DaaaaB's
Registered User
- Apr 24, 2004
- 8,394
- 1,951
Such a great song. He has a lot of other great ones but that's my favourite.
RIP to a Canadian Icon.
Celebrity Death: Gordon Lightfoot
- Thread starter MMC
- Start date
RIP to a Canadian Icon.
Boris Zubov
No relation to Sergei, Joe
First time I spent an extended time in the South West, I came across the Carefree HIghway on my way to Cave Creek, AZ. Had no idea it was an actual road that influenced the song. For years I thought they named the road after the song. Every time I'm in that area, I think about how remote the area probably was when he wrote the song before all the development changed the landscape.
RIP to a legend. Was the epitome of a singer songwriter, timeless lyrics & and a brilliant voice.
RIP to a legend. Was the epitome of a singer songwriter, timeless lyrics & and a brilliant voice.
Chairman Maouth
Retired Staff
Ian Thomas is well known to Americans - they just don't know it. A master Canadian songwriter, he is responsible for writing hits for America, the Mannfred Mann Band and Santana. He is also the brother of comedic actor, Dave Thomas.
Ian wrote:
Gordon Lightfoot was a musical equivalent to The Group of Seven. Some of his songs were imbued with the conifers, lakes and rock of the Cambrian Shield. It always amazed me that when the Beatles were in full bloom, Canadian teenagers like me were listening to p***y Willows Cat-Tails, and the Canadian Railroad Trilogy at the same parties. And so, like many Canadians, I sensed our precious piece of this earth that we call Canada, in Gord’s songs. I learned to finger pick from an Ian and Sylvia version of Early Morning Rain. Singing that song took me somewhere higher in the doing of it. The song sailed and at the end touched down gracefully like a “big 707.”
Gord was so proud he could still travel with a full band into his eighties. Like a pilgrimage, Canadians flocked out for the privilege of hearing Gord play songs from his extensive catalogue, that were musical markers in our lives. Didn’t matter that his voice was a wisp of what it was in his prime, it was a privilege as a Canadian to be there. When he performed his songs, he inhabited them.
Like many songwriters, I will miss his presence in the shrinking of my generation’s world. I always enjoyed our quirky conversations. He was a one-off. My Canada felt better when Gord was in it.
- Ian Thomas
Rob Stoner is a friend, and without a doubt the most famous person I know. I have worked with him on restoring old photos and we talk frequently about music, life, and America of the 20th century. He was Bob Dylan's bandleader on the Rolling Thunder Revue tour of the '70s, and he played bass on one of the most iconic songs in American history, Don McLean's American Pie. Along with Bob Dykan, he has also played with Link Wray, Robert Gordon, Mick Ronson, Joan Baez, Roger McGuinn, Chuck Berry, and many more.
Rob wrote:
Rest in peace, Gordon Lightfoot. My friend passed away tonight at 84.
Gordon Lightfoot was much more than the "Canadian Dylan", he was a prolific and unique genius whose timeless songs and beautiful, soulful voice were like no other. We met in 1975 and stayed in touch ever since. I've attended many of his shows, and his consistency never flagged.
Dylan was a major fan, and we played his songs in hotel room jams many times. BD and Presley have covered several of them. Richard Thompson cites him as a major influence.
Bob has said: “I can't think of any Gordon Lightfoot song I don't like. Everytime I hear a song of his, it's like I wish it would last forever."
- Rob Stoner
Marjorie Stoner photo
Ian wrote:
Gordon Lightfoot was a musical equivalent to The Group of Seven. Some of his songs were imbued with the conifers, lakes and rock of the Cambrian Shield. It always amazed me that when the Beatles were in full bloom, Canadian teenagers like me were listening to p***y Willows Cat-Tails, and the Canadian Railroad Trilogy at the same parties. And so, like many Canadians, I sensed our precious piece of this earth that we call Canada, in Gord’s songs. I learned to finger pick from an Ian and Sylvia version of Early Morning Rain. Singing that song took me somewhere higher in the doing of it. The song sailed and at the end touched down gracefully like a “big 707.”
Gord was so proud he could still travel with a full band into his eighties. Like a pilgrimage, Canadians flocked out for the privilege of hearing Gord play songs from his extensive catalogue, that were musical markers in our lives. Didn’t matter that his voice was a wisp of what it was in his prime, it was a privilege as a Canadian to be there. When he performed his songs, he inhabited them.
Like many songwriters, I will miss his presence in the shrinking of my generation’s world. I always enjoyed our quirky conversations. He was a one-off. My Canada felt better when Gord was in it.
- Ian Thomas
Rob Stoner is a friend, and without a doubt the most famous person I know. I have worked with him on restoring old photos and we talk frequently about music, life, and America of the 20th century. He was Bob Dylan's bandleader on the Rolling Thunder Revue tour of the '70s, and he played bass on one of the most iconic songs in American history, Don McLean's American Pie. Along with Bob Dykan, he has also played with Link Wray, Robert Gordon, Mick Ronson, Joan Baez, Roger McGuinn, Chuck Berry, and many more.
Rob wrote:
Rest in peace, Gordon Lightfoot. My friend passed away tonight at 84.
Gordon Lightfoot was much more than the "Canadian Dylan", he was a prolific and unique genius whose timeless songs and beautiful, soulful voice were like no other. We met in 1975 and stayed in touch ever since. I've attended many of his shows, and his consistency never flagged.
Dylan was a major fan, and we played his songs in hotel room jams many times. BD and Presley have covered several of them. Richard Thompson cites him as a major influence.
Bob has said: “I can't think of any Gordon Lightfoot song I don't like. Everytime I hear a song of his, it's like I wish it would last forever."
- Rob Stoner
Marjorie Stoner photo
Chairman Maouth
Retired Staff
This loss really hurts. I've loved him since the late 60s. He leaves behind a legacy of timeless music.
BackToTheBrierePatch
Nope not today.
MVP of West Hollywd
Registered User
- Oct 28, 2008
- 3,530
- 978
I don't know if we can replace people like him, Jim Croce, Yusuf/Cat Stevens, etc. just feels like a nearly extinct species.
Dr Johnny Fever
Eggplant and Teal
RIP Gordon.
One of my very favorite musicians ever. Some of the most beautiful music ever written. Covered and revered by many.
One of my very favorite musicians ever. Some of the most beautiful music ever written. Covered and revered by many.
It's time I pay my personal respects to this great Canadian musician. Amongst all the Rock'n Roll music that I listened to my teens, there were a few exceptions of songs were just so good that it didn't matter that it wasn't Rock or Pop and the like. Some of Gordon Lightfoot's songs are among those great songs. Sundown, The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald, Don Quixote, and a couple of others are among those songs, but my personal favorites are:
Boris Zubov
No relation to Sergei, Joe
Those are also my two favorite Lightfoot tunes. Bravo.
GKJ
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Chairman Maouth
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