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charlene · 11-05-2015, 05:54 PM

http://worcestermag.com/2015/11/05/t...tfoot-jr/37665

Two minutes with… Gordon Lightfoot

Written by Walter Bird Jr. · 11/05/2015 · 5:01 am

Widely regarded as among the most talented singer/ songwriters alive, Gordon Lightfoot rides down that Carefree Highway into Worcester for a Nov. 10 show at Hanover Theatre - which, by the way, marks the 40h anniversary of the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald, the title of one of Lightfoot’s most popular songs. Thrice married, and with a 77th birthday just around the corner, Lightfoot continues to tour at a dizzying pace. October and November are proving especially busy, but there are the occasional windows of opportunity for the inquisitive media. In between a gig in Windsor, Ontario on Oct. 17 and a Nov. 3 show in Green Bay Wisconsin, Worcester Magazine caught up with Lightfoot by phone on a Monday evening.

How much are you looking forward to playing in Worcester? New England is always a special event. We have quite a few friends up there, and they all come out.

Bob Dylan has said of hearing a Gordon Lightfoot song, he wished it would last forever. Is there any better praise than that for a singer/songwriter? I have listened to Bob Dylan since 1962, his very first album. When I was recorded, my management was in the same office Dylan’s was. I got to know him personally. When my name is mentioned, he is just being very kind.

Staying with that theme, your songs have been recorded by some pretty notable artists – Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, Judy Collins, to name a few. Are you critical when you listen to someone else perform one of your songs? I never heard a cover recording I didn’t like. I like everything. I love the fact that they took the time to sing my songs. I can’t offer any criticism. Do you have a favorite song of yours? “If You Could Read My Mind.” It’s a ballad, and it’s very personal. “Sundown,” “The Wreck of The Edmund Fitzgerald,” “Rainy Day People.” But “If You Could Read My Mind” is about a marriage falling apart, and it was written at a time when I was married for seven years. I already had two kids. It was a very sensitive thing to be writing about. I didn’t know what I was writing about until I was just about finished. I’ve had that happen with lots of stuff. Dead, fading away or very much alive.

How would you describe songwriting among today’s musicians? Songwriting nowadays is a collaboration of the record producer and the artist. If the artist gets a concept, it doesn’t require much. It just requires a verse, and the producer just grabs it, and away they go. For us, the songs were all finished when we went to record it. Artists today come up with the idea and the producers do it.

Can you do it that way? Me? No, I’m stuck in the whole songwriting process. I’m still old school.

Do you still meet with family members of the victims of the Edmund Fitzgerald sinking? I meet them at most of my shows. They’re some of the most wonderful folks I’ve ever met.

When I read or listen to the lyrics to that song, it’s as if I’m reading a firsthand account. How personal does the songwriting process get for you? It’s sort of like that. I want to do a good job. I go and get old newspaper clippings and research as much as I can. In “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald,” the fact that the lake never gives up her dead, that’s because the lake is so cold down that deep that the bodies will never float up. That’s something I read.

How did you come to write “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald?” I was writing an album when that ship went down Nov. 10, 1975. I wrote it on a very rainy night in an empty old house in Toronto. The tune came from an old Irish dirge ... You know, we just played a show before 5,000 people. It was one of the best versions [of “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald] we ever did.

You will turn 77 in November, seven days after your show at Hanover Theatre. How are you feeling physically and vocally? I feel good. I do exercises daily. I’ve got it on my schedule. Everything I do is on a schedule. I’ve got six children and four grandchildren, so you need to have a schedule.

Mark Twain once wrote, “The report of my death was an exaggeration.” You were the victim of a death hoax in 2010. What is it like to hear you have died? I heard it on my own car radio. I went into my office and called the radio station. It was 2 in the afternoon, so it didn’t get a chance to build up. The first thing I did was call my family, then I had to go to a lawyers’ meeting. The next day in the paper, there was my picture with the headline, “Dead Wrong.” That became my opening line at concerts.

11-05-2015, 05:54 PM	#2
charlene Moderator Join Date: May 2000 Posts: 16,004	Worcester MA - Nov.10,2015 http://worcestermag.com/2015/11/05/t...tfoot-jr/37665 Two minutes with… Gordon Lightfoot Written by Walter Bird Jr. · 11/05/2015 · 5:01 am Widely regarded as among the most talented singer/ songwriters alive, Gordon Lightfoot rides down that Carefree Highway into Worcester for a Nov. 10 show at Hanover Theatre - which, by the way, marks the 40h anniversary of the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald, the title of one of Lightfoot’s most popular songs. Thrice married, and with a 77th birthday just around the corner, Lightfoot continues to tour at a dizzying pace. October and November are proving especially busy, but there are the occasional windows of opportunity for the inquisitive media. In between a gig in Windsor, Ontario on Oct. 17 and a Nov. 3 show in Green Bay Wisconsin, Worcester Magazine caught up with Lightfoot by phone on a Monday evening. How much are you looking forward to playing in Worcester? New England is always a special event. We have quite a few friends up there, and they all come out. Bob Dylan has said of hearing a Gordon Lightfoot song, he wished it would last forever. Is there any better praise than that for a singer/songwriter? I have listened to Bob Dylan since 1962, his very first album. When I was recorded, my management was in the same office Dylan’s was. I got to know him personally. When my name is mentioned, he is just being very kind. Staying with that theme, your songs have been recorded by some pretty notable artists – Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, Judy Collins, to name a few. Are you critical when you listen to someone else perform one of your songs? I never heard a cover recording I didn’t like. I like everything. I love the fact that they took the time to sing my songs. I can’t offer any criticism. Do you have a favorite song of yours? “If You Could Read My Mind.” It’s a ballad, and it’s very personal. “Sundown,” “The Wreck of The Edmund Fitzgerald,” “Rainy Day People.” But “If You Could Read My Mind” is about a marriage falling apart, and it was written at a time when I was married for seven years. I already had two kids. It was a very sensitive thing to be writing about. I didn’t know what I was writing about until I was just about finished. I’ve had that happen with lots of stuff. Dead, fading away or very much alive. How would you describe songwriting among today’s musicians? Songwriting nowadays is a collaboration of the record producer and the artist. If the artist gets a concept, it doesn’t require much. It just requires a verse, and the producer just grabs it, and away they go. For us, the songs were all finished when we went to record it. Artists today come up with the idea and the producers do it. Can you do it that way? Me? No, I’m stuck in the whole songwriting process. I’m still old school. Do you still meet with family members of the victims of the Edmund Fitzgerald sinking? I meet them at most of my shows. They’re some of the most wonderful folks I’ve ever met. When I read or listen to the lyrics to that song, it’s as if I’m reading a firsthand account. How personal does the songwriting process get for you? It’s sort of like that. I want to do a good job. I go and get old newspaper clippings and research as much as I can. In “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald,” the fact that the lake never gives up her dead, that’s because the lake is so cold down that deep that the bodies will never float up. That’s something I read. How did you come to write “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald?” I was writing an album when that ship went down Nov. 10, 1975. I wrote it on a very rainy night in an empty old house in Toronto. The tune came from an old Irish dirge ... You know, we just played a show before 5,000 people. It was one of the best versions [of “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald] we ever did. You will turn 77 in November, seven days after your show at Hanover Theatre. How are you feeling physically and vocally? I feel good. I do exercises daily. I’ve got it on my schedule. Everything I do is on a schedule. I’ve got six children and four grandchildren, so you need to have a schedule. Mark Twain once wrote, “The report of my death was an exaggeration.” You were the victim of a death hoax in 2010. What is it like to hear you have died? I heard it on my own car radio. I went into my office and called the radio station. It was 2 in the afternoon, so it didn’t get a chance to build up. The first thing I did was call my family, then I had to go to a lawyers’ meeting. The next day in the paper, there was my picture with the headline, “Dead Wrong.” That became my opening line at concerts.