Bob Dylan has made no secret he has long big fan of Gordon Lightfoot and has covered manny of his songs. Dylan even got star struck when he was chosen to induct him into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 1986. He once famously said when listening to Lightfoot songs one hoped they “would go on forever”.
Lightfoot had a knack of drawing on real-life events, often from his personal life, for some of his best songs, like 'If You Could Read My Mind', 'Sundown' and 'Rainy Day People'. His personal life certainly provided some good fodder for songs, given his 3 marriages, (the most recent in 2014), a well deserved reputation for constant womanising and 6 children to 4 different women, including his first and second wives and two other randoms. Like so many of other artists, he also had his battles with alcohol (which he gave up in 1982) and substance abuse at times.
But for now, back to Lightfoot's music. 'The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald', from 1976, became the second biggest hit of his career, peaking at # 2 on the U.S. pop charts and # 1 in Canada. The song was based on the real-life sinking of
the ore carrier in Lake Superior that took the lives of 29 crew members in 1975. Wistful but not maudlin, beautifully arranged, and blessed with some truly stupendous lyrics, it remains one of his most poignant and popular songs - a profoundly moving and affected piece, given the nature of its original content. After more than 45 years, this remains
one of his best written songs -
Released on Lightfoot’s last 1970's album, 1978's 'Daylight Katy' was the opening track to Lightfoot’s "Endless Wire" album - not to be confused with The Who album of the same name. 'Daylight Katy', was released as a single and did fairly well on the AC chart, reaching # 14. The ethereal 'Daylight Katy' doesn't seem to have a 9 to 5 job but has a constant relationship with the sea, walking by it, walking to it, living by it and talking to the sea. Her “old man” is likely fast asleep, as he has to put bread on the table while she’s enjoying another day sleeping in and taking care of her hair so soft and long -
The 1980 album "Dream Street Rose" still has the country folk-pop sound that Lightfoot established during the previous decade. In addition to the title song, it includes more sea based songs such as 'Ghosts of Cape Horn' and 'On the High Seas'. The title cut from the album found Lightfoot in fine musical form. The guitar work adds a layer of breeziness to the track, and his vocal - as usual - was spot on. Lightfoot brought a definite warmth to the lyrics of the song, all about the positive effect the right one can have on someone’s life, opening up a world of new possibilities -
We now track Lightfoot's career into the 1980's. I was hesitant about including this song, as it isn't really country - and
it isn't really good. But this being a history series of artists, I feel compelled to include it as part of Lightfoot's career course. In the 1980's, as Lightfoot entered middle age, he was no longer considered "cool" amongst the new generation of college educated youth and as pop music tastes changed to a smoother saccharine soft-rock sound, Lightfoot found he had to change his material to still hit the charts. So as the 1980's moved on, Lightfoot moved along with it - for better or (IMO) for worse. His 1986 track ‘Anything for Love’ saw the him move right away from his folk country roots and turn his attention to the adult contemporary market with this soft-rock sound.
Now I can really try and be positive, throw in some adjectives like melodious and romantic, and perhaps some here, depending on one's taste, may find this number enjoyable on the ear, smooth in the brain and pleasant everywhere. But
if so, your music taste is somewhat different than mine. Nevertheless, it reached # 14 on the U.S. AC charts in 1986, and also earned him his last ranking (albeit only # 71) on the country charts. So you've been warned - listen at your peril -
I find it ironical this was also on the country chart (if only just) as well as an AC hit, considering this is about his least country influenced single - whereas many of his earlier country folk hits didn't make the country charts at all.
Although a lucrative moment in Lightfoot’s career, this smooth but formulaic 1980's soft-rock adult contemporary sound also saw Lightfoot transition from vital player to bit-part as he seemingly lost a chunk of his credibility. From 1987 he faded from the charts, though he continued to record and tour regularly and his annual run of shows at Massey Hall confirmed he still had a loyal audience in Canada. Lightfoot also dabbled in acting, starring in the 1982 films "Harry
Tracy" and "Desperado", and playing a country singer on the short-lived American television series "Hotel" in 1988.
Lightfoot began experiencing a creative revival in the 1990's, recording 2 of his best-reviewed albums in decades, 1993's "Waiting for You" and 1998's "A Painter Passing Through", but his career nearly came to a halt in early 2002 when he suffered an aneurysm, was in a coma for 6 weeks and hospitalised for 3 months. He survived and 2004 saw the release
of "Harmony", an album Lightfoot began working before he fell ill and by the end of the year, he was back on the road. In 2006, Lightfoot had a minor stroke, costing him some mobility in his right hand, but within 6 months he was able to play guitar again and continued to perform on a regular basis. In 2012, Lightfoot released "All Live", a collection of recordings from his many appearances at Massey Hall and only his second live album in a career lasting over 50 years. Lightfoot toured regularly into the late 2010's and in 2019 the double-disc collection "The Complete Singles 1970-1980" was released.
After discovering a cache of demos of unreleased songs written in 2001 and 2002, Lightfoot decided the songs deserved an audience, and he recorded 10 of them, accompanied only by his acoustic guitar, for 2020's "Solo", his first studio album in 16 years. Released in March 2020, just before the lockdowns, its highlight 'Oh So Sweet' proves he can still sing almost as well as he could in his heyday and if anything his guitar playing is now even better. Finally, ‘Oh So Sweet’ has kind've given us the ballad of Gordon Lightfoot. It's a retrospective of a man with a 60-year career who is happy with the life he has had even with its twists. Gordon Lightfoot’s entire career can be seen in the lyric from this song -
“... Wasn’t it good, wasn’t it bad? / Or the best you ever had? / But sometimes it was, oh, so sweet ...” -
At age 83, Lightfoot's career isn't over yet. Described by Robbie Robertson of the Band as a “national treasure” and by Bob Dylan as one of the greatest ever songwriters, along the way he has collected a numerous awards, especially in Canada - to many to mention so I'll just give a highly select few. In 1986, he was inducted Byblos none other than his great admirer, Bob Dylan, into the Canadian Music Hall Of Fame. In 2003, he was named a Companion of the Order of Canada, the highest honor the nation bestows on civilians. He was also immortalized on a limited edition postage stamp issued by Canada Post in 2007. In 2012, despite never living in the U.S., Lightfoot was inducted into the U.S. Songwriters Hall of Fame in a New York City ceremony alongside Stevie Nicks and Bob Seger. In 2015, he was honoured with a giant 4-metre tall bronze sculpture in his hometown of Orillia, Ontario.
Lightfoot had a knack of drawing on real-life events, often from his personal life, for some of his best songs, like 'If You Could Read My Mind', 'Sundown' and 'Rainy Day People'. His personal life certainly provided some good fodder for songs, given his 3 marriages, (the most recent in 2014), a well deserved reputation for constant womanising and 6 children to 4 different women, including his first and second wives and two other randoms. Like so many of other artists, he also had his battles with alcohol (which he gave up in 1982) and substance abuse at times.
But for now, back to Lightfoot's music. 'The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald', from 1976, became the second biggest hit of his career, peaking at # 2 on the U.S. pop charts and # 1 in Canada. The song was based on the real-life sinking of
the ore carrier in Lake Superior that took the lives of 29 crew members in 1975. Wistful but not maudlin, beautifully arranged, and blessed with some truly stupendous lyrics, it remains one of his most poignant and popular songs - a profoundly moving and affected piece, given the nature of its original content. After more than 45 years, this remains
one of his best written songs -
Released on Lightfoot’s last 1970's album, 1978's 'Daylight Katy' was the opening track to Lightfoot’s "Endless Wire" album - not to be confused with The Who album of the same name. 'Daylight Katy', was released as a single and did fairly well on the AC chart, reaching # 14. The ethereal 'Daylight Katy' doesn't seem to have a 9 to 5 job but has a constant relationship with the sea, walking by it, walking to it, living by it and talking to the sea. Her “old man” is likely fast asleep, as he has to put bread on the table while she’s enjoying another day sleeping in and taking care of her hair so soft and long -
The 1980 album "Dream Street Rose" still has the country folk-pop sound that Lightfoot established during the previous decade. In addition to the title song, it includes more sea based songs such as 'Ghosts of Cape Horn' and 'On the High Seas'. The title cut from the album found Lightfoot in fine musical form. The guitar work adds a layer of breeziness to the track, and his vocal - as usual - was spot on. Lightfoot brought a definite warmth to the lyrics of the song, all about the positive effect the right one can have on someone’s life, opening up a world of new possibilities -
We now track Lightfoot's career into the 1980's. I was hesitant about including this song, as it isn't really country - and
it isn't really good. But this being a history series of artists, I feel compelled to include it as part of Lightfoot's career course. In the 1980's, as Lightfoot entered middle age, he was no longer considered "cool" amongst the new generation of college educated youth and as pop music tastes changed to a smoother saccharine soft-rock sound, Lightfoot found he had to change his material to still hit the charts. So as the 1980's moved on, Lightfoot moved along with it - for better or (IMO) for worse. His 1986 track ‘Anything for Love’ saw the him move right away from his folk country roots and turn his attention to the adult contemporary market with this soft-rock sound.
Now I can really try and be positive, throw in some adjectives like melodious and romantic, and perhaps some here, depending on one's taste, may find this number enjoyable on the ear, smooth in the brain and pleasant everywhere. But
if so, your music taste is somewhat different than mine. Nevertheless, it reached # 14 on the U.S. AC charts in 1986, and also earned him his last ranking (albeit only # 71) on the country charts. So you've been warned - listen at your peril -
I find it ironical this was also on the country chart (if only just) as well as an AC hit, considering this is about his least country influenced single - whereas many of his earlier country folk hits didn't make the country charts at all.
Although a lucrative moment in Lightfoot’s career, this smooth but formulaic 1980's soft-rock adult contemporary sound also saw Lightfoot transition from vital player to bit-part as he seemingly lost a chunk of his credibility. From 1987 he faded from the charts, though he continued to record and tour regularly and his annual run of shows at Massey Hall confirmed he still had a loyal audience in Canada. Lightfoot also dabbled in acting, starring in the 1982 films "Harry
Tracy" and "Desperado", and playing a country singer on the short-lived American television series "Hotel" in 1988.
Lightfoot began experiencing a creative revival in the 1990's, recording 2 of his best-reviewed albums in decades, 1993's "Waiting for You" and 1998's "A Painter Passing Through", but his career nearly came to a halt in early 2002 when he suffered an aneurysm, was in a coma for 6 weeks and hospitalised for 3 months. He survived and 2004 saw the release
of "Harmony", an album Lightfoot began working before he fell ill and by the end of the year, he was back on the road. In 2006, Lightfoot had a minor stroke, costing him some mobility in his right hand, but within 6 months he was able to play guitar again and continued to perform on a regular basis. In 2012, Lightfoot released "All Live", a collection of recordings from his many appearances at Massey Hall and only his second live album in a career lasting over 50 years. Lightfoot toured regularly into the late 2010's and in 2019 the double-disc collection "The Complete Singles 1970-1980" was released.
After discovering a cache of demos of unreleased songs written in 2001 and 2002, Lightfoot decided the songs deserved an audience, and he recorded 10 of them, accompanied only by his acoustic guitar, for 2020's "Solo", his first studio album in 16 years. Released in March 2020, just before the lockdowns, its highlight 'Oh So Sweet' proves he can still sing almost as well as he could in his heyday and if anything his guitar playing is now even better. Finally, ‘Oh So Sweet’ has kind've given us the ballad of Gordon Lightfoot. It's a retrospective of a man with a 60-year career who is happy with the life he has had even with its twists. Gordon Lightfoot’s entire career can be seen in the lyric from this song -
“... Wasn’t it good, wasn’t it bad? / Or the best you ever had? / But sometimes it was, oh, so sweet ...” -
At age 83, Lightfoot's career isn't over yet. Described by Robbie Robertson of the Band as a “national treasure” and by Bob Dylan as one of the greatest ever songwriters, along the way he has collected a numerous awards, especially in Canada - to many to mention so I'll just give a highly select few. In 1986, he was inducted Byblos none other than his great admirer, Bob Dylan, into the Canadian Music Hall Of Fame. In 2003, he was named a Companion of the Order of Canada, the highest honor the nation bestows on civilians. He was also immortalized on a limited edition postage stamp issued by Canada Post in 2007. In 2012, despite never living in the U.S., Lightfoot was inducted into the U.S. Songwriters Hall of Fame in a New York City ceremony alongside Stevie Nicks and Bob Seger. In 2015, he was honoured with a giant 4-metre tall bronze sculpture in his hometown of Orillia, Ontario.
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