Farewell Gordon Lightfoot, It would be cool to see you again...
Farewell Gordon Lightfoot, It would be cool to see you again...
“If you could read my mind”. Is one of the most thoughtful song ever. RIP Gordon!
Yes he will truly be missed. Saw a comment to a Youtube video on his passing. According to the comment
"You might be interested to know that at 3 pm today the Mariner's Church in Detroit (that each and every year tolls 29 times for the men lost on the Edmund Fitzgerald) today tolled 30 times to include Gordon. "
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIq1ELxH2do
Last edited by Doug Garson; 05-03-2023 at 9:36 PM. Reason: added link
Always liked him , will be bringing out his records tomorrow. “ If you could read my mind” is a favorite here ,too .
He played in our town once and we had the good fortune to be present. He was not super happy to be in our town and made that clear through several passive-aggressive comments. He then went on to deliver an astounding show.
My wife laughed out loud when he said "Columbia Missouri"
Last edited by Bruce Page; 05-03-2023 at 11:35 PM.
one person said he could be a grump at times. Only one A friend who would have been with him different times over 50 years id say was blessed.
Full day of musicians and people calling in about him yesterday on am640 radio. Stories like a neighbour who saw him often as he went past going a walk and say hello and ask how each other were. Randy Backman excellent interview but all that called inl looked up to him so much. 20 albums and heard 500 tunes. Some pretty touching stories as well, he gave a guitar to the son of a friend that was dying at the hospital. Note with it said to write music and when you play your father will be with you.
nother friend sent this, had seen it on the side bar, but not watched it yet
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Iw7Jei8XOo
Last edited by Warren Lake; 05-03-2023 at 10:51 PM.
Sundown and The Wreck of the Edmond Fitzgerald were two of my favorites.
Ken
So much to learn, so little time.....
I do not begrudge his grumpiness in any way. I am so glad to have gotten to see him live. One of the kids old iPods is dedicated to Canadian musicians, Mr. Lightfoot being prominent. That old iPod lives in the shop and I always enjoy turning it on.
Saw him years ago. It wasn’t a huge venue but the crowd got a bit loud and disrespectful shall we say, so he stopped playing in a way that got everyones attention. He made a few snide but right on comments and went on with the show. Pretty orderly after that
It's amazing how well his style of music plays in certain settings.
In 1999 in a corporate school in Waukesha, WI, I met a guy, a classmate. It was instant best friends as declared by the 3rd guy in our lab group. He was the lead engineer for our company on the South Island of New Zealand. His first name was Ken, too. 2 years later he offered me a job in Dunedin. For tax reasons, I turned down the offer. Via the 'Net, I had been researching New Zealand and talked often about how I would like to tour NZ one day and visit with my friend and his wife. In 2008, for our 40th anniversary, our youngest son and his wife gifted us with a 2-week trip to NZ. In fact, I documented our travels here at the Creek.
In Queenstown, you can walk to a place, get on a gondola and ride it to the top of the mountain to the Stratosphere Restaurant and Bar. In the summer it's a restaurant/bar, in the winter it's ski lodge. They can seat, easily, 200 people. In 2008 they had a European steam line, Asian steam line, a salad bar and a desert bar. You get reservations and are seated in 2-hour shifts. A single waiter was serving 2 tables. In 2008, my wife and I could hear what we believe to be 9 different languages being spoken around us and then there was the entertainment. A guy, with a flat top guitar, looking and sounding much like a young Gordon Lightfoot sang and played several of Lightfoot's songs among other artists songs. It was an incredible experience. In 2014 when we returned on our own dime, there wasn't any entertainment, but the quality of the food and ambience remained just as good as we remembered.
Deaf now, hearing with a cochlear implant, I still find my solace in music albeit not as good a quality but still able to be loved. Lightfoot in his early years in my ears and memory could produce a vocal that could be haunting. RIP!
Last edited by Ken Fitzgerald; 05-03-2023 at 11:27 PM.
Ken
So much to learn, so little time.....
I have most of his records and CDs on the shelf. He was a great musician and writer.
Lived in Detroit - in the city itself, on the river, by Belle Isle - back in the day. Visited Mariners Church. I wonder if they did or will ring the bell 29 times to mark his death. That would be both fitting and a little spooky.
As a minor side note - the Fitz was not heading fully-loaded for Cleveland. She was going to Detroit, but he had problems making the meter and rhyme work
I also sailed Superior and all the other Great Lakes. As a Boy Scout. In a canoe. Not quite the same.
Edit: Ooops. Missed the fine print in Doug's post.
Last edited by Kent A Bathurst; 05-04-2023 at 8:40 AM.
When I started woodworking, I didn't know squat. I have progressed in 30 years - now I do know squat.
I used to sing and play The Pony Man when putting the kids to bed, then they learned to talk and asked me to stop.
There is history in his song "On Susan's Floor". Its a true story.
I would like to be the record company in heaven that signs Gordon Lightfoot and Jim Croce.
The music alchemy they could create would be amazing.
Carefree highway Let me slip away on you......enjoy the journey Gordon.
calabrese55