Gordon Lightfoot Forums - View Single Post - David Rea, "First" Lead Guitar Player for Lightfoot, Passes Away

lighthead2toe · 10-31-2011, 08:35 PM

This is very sad news.

Sometimes when we hear news like this we tend to reflect back and ask ourselves: "why didn't we delve more into what is going on in the lives of these talented guys who made such a wonderful contribution into the early work of Gordon Lightfoot (while they are still around)?
I would have loved to see David Rea perform wherever or whenever but with the way we tend to get wrapped up in our own lives, the thought never gets to enter the mind, and now he's gone.

I really love what David Rea did on that very first Gord album.

But friends, there's another twist to this, and I really need to "step inside that tent" again.

The story goes that on Thursday, Oct. 27/2011, I had pulled out all the seats of my Chevy Lumina mini van and make a trip to Aurora, Ont, as I needed to empty a storage locker there and move the stuff back to Ottawa where we now live.

When I was pulling out the seats, a cassette tape without a label fell to the floor so, being curious I picked it up and during the five hour drive I listened to it.

It was an interview with David Rea.

It wasn't until I got back to Ottawa I discovered he had passed away that same day.

Also I had no idea where the tape originated. I'll have to listen to it over a few times to try and get more information but hopefully somewhere down the road, with the expertise of our "IT" folks here we can get it onto a disc and share it the way we do with all the other Gord stuff that comes our way.

I try not to get hung up on this sort of stuff but it seems to happen a lot with me, so maybe I really should take Gord's advice from what he writes in his song "The Gypsy" "go have your fortune read."

Rest in peace Dave.

RJ.

10-31-2011, 08:35 PM	#20
lighthead2toe Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: canada Posts: 920	Re: David Rea, "First" Lead Guitar Player for Lightfoot, Passes Away This is very sad news. Sometimes when we hear news like this we tend to reflect back and ask ourselves: "why didn't we delve more into what is going on in the lives of these talented guys who made such a wonderful contribution into the early work of Gordon Lightfoot (while they are still around)? I would have loved to see David Rea perform wherever or whenever but with the way we tend to get wrapped up in our own lives, the thought never gets to enter the mind, and now he's gone. I really love what David Rea did on that very first Gord album. But friends, there's another twist to this, and I really need to "step inside that tent" again. The story goes that on Thursday, Oct. 27/2011, I had pulled out all the seats of my Chevy Lumina mini van and make a trip to Aurora, Ont, as I needed to empty a storage locker there and move the stuff back to Ottawa where we now live. When I was pulling out the seats, a cassette tape without a label fell to the floor so, being curious I picked it up and during the five hour drive I listened to it. It was an interview with David Rea. It wasn't until I got back to Ottawa I discovered he had passed away that same day. Also I had no idea where the tape originated. I'll have to listen to it over a few times to try and get more information but hopefully somewhere down the road, with the expertise of our "IT" folks here we can get it onto a disc and share it the way we do with all the other Gord stuff that comes our way. I try not to get hung up on this sort of stuff but it seems to happen a lot with me, so maybe I really should take Gord's advice from what he writes in his song "The Gypsy" "go have your fortune read." Rest in peace Dave. RJ.