Corfid wants to know

[RM]

I was thinking (I KNOW that's dangerous)...........Perhaps we could have some questions posted here that we would like someone to ask Lightfoot if that someone has the opportunity to encounter him during the last legs of this year's tour.

It might serve as an "icebreaker". Who knows ?

I'll be seeing him in October and will probably try to scope out the after concert escape route. I would like to have my "Shadows" album autographed. We'll see.

[Nightingale]

I think that's a good idea...

I would love to know who he listens to when he is in the mood for music.
What artists inspire him and what music does he love.
Is there any new music that he is hearing that he thinks is great?

[RM]

Originally Posted by Nightingale

I would love to know who he listens to when he is in the mood for music.

That's a good one.

[geodeticman.5]

Ron,

You're right, that can be dangerous.....lol
Actually,

It would take rare talent, quick wit, terse wording, and no B.S. to get any number of Q's to him at once. I wonder....if the list grew large (I'd post limits soon) maybe they could be submitted to EMP ? Just a thought, but as you said wisely young Ron, I know that is dangerous.

Actually, I will try and think up a terse, ( hard for me) short, pertinent question that from what I've heard and read of Gord's reactions to some gushing fans, he tends to look away and make a quip to the sidelines. So the terse part, with a dry witty opener, would, now that I think about it, you would probably be someone that could pull that off, seriously, meant as a compliment. I, on the other hand, would blather away and he be on his Learjet by the time I'd finished my preface ! lol

[RM]

My thought was that there could be a list of questions that concert goers could select one from.

For example, a while back someone asked if Herb Pedersen was the only person singing harmony on "In My Fashion". They thought it sounded like more than one.
Since I'll be carting "Shadows", I could ask Lightfoot. That kind of stuff.

Just pick any 1 question.

[loveabiggibson]

Great idea...would also be cool to collect all the answers and post them.

There's a great example here http://keithrichards.com/ (enter the site and click Ask Keith). Questions and answers are typed out but Keith's audio is also there, if Gord would be recordable...

[joveski]

Originally Posted by RM

My thought was that there could be a list of questions that concert goers could select one from.

For example, a while back someone asked if Herb Pedersen was the only person singing harmony on "In My Fashion". They thought it sounded like more than one.
Since I'll be carting "Shadows", I could ask Lightfoot. That kind of stuff.

Just pick any 1 question.

ha! - that was me! i'm still convinced its more than one person

[Oh, Linda]

Gordon's mum references his first record that was ever made and that it was done on cardboard I believe (CBC Archives). In the 1967 interview she claimed to still have it. What ever became of it? And does Gordon have anything else to recollect his childhood days of singing? (This is probably a long-shot but I'm curious, what do our moms do with all that stuff anyway?)

[jj]

Originally Posted by RM

..Perhaps we could have some questions posted here that we would like someone to ask Lightfoot ...

good idea, rm

i know many suggested a consolidated question listing be started in preparation for an encore (to 2007) char telephone interview but I don't know if it ever gathered momentum...if so, maybe someone (char?) can bring it forward and it can be appended to this thread

there's no limit to the songwriting, arrangement and production related questions i'd have ...but on a person note, how many GL grandkids are there and how does he spend his time with them?

[RM]

Originally Posted by Oh, Linda

(This is probably a long-shot but I'm curious, what do our moms do with all that stuff anyway?)

My belief is that they save it to pass along, seeking revenge for the embarrassment we caused them during our childhood. After my mother's passing, I was presented with a box of "stuff". Let's just say.......she got even.

[Tim]

I'd be interested in what ideas appear in this thread. My kids and I are planning to attend the Oct 1 concert in St. Louis. Even though it will be a school night, they are very, very insistent that we do whatever is necessary, no matter how late the hour becomes, that we hang out and meet the Man again. So, perhaps whatever this thread yields might provide some good material should we be fortunate enough to meet him again. I know this group will only provide thought-provoking, friendly, and positive ideas for this. Besides, those are the only types of ideas or questions we would even consider!

The last time we did this, we posed a question to Terry Clements on what kind of music he plays or listens to when he is not rehearsing, performing, or recording with Gord. That would definitely be a good question to as Gord himself. What else might we ask??

(also, please check out my question on "the pause" on a very recent post and feel free to provide your input on that as well)

Thanks!

[jj]

Originally Posted by RM

My belief is that they save it to pass along, seeking revenge for the embarrassment we caused them during our childhood. After my mother's passing, I was presented with a box of "stuff". Let's just say.......she got even.

heh heh, I supposed you are fortunate that the box wasn't presented to others rather than yourself...great anecdote, rm

[charlene]

I believe he has 4 grandkids - Ingrid has a son and daughter in their late teens/early twenties and Fred has two younger kids I think..not sure if gender but I think around 6/7 and 3/4..??

I may make mention of another call when I see him tonight after the concert..if I remember..

[jj]

i found the former thread where folks were listing potential questions (see Ring Ring, etc. link off the Home page)

rm, don't forget this one:

Originally Posted by RM

Speaking of barcodes....

I heard this bit of trivia the other night :

'The first item ever scanned was a pack of Juicy Fruit chewing gum'.

Does Lightfoot chew gum ?

[RM]

jj,

Thank you so much for resurrecting that. That was back in the day when I was a deep-thinker.

[lighthead2toe]

This is a cool topic RM. Maybe another interview would be at hand as you say Char.
Well, apart from asking him how he came to write songs with the correct names of all the women in my life and even the nickname of one of them (All true. Char can verify), I would like to know if he published a corresponding songbook to the "Sunday Concert" album.
A ask this because Wayne Francis' website doesn't list one, and I swear I had one and lost it along the way.
Another question would be is "what are those little round "pads" on the pickguards of his guitars? I would guess they are put on the muffle the sound of his fingernails when they touch the pickguard.
There's a host of others related mainly to the technical end of his work that I would like to talk about as well but some other time. Stay loose. Ron J.

[geodeticman.5]

RM - this may or not be within the pervue of your potential list's range now, but what of letting Gordon know his fans would NOT feel exploited and would be VERY happy to be able to buy t-shirts with album covers, concert artwork, the poster photos, etc, whatever...I'd buy 5 of 'em right now at $20/per and if on Beefy -T's, not feel a bit exploited ! - as was his concern, I know, watching out for his fans' intereset, he thought we'd get ripped off I believe was his concern.

BTW -

Oh Linda!
A thought regarding your rhetorical Q of "what do our mum's do with all that stuff?" - or something like that. I'm 50, but still "young Steve" thankfully to some - cool, makes me feel younger ! - anyway, 2 of my collections of my most precious, but worthless, upon initial inspection, 'STUFF"that my Mom got her hands on when doing her famous Draconian house cleaning:

I had not heard that word "Draconian", until I heard my Dad use it in reference to my Mom's cleaning....vigorous, and thorough, furious, lol.... she really got into it. But not from an OCD thing... it was actually Doctor's orders. She had some kinda lung condition when we lived IN the heart of Cleveland when I was VERY little (3), Ohio, not suburbs, but the big city, granted; it was in a subdivision of little cracker-box houses, but still a subdivision in the heart of the city, factorys 5 minutes way.. And all that pollution.

A doc told Mom and Dad that if we did not move to an outlying fringe Suburb out of Cleveland proper, she'd die. I heard this many years after we'd moved and old enough it would not scare me. 2 or 3 years ago. j/k

lol... well... she was ordered still in the outlying suburb on the forested fringe outside of Cleveland to clean DUST, MOLD, and MILDEW very vigorously, including walls (I never saw anyone else scrub walls with sponge, soap, and water before for just dust....., SURE - the Kitchen, etc, where you get debris on the walls.... but in the living room ? big house...huge job...once a week...Dad called this Draconian.

Well how this ties together in reference to your Q is that she was also to rid the house of all unneccesary pack-rat stuff - tied bundles of newspapers in e basement, old knick-knacks that were gifts from Mother-in-law, etc....things that had to be dusted or collected dust without remedy - i.e. the newspapers... and mildew..

So she finds 2 of my "collections" she did not recognize as such in my "cubby closet" - my childhood bedroom was at one corner perpendicular to the stairwell under it, and the space over the stairs above head level in fact was my sticking-out cubby closet. When I was real little I climbed in there and it was a dark fortress.... but as I grew older, i stopped playing and hiding in there, at least 3 years ago.. lol.. and started putting more cogent things in there like my "collections" - some dubious, some not even recognizable as such - especially to my Mom.

They were both collections of destination-of-travel-oriented "gimme's" - freebies at restaurants, hotels,airlines, etc., with place names or hotel/restaurant/airline names, To me, from my Father's travels in his work, whom I idolized as I grew up, these were precious little orts from his "important outer-space work" - I thought as a child, when he traveled in his job with NASA. The stuff eventually paired down to 2 collections, sugar packets with names/places/establishments printed on them, and match books with same.

Years later, when i was in my 40's and mom & dad were getting ready to move, she did a "Dracon" the ancient character draconian was based upon -cleaning job, saw the two boxes of sugar packets and matches, and not knowing of their story or importance to me, threw them out ! Ahhw Mommmm ! oh well... she told me a few more years later when I was looking for them, and she got a funny look on her face, and said something like "i...uhh..didn't know.... I am SO sorry ... " I re-assured her it was an innocent mistake but went home deflated a little over a piece of my childhood memories regarding my now-departed father. Such is life.. , but man-o-man - what a cleaner ! lol

[Oh, Linda]

Hi Geo Steve. My mom was born a cleaner too and yes indeed I recall when I was a young girl her actually washing down the living room walls. A patch with light suds, then a rinse with plain water. No kidding. I also recall her crawling around on her hands and knees and washing the kitchen floor. Every day. And that's not a typo. Stands to reason one of her knees is just about shot these days. I think our moms are very likely amongst the best cleaners of their generation.

Your reply prompted me to phone my parent's this evening to see what, if anything, they may have saved from my early childhood days. Every report card from every grade she recalled with certainty. Beyond that she stated matter of factly that there was a "bunch of "stuff downstairs in a box" and one of these days she'd go look for me. "No hurry ma....it's been collecting dust a long time...." It can wait a day or two

Last year she did hand over my 45 record box full of gems from the 70s. It's one of those psychedelic yellow/black color schemes that I think was supposed to look good in a black light. I know for sure Sundown is in there. Along with Neil Young's Heart of Gold and Don McLean's American Pie. Each as relevant today as they were back then. I wonder what music Gordon would say he remembers from his earliest recollection in his own childhood?

That all said, here's to all of our mom's who took care of our homes and to the musical legends who filled them with music to mark the memories.

[charlene]

Originally Posted by Oh, Linda

Hi Geo Steve. My mom was born a cleaner too and yes indeed I recall when I was a young girl her actually washing down the living room walls. A patch with light suds, then a rinse with plain water. No kidding. I also recall her crawling around on her hands and knees and washing the kitchen floor. Every day. And that's not a typo. Stands to reason one of her knees is just about shot these days. I think our moms are very likely amongst the best cleaners of their generation.

Your reply prompted me to phone my parent's this evening to see what, if anything, they may have saved from my early childhood days. Every report card from every grade she recalled with certainty. Beyond that she stated matter of factly that there was a "bunch of "stuff downstairs in a box" and one of these days she'd go look for me. "No hurry ma....it's been collecting dust a long time...." It can wait a day or two

Last year she did hand over my 45 record box full of gems from the 70s. It's one of those psychedelic yellow/black color schemes that I think was supposed to look good in a black light. I know for sure Sundown is in there. Along with Neil Young's Heart of Gold and Don McLean's American Pie. Each as relevant today as they were back then. I wonder what music Gordon would say he remembers from his earliest recollection in his own childhood?

That all said, here's to all of our mom's who took care of our homes and to the musical legends who filled them with music to mark the memories.

i've been known to wash the walls..and in between 'moppings' i wash my floors and two staircases on my hands and knees... i wash windows inside and out too!
lol

i have boxes of my kids school work/awards/dozens of huge photo albums and their 'baby books' are full, records kept for medical/dental visits etc. locks of hair..sons piano music books, daughters brownie uniform with badges and sons bathing suit from when he was two with all of his badges sewn on.i framed all other badges and have his bronze cross etc and piano awards. even some hallowe'en costumes i made. i have dresses i made my daughter and hand knit/crochet baby sweaters blankets from long gone great grandmas and aunties.. I have newspapers from their birthdates plus important dates in history (jays win world series..lol)they are beyond priceless and precious.
i have little of my childhood stuff..some report cards and school pics. some baby pics and a few from each year as i grew up. some old 8mm movies..the keepsakes i have of my kids lives are what i would face fire and flood to get at to save. along with my lightfoot stuff..
lol
I have kept my own scrapbooks from my early teens, old LP's and photos i took etc.

I don't know if Gord is a 'keepsake' sort of guy..he's got a great memory and I think he needs to put it all down on paper!


Paul Anka wrote a lovely song that resonates with me when I sit with the old stuff:
Good morning, yesterday
You wake up and time has slipped away
And suddenly it's hard to find
The memories you left behind
Remember, do you remember?

The laughter and the tears
The shadows of misty yesteryears
The good times and the bad you've seen
And all the others in between
Remember, do you remember
The times of your life? (do you remember?)

Reach out for the joy and the sorrow
Put them away in your mind
The mem'ries are time that you borrow
To spend when you get to tomorrow

Here comes the saddest part (comes the saddest part)
The seasons are passing one by one
So gather moments while you may
Collect the dreams you dream today
Remember, will you remember
The times of your life?

Gather moments while you may
Collect the dreams you dream today
Remember, will you remember
The times of your life?

Of your life
Of your life
Do you remember,
Do you remember the times of your life?

I feel fortunate to have even the several items/belongings from my childhood that I've managed to have gotten from my mom or had been able to keep safe throughout the years. Only a few that I can really consider cherished and sentimental.

Of note is a Lightfoot songbook . I had a few Lightfoot 45's and LP's, articles and intact magazines and other memoralia that are long since gone. So the songbook is the only Lightfoot item I have from my younger days. But I've collected several items since of course .

No need to mention anything else but oh well I have a small, stuffed cat (made of rabbit fur) that is the only stuffed animal I still have from my childhood. My mother gave all the rest away to needy children. The cat wasn't one I cuddled with and so it's condition isn't that of the "Velveteen Rabbit"...having had it's fur loved off of it. It's in a deteriorated state on account of age (44 years old now).

I once more or less and nonchallantly mentioned this to a very nice friend of mine who has cherished and kept a few of hers from childhood -and without skipping a beat, she handed me one of her more recent acquisitions and I named him "Muffin II", "M2" for short. I think it's a he anyway. Well, closest I can get to having a he in my bed lol.

I am sad that my old cat had been made of real rabbit fur...especially after reading about the folks at the Burning Man who were dressed like rabbits and advocating the novelty of a "people's foot" dangling on a key chain...or something like that.

[Oh, Linda]

Originally Posted by charlene

i've been known to wash the walls..and in between 'moppings' i wash my floors and two staircases on my hands and knees... i wash windows inside and out too!
lol

i have boxes of my kids school work/awards/dozens of huge photo albums and their 'baby books' are full, records kept for medical/dental visits etc. locks of hair..sons piano music books, daughters brownie uniform with badges and sons bathing suit from when he was two with all of his badges sewn on.i framed all other badges and have his bronze cross etc and piano awards. even some hallowe'en costumes i made. i have dresses i made my daughter and hand knit/crochet baby sweaters blankets from long gone great grandmas and aunties.. I have newspapers from their birthdates plus important dates in history (jays win world series..lol)they are beyond priceless and precious.
i have little of my childhood stuff..some report cards and school pics. some baby pics and a few from each year as i grew up. some old 8mm movies..the keepsakes i have of my kids lives are what i would face fire and flood to get at to save. along with my lightfoot stuff..
lol
I have kept my own scrapbooks from my early teens, old LP's and photos i took etc.

I don't know if Gord is a 'keepsake' sort of guy..he's got a great memory and I think he needs to put it all down on paper!


Paul Anka wrote a lovely song that resonates with me when I sit with the old stuff:
Good morning, yesterday
You wake up and time has slipped away
And suddenly it's hard to find
The memories you left behind
Remember, do you remember?

The laughter and the tears
The shadows of misty yesteryears
The good times and the bad you've seen
And all the others in between
Remember, do you remember
The times of your life? (do you remember?)

Reach out for the joy and the sorrow
Put them away in your mind
The mem'ries are time that you borrow
To spend when you get to tomorrow

Here comes the saddest part (comes the saddest part)
The seasons are passing one by one
So gather moments while you may
Collect the dreams you dream today
Remember, will you remember
The times of your life?

Gather moments while you may
Collect the dreams you dream today
Remember, will you remember
The times of your life?

Of your life
Of your life
Do you remember,
Do you remember the times of your life?

Oh yes! I know the song Charlene. I think at one point it was used in a television commercial for Kodak if I'm recalling correctly. The perfect song. And what a treasure trove you've collected, too!

Has anyone ever asked Gordon if he'd ever write a book?

[charlene]

yes the song was used in a Kodak commercial..
and I asked Gordon about writing a book in my phone chat..
http://www.corfid.com/vbb/showthread.php?t=14798

CHAR: I asked you this one time before, and I know you talked about it at Massey either this last concert series or in 2005, about writing a book about the life of Gordon Lightfoot.

G.L.: Oh yeah…well I’ve decided against doing that. I had to make a decision on that last year and I decided not to do it.

CHAR: No?

G.L.: No.

CHAR: Wow, that’s going to be a disappointment to a lot of people.

G.L.: That’s all right.

CHAR: We will just live your life through your music I guess.

G.L.: My old manager Albert Grossman used to say “it won’t make the coffee taste any different in the morning.” (laughing) Whether there’s a book or not…...it doesn’t matter.

CHAR: No it doesn’t matter….that’s very true. It’s just that in this day and age where you’ve got kids that are writing their life story because they’ve made a movie or had a hit song…and THEY have a life story? They’re only 19! (laughing) It would be nice though. It wouldn’t have to have all the nitty gritty but just as a one focus sort of idea.

G.L.: Ya know…. it would be a nice thing to do….maybe later when I’m doing a memoir or something after I’ve stopped touring. You know really the touring takes up a lot of the time. I don’t know, it really does. We have to stay prepared all the time. We rehearse regularly between times. I don’t have the whole band here….but I sometimes have Michael here, maybe Terry or Rick and Terry.

[Oh, Linda]

Originally Posted by charlene

yes the song was used in a Kodak commercial..
and I asked Gordon about writing a book in my phone chat..
http://www.corfid.com/vbb/showthread.php?t=14798

CHAR: I asked you this one time before, and I know you talked about it at Massey either this last concert series or in 2005, about writing a book about the life of Gordon Lightfoot.

G.L.: Oh yeah…well I’ve decided against doing that. I had to make a decision on that last year and I decided not to do it.

CHAR: No?

G.L.: No.

CHAR: Wow, that’s going to be a disappointment to a lot of people.

G.L.: That’s all right.

CHAR: We will just live your life through your music I guess.

G.L.: My old manager Albert Grossman used to say “it won’t make the coffee taste any different in the morning.” (laughing) Whether there’s a book or not…...it doesn’t matter.

CHAR: No it doesn’t matter….that’s very true. It’s just that in this day and age where you’ve got kids that are writing their life story because they’ve made a movie or had a hit song…and THEY have a life story? They’re only 19! (laughing) It would be nice though. It wouldn’t have to have all the nitty gritty but just as a one focus sort of idea.

G.L.: Ya know…. it would be a nice thing to do….maybe later when I’m doing a memoir or something after I’ve stopped touring. You know really the touring takes up a lot of the time. I don’t know, it really does. We have to stay prepared all the time. We rehearse regularly between times. I don’t have the whole band here….but I sometimes have Michael here, maybe Terry or Rick and Terry.

Thanks! So he did leave the door open even if just a little bit I read through the phone interview. What a fantastic job you did. I look forward to #2 if/when the opportunity arises.

[geodeticman.5]

Char, yes, I was saying to myself after reading the Paul Ankle Song "Thats...That.s the...the... KODAK song..thats it ! I bet she doesn;t know... I'll tell her.... And then I saw Oh,Linda!'s response immediately what I thought was going to be that ONE THING TODAY I KNEW THAT NO ONE ELSE DID. BUT noooOOOOO. THAT's allright.....I'll be OK. Damn Damn Damn. lol .....j/k

Actually, that WAS a very heartwarming song, Paul Ankle's Kodak song -
really, and in way it is a bit like the 4-part Harmony in your parent's Christmas cassettess from Henry Mancini, Mantovani, 101-strings,& .. -you know, Reader's Digest Collections, The 4 Freshmen, - the Clean College Guys,
and all of those songs your parent's had in heavy coloured cardboard Flip-lid
boxes, with like 5 LP's in each, and names on the Reader's Digest Collections like "Hawaiian Breezes", and yes once again the 4-part harmony of the Good Examples Group, its like every group was a reminder from your parents of advice - the college bit about opening doors that would not otherwise be open, and lettering in sports builds the competitive edge, and good sportsmanship,. etc lol.....they meant well though.... .

But the Paul Ankle song was, to me anyway, definately Lettermen-esque -as in that song: "Theeese are the moments we remeeeeeemer"- lol,
which is funny, but as a teenager you could never admit that THAT music WAS Christmas - Steve Lawrence & Eata Gourmet, Andy Williams, all of that
stuff - you eschewed it then, but secretly you looked forward to it each
Christmas, and now, as an adult, you self-consciously flip though each one
in the 6 for $10 bin at Walmart, rationalizing it to every passerby with a
statement to the effect of 'ahh yes....laugh...nostalgia...this stuff IS Christmas..... THIS is the stuff our parents had, isn't it honey ?... Honey ?...


Anyway, on Paul Ankle's Kodak song, it did really sound like the Lettermen's
song "These (will) (be)(are?) the Moments to (we?) Remember.."ahhh THATS Christmas". I am not sure if the Kodak song came out as a single or even recorded-LP song, but perhaps by contractual retainer only by Kodak "Write us something Heartwarming, Kid, and Make it Snappy - said the fat-cat Kodak exec's while chomping on yesterday's soggy stoagies." & It DID have a sequel (the Kodak song did) - "The Re-prints of your live" lol...thinking of nostagic things we're sort of drifting into as a subtext thread theme for at least a few posts anyway....lol..

Well RM, I hope the T-Shirts idea is ....wrth-considering - you KNOW how our
generation measures event enjoyment by T-shirts...... I'd love to wear them just to remember how much I like the music, (?duhhhh?), conversation starters, etc.

[geodeticman.5]

Oh,Linda! ,

in regards to you mother:

That all said, here's to all of our mom's who took care of our homes and to the musical legends who filled them with music to mark the memories.

and to my motherI said:

lol... well... she was ordered still in the outlying suburb on the forested fringe outside of Cleveland to clean DUST, MOLD, and MILDEW very vigorously, including walls (I never saw anyone else scrub walls with sponge, soap, and water before for just dust....., SURE - the Kitchen, etc, where you get debris on the walls.... but in the living room ? big house...huge job...once a week...Dad called this Draconian.

and Char !, amongst our otherwise instant-gratification generation, a contemporary who doth defy the stereotype ! BTW with that in mind Char ! , who apparently single-handedly carries on that great torch of cleaning SO thoroughly her home , for her family and herself, that she WASHES THE WALLS, as did our unusual mothers, Oh, Linda!, as follows, she hath said:

i've been known to wash the walls..and in between 'moppings' i wash my floors and two staircases on my hands and knees... i wash windows inside and out too!
lol

[ - Char]


A toast, as you call for, Oh ,Linda,
! To our mothers, and our contemporary, Char ! Along with Oh, Linda!'s initial call for a toast, I concur as follows:

~ in keeping with the mutual call for an on-line virtual 'e-toast' (I just coined that term), we do, Oh,Linda! and I, hereby honoureth our mothers for their selfless cleaning dedication, and to Char, who may be our only contemporary who still goes to such "Draconian" great lengths of hard work for her home and hearth's health and well-being. Lets raise 'em, a clink-o-the-glasses, and a salubrious healthy quaff o' the O'Douls, Sam Adams, or Diet Pepsi in my case !
Here's to our mothers Oh, Linda!, and Char for doing this great deed !~Clink~

Congratulations, Char ! - for being one who still cares...