice.

``I didn't like the idea of being made an honorary captain, the jersey would have been just fine,'' Lightfoot told the CBC. ``But they gave me the sweater and I kept that and I treasure that.''

The Maple Leafs were scheduled to kick off their second-round NHL playoff series against the Florida Panthers on Tuesday night at Scotiabank Arena.