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Old 12-02-1999, 03:06 AM   #1
LouiseAnne
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Can any of you remember the first time you ever heard a Gordon Lightfoot song? Which one was it? Do you remember what you were doing at the time?

For me, it was "If You Could Read My Mind". I can remember it like it was yesterday. I was in my teens and I was in the garage (my grandfather's workshop) trying to fix a record player that had a problem (long live the days of "vinyl") when it came over the radio. It was right at the same time as "Loving Her Was Easier Than Anything I'll Ever Do Again" by Kris Kristofferson was a big hit. That was also my favorite song at the time. I loved "If You Could Read My Mind" because it was on the same order as Kris' song. I waited to hear who it was by and when the D.J. said Gordon Lightfoot, I figured he was American Indian (can you imagine!!). I went right out and bought the single. But, ironically, it wasn't until college several years later that I actually knew who he was and began to appreciate his other music. I didn't even know what he looked like until I was about 23! But I STILL have that old 45 to this day.

If everyone shares their "first time" experiences, maybe we can make up a portfolio or something and send it to him. He might get a kick out of it.

What do you think?
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Old 12-02-1999, 03:06 AM   #2
loveandmaplesyrup
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Can any of you remember the first time you ever heard a Gordon Lightfoot song? Which one was it? Do you remember what you were doing at the time?

For me, it was "If You Could Read My Mind". I can remember it like it was yesterday. I was in my teens and I was in the garage (my grandfather's workshop) trying to fix a record player that had a problem (long live the days of "vinyl") when it came over the radio. It was right at the same time as "Loving Her Was Easier Than Anything I'll Ever Do Again" by Kris Kristofferson was a big hit. That was also my favorite song at the time. I loved "If You Could Read My Mind" because it was on the same order as Kris' song. I waited to hear who it was by and when the D.J. said Gordon Lightfoot, I figured he was American Indian (can you imagine!!). I went right out and bought the single. But, ironically, it wasn't until college several years later that I actually knew who he was and began to appreciate his other music. I didn't even know what he looked like until I was about 23! But I STILL have that old 45 to this day.

If everyone shares their "first time" experiences, maybe we can make up a portfolio or something and send it to him. He might get a kick out of it.

What do you think?
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Old 12-02-1999, 08:10 PM   #3
Wes Steele
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Hello LMS. I love reading your "stuff". You sound like a typical GL "junkie". I think elsewhere on this board I mention about the first time I heard him but lets go at it again....
To be exact, December 15, 1970. I cut afternoon classes at my high school and went for a joy ride with my buddy to Erie, Pennsylvania which is about 90 miles east of Cleveland. We were listening to CKLW, radio station from Windsor, Ontario. It always came in very clear across Lake Erie and was very popular in the Cleveland area. They must have played "If You Could Read My Mind" 5 times in six hours and I fell for it, the first time I heard it. I couldn't get enough of it, bought the 45 and away I went.
As a sidelight, the first song I heard him sing in concert was "The List" at John Carroll University in 1974.
By the way, I thought his name was a "phoney made up" name and that he would never make it. That's the truth. Boy was I wrong....
It's funny how you don't forget certain things.
Anyway I love your posts, keep it up,
Wes.....
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Old 12-02-1999, 08:49 PM   #4
LouiseAnne
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Wes,
Well, that's two of us who didn't take his name seriously. Do you know Gord and his family were the only "Lightfoots" in Orillia and surrounding areas who were NOT Indian? (Just a little FYI)

Hey, thanks for the compliment. Makes me feel better. I was starting to think I was getting too pesty and I'd better back off. What a confidence builder!!

Stay Loose!
LAMS

------------------
"Love and maple syrup
go together like the
sticky winds of winter
when they meet....
If you go into the forest
Gaze up through the trees
The sky is white.
You can understand
What makes the forest
Greet the man
Like a mother's only
child ..."
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Old 12-02-1999, 08:49 PM   #5
loveandmaplesyrup
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Wes,
Well, that's two of us who didn't take his name seriously. Do you know Gord and his family were the only "Lightfoots" in Orillia and surrounding areas who were NOT Indian? (Just a little FYI)

Hey, thanks for the compliment. Makes me feel better. I was starting to think I was getting too pesty and I'd better back off. What a confidence builder!!

Stay Loose!
LAMS

------------------
"Love and maple syrup
go together like the
sticky winds of winter
when they meet....
If you go into the forest
Gaze up through the trees
The sky is white.
You can understand
What makes the forest
Greet the man
Like a mother's only
child ..."
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Old 12-03-1999, 07:04 PM   #6
chris
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I don't remember the exact date, but it was IYCRMM. I too was in high school. I was in my room and my sister came running in yelling "turn on the radio". GL was singing that song and we both just stood there... I can still remember that feeling that this was something special. I remember her saying to me "His name is Gordon Lightfoot". I grew up in the D.C. suburbs and there was a radio program on Sunday nights on WMAL FM called the Soft Explosion or something like that. The DJ was John Lyons and he played GL alot- he was a real GL fan. So every Sunday night I listened and learned that while GL was new to me he was really big already in Cananda. I started checking record stores whenever I could and eventually ended up finding all of his United Artists albums here and there as he started to catch on in the States. Because I lived outside D.C. I was also able to see him pretty frequently in concert also. Its something my sisters and I still do together. Its funny how I can still remember that day and that feeling. I can't say that about any other performer. No other songwriter has that same pull on me that Gordon Lightfoot always has had still has.
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Old 12-03-1999, 11:09 PM   #7
Wes Steele
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Chris, that was a neat story. I enjoy the details, like the DJ's name and such. Did you start getting his earlier albums right after hearing IYCRMM? My first album was "Summer Side Of Life", "Old Dan's Records", "Don Quixote", then I starting getting the older ones.
GL must have had an impact on our lives, the way all of us remember certain things on how he touched our lives.
I like this topic.........Thank you again Florian for this great web site full of great people!
Wes
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Old 12-04-1999, 12:37 AM   #8
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You're right, Wes. It's funny how it seems like everyone who likes Gordon can remember exactly the first time they heard him and exactly what they were doing. I can only say that about two other things in my life and that was when we first walked on the moon and when JFK was assassinated.

And another thing that's impressive is the impact Gordon's music has had on people's everyday lives. So many folks say how his music has gotten them through rough times. For me it was a few years ago when I had to go through some rugged bouts of chemotherapy for leukemia. There were times when it was only Gord's music that got me through. It was almost as if he had written some of those songs like he knew somehow ... even though, that sounds stupid. But other people with different problems have said the same thing about the same songs I depended on then.

Guess he's much more than a songwriter. He seems to have gotten to the core of us all somehow.

I wish there was some way we could all get together and give something back for all he's given to us -- without even realizing it.

Now, I've had my corny say, so I will leave you in peace.

Keep posting. I meant what I said about putting a portfolio together to give him. I know he would enjoy this. (And isn't it funny that so far, it seems like IYCRMM is THE song!)

I agree with Wes. You guys are a great bunch!

LAMS
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Old 12-04-1999, 12:37 AM   #9
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You're right, Wes. It's funny how it seems like everyone who likes Gordon can remember exactly the first time they heard him and exactly what they were doing. I can only say that about two other things in my life and that was when we first walked on the moon and when JFK was assassinated.

And another thing that's impressive is the impact Gordon's music has had on people's everyday lives. So many folks say how his music has gotten them through rough times. For me it was a few years ago when I had to go through some rugged bouts of chemotherapy for leukemia. There were times when it was only Gord's music that got me through. It was almost as if he had written some of those songs like he knew somehow ... even though, that sounds stupid. But other people with different problems have said the same thing about the same songs I depended on then.

Guess he's much more than a songwriter. He seems to have gotten to the core of us all somehow.

I wish there was some way we could all get together and give something back for all he's given to us -- without even realizing it.

Now, I've had my corny say, so I will leave you in peace.

Keep posting. I meant what I said about putting a portfolio together to give him. I know he would enjoy this. (And isn't it funny that so far, it seems like IYCRMM is THE song!)

I agree with Wes. You guys are a great bunch!

LAMS
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Old 12-04-1999, 04:16 PM   #10
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Yes, right after I got IYCRMM I started buying his old albums. I guess when that album was reissued under IYCRMM, those older ablums became more marketable for the record stores or maybe United Artists just decided to cash in, as it did for years after GL switched over to Reprise. One thing I remember distinctly about buying his albums is approaching the "L" bin with a sense of anticipation that maybe I would find one of his albums. And if I found one, to grab it and look at the spine to see if it was one of those "book" ones, you know the kind that opened up and had pictures and text. I think to this day there has been only one - I think its Sunday Concert.

I found album frames at a store called Restoration Hardware. You can slip an album cover in and hang it like a picture -- I bought myself one for xmas. His first album, Lightfoot!, has the greatest picture on the cover. Can't wait to hang it. Enough rambling-I'm supposed to be doing xmas shopping. Am greatly enjoying everyone's posts. Thanks.
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Old 12-04-1999, 05:16 PM   #11
LouiseAnne
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I don't know. Maybe I'm crazy, but ... has anyone else noticed a slight resemblance to James Dean on that first album cover?

Could Gord be our modern-day "rebel without a cause"?

LAMS
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Old 12-04-1999, 05:16 PM   #12
loveandmaplesyrup
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I don't know. Maybe I'm crazy, but ... has anyone else noticed a slight resemblance to James Dean on that first album cover?

Could Gord be our modern-day "rebel without a cause"?

LAMS
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Old 12-04-1999, 11:26 PM   #13
Wes Steele
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Chris & Lams.....I first found the older albums on (rembember these?} those pirated 8-track tapes with the real plain label. I eventually bought the regular albums. Yes, I still have that one album that opens up with all the pictures.
GL really has changed over the years (not me, I've stayed the same, HA!). When I saw him here in Cleveland last, when he came out for his second set, he was wearing jeans and a T-shirt with running shoes. I looked at him closely, take the guitar away from him and he looks like he would work at a feed, grain & supply store in Northern Canada. Please take this as a compliment, he just looked like he was in great shape.
LAMS, I don't know about James Dean from that first album cover. Maybe....A little....
Wes....
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Old 12-05-1999, 07:44 AM   #14
LouiseAnne
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Wes, That's Great!!! A feed store worker. LOL!

"All right, ma'am, that's six sacks of chicken feed, a 50-pound sack of corn and two tons of alfalfa ... will that be first or second cutting? Thank you, Ma'am and have a real fine day, eh?"

"....and I sold that hog for a 30-dollar bill ...."

LOVE IT, Wes.
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Old 12-05-1999, 07:44 AM   #15
loveandmaplesyrup
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Wes, That's Great!!! A feed store worker. LOL!

"All right, ma'am, that's six sacks of chicken feed, a 50-pound sack of corn and two tons of alfalfa ... will that be first or second cutting? Thank you, Ma'am and have a real fine day, eh?"

"....and I sold that hog for a 30-dollar bill ...."

LOVE IT, Wes.
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Old 12-05-1999, 09:31 PM   #16
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Definetly a resemblance to James Dean -- but here I'm biased again -- GL's much better looking. My husband and I saw him in March in a smaller venue than I'd ever seen him in before and had good seats -- about 15 feet away so needless to say had a great view of the stage. We were amazed at his great physical condition. There's not an ounce of fat on him. I've read concert reviews that comment that he could put on a pound or two -- no way. We should all look that good at 61!
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Old 12-10-1999, 05:01 PM   #17
Florian
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quote:Can any of you remember the first time you ever heard a Gordon Lightfoot song? Which one was it? Do you remember what you were doing at the time?

Well, I guess I can only share some second-hand experience, since Gordon Lightfoot's music has been with be all my life (I'm 25 years old).

My parents lived in Toronto from the mid 60's to the mid 70's and in 1968 or 1969 my father was shopping in Eglington Square Shopping mall at the "Bay Company". He wanted to get some towels (as far as he remebers).

What he does remember is that he heard a song played through the shopping mall's sound system that immediately appealed to him, so he went to the DJ of the shopping mall asking him what song he had played a few minutes ago.

I'm sure you can guess who's song that was - in fact he had played "Softly".

To cut a long story short, my father went straight for the next record store, picked up all Gordon Lightfoot records available.

At the time it must have been "Lightfoot!" and "The Way I Feel" (including Softly).

If he actually bought the towels, I cannot tell you.

Ever since, my father has not lost contact with Gordon Lightfoot's music and has been purchasing every new album ever since.

As far as my personal memory goes, the first song I can actually remember having heard when I was very young is "Never Too Close". (That's the reason I chose this song as 'Song-Of-The-Month' for October.)

As you can see, I hardly had any choice but to become a devoted Gordon Lightfoot fan.
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Old 12-11-1999, 12:51 AM   #18
Annette
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That's a great story Florian!! And welcome back - I thought this board disappeared and was more than a little disappointed. It's good to see you again.
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Old 12-11-1999, 12:51 AM   #19
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That's a great story Florian!! And welcome back - I thought this board disappeared and was more than a little disappointed. It's good to see you again.
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Old 12-11-1999, 03:31 AM   #20
Florian
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Hi Annette,

Here is the short email I have sent to every registered user of this discussion board:

quote:
Hi,

For the last several days you may have had difficulties to access the Gordon Lightfoot -discussion board on my website at www.corfid.com.

These difficulties were caused by a hardware problem at my webhosting company. They have informed me that all services are back to normal again.

Please kindly accept my apologies for any inconvenience caused,

I look forward to see you on the Discussion Board,

Florian Bodenseher


I had no way to contact you, since you have not registered yet. Maybe you would consider registering?

It's free and you will be able to edit messages after you have sent them (not that this is in any way necessary with the high quality of your messages )

You will even have the opportunity to include a signature with every message.

And I will have the opportunity to inform you about technical problems like the one we've had (even tough I hope not to see that happen again very soon!) via email.

-Florian
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Old 12-11-1999, 01:33 PM   #21
bandps@means.net
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Neat site! Just ran into it while doing a little research on the Edmund
Fitzgerald. Heard the song on the radio the other night and was telling
the kids about it. they didn't know the shipwreck actually happened!
Anyway back to the topic. The first time I heard Gordon Lightfoot I was
in my teens and watching the late night music show that used to come on Saturday nights-the name of the show escapes me. However, Gordon
Lightfoot was on and sang"Don Quixote" and I was hooked! when I
was in college living in the big city, listening to Gordon Lightfoot always
made me feel less homesick. thanks Peg
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Old 12-11-1999, 01:33 PM   #22
bandps@means.net
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Neat site! Just ran into it while doing a little research on the Edmund
Fitzgerald. Heard the song on the radio the other night and was telling
the kids about it. they didn't know the shipwreck actually happened!
Anyway back to the topic. The first time I heard Gordon Lightfoot I was
in my teens and watching the late night music show that used to come on Saturday nights-the name of the show escapes me. However, Gordon
Lightfoot was on and sang"Don Quixote" and I was hooked! when I
was in college living in the big city, listening to Gordon Lightfoot always
made me feel less homesick. thanks Peg
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Old 12-30-1999, 07:42 AM   #23
PAUL B.
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IYCRMM of course. I first heard it when I was driving down the road in a pickup on the way to the field during harvest. I had to stop at the side of the road and pay close attention, and to stop during harvest was NOT done! The DJ said it was by "Lightfoot," and I didn't know his first name for a couple of years, because everyone here introduced this as a song by "Lightfoot." It blew me away then, and I still have to stop what I am doing and listen whenever I'm playing a CD with that song on it.
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Old 12-30-1999, 07:42 AM   #24
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IYCRMM of course. I first heard it when I was driving down the road in a pickup on the way to the field during harvest. I had to stop at the side of the road and pay close attention, and to stop during harvest was NOT done! The DJ said it was by "Lightfoot," and I didn't know his first name for a couple of years, because everyone here introduced this as a song by "Lightfoot." It blew me away then, and I still have to stop what I am doing and listen whenever I'm playing a CD with that song on it.
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Old 12-31-1999, 12:43 AM   #25
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The first Lightfoot song for me was IYCRMM, and I had just started working for
my current employer. I remember I thought the song was drawn out but haunting, and I met an engineer whose last name was Lightfoot. I thought this was an unusual coincidence. My first album purchase was Sundown followed by Summertime Dream, and then I was totally hooked on Gord's music. I have since purchased archive rereleases of some of the earlier works, and can't wait for the last 4 to be reissued on Cd. At one of his concerts I attended, the opening song was The House you Live in, and it brought tears to my eyes because he made it sound like he was singing only to you.
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