Does anyone know wherre Red Shea is these days? Last I knew he had been playing with the Tommy Hunter Show in Nashville and I heard he had suffered some severe health problems. As a guitarist who was greatly influenced by both Red's playing and Gord's 12-string work, I'd like to send a letter of appreciation to Red for the inspiration he has been to LOTS of players.

Does anyone know wherre Red Shea is these days? Last I knew he had been playing with the Tommy Hunter Show in Nashville and I heard he had suffered some severe health problems. As a guitarist who was greatly influenced by both Red's playing and Gord's 12-string work, I'd like to send a letter of appreciation to Red for the inspiration he has been to LOTS of players.

Arno,
Please e-mail me at loveandmaplesyrup@yahoo.com.

Hope to hear from you.

Stay loose, eh?

LAMS

------------------
"Love and maple syrup
go together like the
sticky winds of winter
when they meet....
If you go into the forest
Gaze up through the trees
The sky is white.
You can understand
What makes the forest
Greet the man
Like a mother's only
child ..."

Arno,
Please e-mail me at loveandmaplesyrup@yahoo.com.

Hope to hear from you.

Stay loose, eh?

LAMS

------------------
"Love and maple syrup
go together like the
sticky winds of winter
when they meet....
If you go into the forest
Gaze up through the trees
The sky is white.
You can understand
What makes the forest
Greet the man
Like a mother's only
child ..."

Red Shea passed away some time ago I understand. What a brilliant guitar player. He defined the Lightfoot sound and will be missed

Red Shea passed away some time ago I understand. What a brilliant guitar player. He defined the Lightfoot sound and will be missed

Hi, I'm the other chris on the board. That last post really threw me. I thought Red Shea was alive and well somewhere, maybe not active in the music business, but still among us. Valerie any help here. Tell me I'm right.

chris

------------------
"It took most of my time to do what never was done" -- GL

I thought that in a a recent interview that radio one available on line), Gord said he still talks to Red Shea. This would lead me to believe that he is not dead....
Now, it has been a while since I listened to that interview, and there was a lot of info. to pick up, but, this is what I remember.

I thought that in a a recent interview that radio one available on line), Gord said he still talks to Red Shea. This would lead me to believe that he is not dead....
Now, it has been a while since I listened to that interview, and there was a lot of info. to pick up, but, this is what I remember.

Pirate Queen,
You're right. It was in that Feb. interview that I heard GL say he had just talked to Red Shea, "just last week" I think were his exact words. I'm glad you jogged my memory about that interview. I could only get about 50 minutes of it before it cut off, but it was great. So much better than that bizarre Art Bell interview. I could almost feel GL's pain the whole way through that one.

chris

------------------
"It took most of my time to do what never was done" -- GL

I believe that the interview your talking about is the one florian has on the sound broadcasts post. Gord does mention talking to Red in that interview.

I believe that the interview your talking about is the one florian has on the sound broadcasts post. Gord does mention talking to Red in that interview.

Red Shea. What an incredibly underrated
musician. Just listen to his work on "If
You Could Read My Mind", "Miguel", "Apology",
and of course the trilogy. With all due respect to Terry Clements, I think Gord's
great songs could have been even stronger
had Red carried on, but hindsight is......
Clements' leads are effective, but somewhat
simplistic. But perhaps that's what they were
looking for as the music became more electric
and rock-tinged. But I'm really not complaining. Next time you listen to Gord's
earlier work, pay attention to Red's guitar-
quite an unsung hero.

Red Shea. What an incredibly underrated
musician. Just listen to his work on "If
You Could Read My Mind", "Miguel", "Apology",
and of course the trilogy. With all due respect to Terry Clements, I think Gord's
great songs could have been even stronger
had Red carried on, but hindsight is......
Clements' leads are effective, but somewhat
simplistic. But perhaps that's what they were
looking for as the music became more electric
and rock-tinged. But I'm really not complaining. Next time you listen to Gord's
earlier work, pay attention to Red's guitar-
quite an unsung hero.

I know for a fact that Red Shea is alive and well. His work on Summer Side of Life is absolutely brilliant, in my humble opinion. I have a feeling that after Red left the band, more control was enacted as to what the band played. If you watch at the concerts, there is rarely any deviation from what they play. I would love to see the band break loose and show us what they are really made of, but I doubt that will ever happen.

CottonJenney

I know for a fact that Red Shea is alive and well. His work on Summer Side of Life is absolutely brilliant, in my humble opinion. I have a feeling that after Red left the band, more control was enacted as to what the band played. If you watch at the concerts, there is rarely any deviation from what they play. I would love to see the band break loose and show us what they are really made of, but I doubt that will ever happen.

CottonJenney

My uncle told me that Red died a few years back. I am sorry. He must have been mistaken. Red made the lightfoot sound what it is. If there ever was a unique style that was designed to fit with one persons writing, he had it.

My uncle told me that Red died a few years back. I am sorry. He must have been mistaken. Red made the lightfoot sound what it is. If there ever was a unique style that was designed to fit with one persons writing, he had it.

Oh, Red is as good as they come. (Or as in "Back Here on Earth" Laurice Milton Shea...)

Terry is no slouch either. Some of the best stuff around was when GL was using both on the albums (he even sometimes went back to John Stockfish on bass). Great stuff.

You want Red at his best (or at least fastest?) Sunday Concert - "Canadian Railroad Trilogy." I was privledged enough to catch that once with Red in the band. Will never forget it.

Oh, Red is as good as they come. (Or as in "Back Here on Earth" Laurice Milton Shea...)

Terry is no slouch either. Some of the best stuff around was when GL was using both on the albums (he even sometimes went back to John Stockfish on bass). Great stuff.

You want Red at his best (or at least fastest?) Sunday Concert - "Canadian Railroad Trilogy." I was privledged enough to catch that once with Red in the band. Will never forget it.

I've been reading these postes about Red and Terry and it hasn't been mentioned that Terry plays the same riffs that Red played every day the same way Red played them. Take your hat off to the guy. He's one hell of a picker. This comes from a picker who knows.

[This message has been edited by Rob Wells (edited April 14, 2000).]

I've been reading these postes about Red and Terry and it hasn't been mentioned that Terry plays the same riffs that Red played every day the same way Red played them. Take your hat off to the guy. He's one hell of a picker. This comes from a picker who knows.

[This message has been edited by Rob Wells (edited April 14, 2000).]

Rob -

No argument from me! Love 'em both - a picker myself....

Steve

Rob -

No argument from me! Love 'em both - a picker myself....

Steve

It was reaffirmed to me today that YES, Red Shea is alive and he is pushing his latest songs....

Wes

[This message has been edited by Wes Steele (edited June 05, 2000).]

I interviewed Ian Tyson back in 1992...he credited Red Shea with teaching both him and Lightfoot a lot about guitar playing.

Oh, and I forgot...Tyson mentioned Wilf Carte (spelling?) being a big influence on him...then years later I heard Lightfoot's cover of "I Used to Be a Country Singer" with the reference to Carter...pretty cool.

Hi Bill,

That's funny you mention Wilf Carter.

The exact wording in 'I Used To Be A Country Singer' is:
My husband he could yodel like Wilf Carter

I must admit I enjoy listening to Wilf Carter. Maybe because of his yodeling - that's folklore here in Austria too, hey, we might have invented it before Switzerland..

Some of his songs are really good, especially the ones about "Strawberry Roan".

[hey, lams, just a sidenote - that's a perfect name for a horse, isn't it? I can picture exactly what it might have looked like, color, statue etc.]

What I have always admired about Wilf Carter is that he had a very hard life and no easy childhood and yet has been a happy and positive person all his life. If I remember correctly, after he had been beaten again by his father at the age of 15, he walked out and never ever spoke a single word with him again.

Yet his songs are full of fun, very positive and uplifting. And some are even hillarious ...
My wife is on a diet,
but I am losing weight,
I'm getting weaker all the time,
all day she feeds me lettuce,
on morning noon and night,
i've almost lost my mind...


Thankfully most of the songs from the 1940s and 1950 have conserved their special accoustics (all of these songs crackle when played from a CD) which makes them even more realistic.

And lastly, Wilf Carter has lived 'a cowboy's life' himself, so to me there seems to be great truth in his songs about the life on the prairie, etc. I really feel he knows what he is singing about.

Little is known about his complete biography, the last thing I know is that he died at old age in Florida.

Oh, and one last note:
There is one LP-cover that's particularly awesome - Wilf Carter, up in the saddle at a river, with the Canadian flag in his hand. It's a majestic pose.

I don't have the LP with me at the moment, so I can't tell you the exact title, but those of you who own it will surely know what I mean.

Sorry, but mentioning Wilf Carter has carried me away...

Tyson said Carter used to play logging camps in the north west US and western Canada...I suppose where he heard Carter growing up out west there.

Oh, and that he went by several stage names...I'd have to run through the old tape for those...can't remember off the top of my head.

Oh, and that he went by several stage names...I'd have to run through the old tape for those...can't remember off the top of my head.