Wow, does this topic ever bring back memories!
I first started listening to Gordon when I was about 4 or 5. My oldest brother was about 20 at the time, and he used to play Gord's Gold I all the time. (I guess that makes it sometime after 1975, and since I was born in '74, that makes sense.) It just seems that that album was sort of the sound track for my life when I was very small. My other brother, who was in junior high at the time, adn I used to spend hours playing with hot wheels cars in their room, and listening to GL. I remember being trained at a young age to walk softly, as not to make the record skip!
I didn't attend my first Lightfoot concert until Fall of '96 when I saw him at Massey hall with my brother. It was great - just like we were little kids playing hot wheels again! We attended at Massey again in spring of '98, and we also saw a concert at an outdoor pavillion in Lewiston, NY that summer.
I guess the first album I personally bought was Sunday concert. I was probably about 16, because I remember driving to the used record store to check out the GL selection. I was impressed, and I picked up that one because of the uniqueness of the scenario. I'm really glad that I did, because it was that which led me to call Massey Hall years later to find out if he was still performing there!
It's so interesting that even though my family and I have loved Gordon's artistry for upwards of 20 years, we really just started to learn the depth of his mastery within the last 6 years or so. I attribute this in large part to the rerelease of the United Artist collection, as well as to the widespread availability of his work on CD in the last few years. The distribution of his great musical storytelling is truly a gift to the world!!! I'm so glad to be able to come to know so much more of his copious work in recent years!
!!!
BoBo
All around the world tonight
What a beautiful sight below
Too fine a time to stand in line
I'm gonna take my love to go