GL and Barbershop
The following is taken from the November 2011 issue of "Preservation," the historical magazine of the Barbershop Harmony Society.
Gordon Lightfoot
The Early Years
Gordon Lightfoot is widely known as a Canadian
singer-songwriter for such ‘70s songs as Sundown,
The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald and If You
Could Read My Mind, Love. Several of his albums
reached gold and platinum status internationally.
We’re proud to claim him as an honorary member of
the Barbershop Harmony Society. He grew up
singing barbershop and competed in a Society
contest with one of his early quartets.
He was born and raised in Orillia, Ontario Canada
(80 miles north of Toronto). The Orillia Packet and
Times recently ran a couple of retrospective articles
and photos showing his early years (from July 27
and August 3, 2011) provided by the Orillia
Museum of Art and History.
The Collegiate Four (1953-54) was formed in late
1952 to take part in a minor competition between
girls’ and boys’ quartets. Wayne Rankin, bari,
Gordon Lightfoot, tenor, Bob Croxall, lead and
Paul Lazier, bass, enjoyed it so much they decided
to stick together. Lightfoot was only 15.
Their first public appearance was made at the
commencement exercises at Orillia Collegiate in
December of 1952. For the next year, they sang for
school assemblies, at Teen Town, and at church
meetings, service clubs and other local gatherings.
They sang in Midland, Toronto and Sarnia and also
appeared twice on television.
In January of 1954, Gordie’s voice dropped a few
octaves and he dropped out of the group. The group
disbanded shortly afterwards, but by fall, another
group called the Teentimers was organized.
The Teen Timers
The Teen Timers was formed in September 1954
with Bill Hughes singing bass, Gord Lightfoot
baritone, Terry Whelen lead and Bob Branch on
tenor. With only three months practice the group
entered the Ontario District competition at Massey
Hall and placed sixth out of 14 quartets.
Throughout the rest of their term they did an average
of two engagements a week at service clubs, town
gatherings and school events. They lined up a job at
Muskoka Lodge and spent a solid summer of singing
and good times. Twice weekly, they appeared in the
resort’s floor show and at other hotels in the district.
Late in the summer of 1955 they received an offer to
go to New York to cut a couple of records but two of
the boys wanted to further their education and the
offer was declined.
In November of 1955 the Teen Timers placed
second in the Ontario Barbershop championships at
St. Catharines. They appear in the Harmonizer in
December 1955 as district contest winners (2nd
place).
The next year the group continued to sing together
for a time but with Bill Hughes entering university
in Toronto and Bill Branch leaving school to work in
town, close to two years of harmonizing excellence
came to an end.
Gordon Lightfoot is still recording (he has a new CD
out) and touring despite a health scare and rumored
death a few years ago.
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