Is Lightfoot recognizable?

[GJA]

I just read where Bob Dylan was stopped in New Jersey and not recognized. I hope that wouldn't happen to Gord. Everyone should recognize him. I think he is head and shoulders better than Dylan. Who agrees?

[charlene]

I'm pretty sure there are plenty of people in Toronto who wouldn't know Lightfoot if they encountered him on the street,. and that would be the same all over Canada.

[timetraveler]

I don't think that it would be a matter of not recognizing him if they saw him, but rather it would be a matter of them being polite enough to let him be himself & to be able to walk around in public without being hassled.

[charlene]

When he was recognizable in Toronto he wasn't hassled..folks would say hi, shake his hand and move on. Nowadays not so many know what he looks like. he's not in the papers a lot, usually just as the Massey shows show up every 18 months.
in a city that is more than 50% new residents from all over the world there are those who have never heard of him, let alone know what he looks like now or 30 years ago. Even for those older folks in Toronto only those hard core fans who have followed him all these years would recognize him as he looks now.
I have on many occasions discovered this to be true when mentioning his name or showing somebody a picture..and if they know the name they might not know any songs...and vice versa..
lol

[joveski]

i assume with Gord, that he goes around the streets looking like his normal self.

would you recognize this bloke?

[RM]

Originally Posted by joveski

would you recognize this bloke?

Keith Richards ?

[charlene]

he's someone with a very bad hair colourist and a dodgy stylist...
my lord the man is wearing one of my old flannel hoser shirts..
the toque isn't working either..

[joveski]

well, bob dylan knows how to get around in without many people recognizing him!

[charlene]

well i knew it was dylan but lordy he needs to take a look in the mirror before leaving the house..
lol

[Yuri]

I agree with Joveski - perhaps the best way for a public be out in public 'incognito' is to dress down, perhaps as Charlene described - as a "hoser". ....for the famous that want to get lost in a crowd.
...as for Gord?...I'd recognize him anywhere, and that's all that matters to me. I'd only betray his identity with a smile and a hello...

[RM]

Originally Posted by Yuri

I agree with Joveski - perhaps the best way for a public be out in public 'incognito' is to dress down

I dunno. I have a hard time believing that Dylan, dressed normally, would be swarmed at a Wal-Mart, or anywhere for that matter. The times are a changing, the new generations are not enthralled with him, and perhaps he should let his ego take a break. Like his following, it's gettin' old.

[GJA]

Originally Posted by MistyMoppens

As song writers I believe Gordon's songwriting is superior to Dylan's although whenever I hear Dylan's "My Back Pages" performed by The Bryds it knocks me to the floor.

As performers - I can't understand a single word that comes out of Dylan's mouth. I never could. Gordon's singing always just takes my breath away. Every syllable, each subtle nuance and inflection.... every gentle sigh is to be savored..

Example of Dylan's singing style... "My Back Pages"... sounds like "get down on hate ice cream".... whattheheck? no no no.... Sorry but Dylan's singing makes me cringe.

I've always thought Dylan was very much over rated while Gordon was very much under rated.

Ditto!

[formerlylavender]

Maybe Bob likes that outfit and doesn't care who does/doesn't recognize him!

[TC]

I do love the Bobster. His writing can be amazing. Listen to his album "tell tale signs" from a couple of years ago. It's one of his many bootleg releases with songs recorded in the 80s to the present. "Ring them bells" is especially good. Going to a Dylan concert however is not so good. What the heck is he saying? Notice it's "saying", not "singing".

There styles are so different I don't even compare the two. Dylan's just one of many music acts that I like with Gord topping the list.

TC

[fezo]

I know just the video you speak off. Fabulous piece though I find it amazing that with doing six verses and instrumental breaks that they couldn't let McGuinn pop in his classic break on that?

[teherie]

I haven't met either of them but it appears that Dylan has created a mystique about himself that is part of his persona. Based on what I have read about Gordon Lightfoot, he has always been humble and approachable. In the 70's, I got to meet Harry Chapin briefly on three different occasions. My recollection is that he was always appreciative of his fans and enjoyed performing. In all three cases, each of them was gifted and unique but Gord will always be my all time favorite.

In any event, this quote pretty much sums up the three of them.

"A person is a success if they get up in the morning and gets to bed at night and in between does what he wants to do." Bob Dylan

[joveski]

Originally Posted by MistyMoppens

Would have loved to see Gordon up on that stage. I also always thought he should have been one of the Highwaymen w/Johnny Cash, Char's boy Kris K, Willie Nelson & Waylon Jennings.

gord recorded Ring them bells around that time, so it would have been cool to see him do it that day.

personally, i find George's version of Absolutely sweet marie is my favourite of the night

I hadn't read if the lady who called the police @ Dylan even knew who he was -but the young officers, it was one thing that they didn't recognize him, another that they didn't know of him!

Good posts @ the topic here as it pertains to both Dylan and Gordon. Enjoyed reading Mistymoppens posts here in particular. Also realizing how much I miss going to see a Neil Young concert! That was really something to see him perform on SNL after he recovered.

These wonderful singer-songwriter musicians give us so much via their music. I enjoyed getting to watch "Legends and Lyrics" for the 1st time and...I just admire all these songwriters.

[jj]

Originally Posted by joveski

personally, i find George's version of Absolutely sweet marie is my favourite of the night

'Absolutely' agree...also enjoyed tracy chapman's times are a changin and richie havens' just like a woman deliveries......would have liked to see nanci griffith doing boots of spanish leather and joan baez doing sad eyed lady of the lowlands at that session

petty was ok ...but as a tie in, at the Harrison tribute (concert for george) i enjoyed petty's version of i need you...btw, loved preston's my sweet lord...would have thought dylan would have appeared for that gathering

dont know if gord would comfortably play ring them bells unaccompanied by his band...he's got a pretty brief list of tunes he will perform unplugged/solo it seems...as we know, gord likes to be tre-rehearsed whatever the occasion...and i think he's done his last rockin in a free world and share the land singalongs...as he's said, no more duets, lol

btw, i also thought the pic was richards or vincent price when he was also sporting the wayne newton 'stashe

re: GL recognizable, yeah, what char said...in public he's an ordinary man

[RM]

Originally Posted by podunklander

it was one thing that they didn't recognize him, another that they didn't know of him!

The version of the story I read was that an officer recognized the name, but didn't believe it was actually Dylan, since the person being questioned had decided to take a walk in the rain, adorned with a "hoodie", and was reported as peering into the window of a "For Sale" house. This person also possessed the foresight to not take along any identification.

[charlene]

Tony NormanBob Dylan, stuck inside of New Jersey
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
By Tony Norman, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Bob Dylan now knows what it's like being a complete unknown.

as encounters with cops go, it wasn't Gates-Crowley II. It didn't end with anything as useless as an invitation to the White House for some beers.

Still, Bob Dylan's rainy-day encounter with a cop in the New Jersey shore town of Long Branch qualifies as the most surreal episode in a long time about the limits of fame.

It would be silly to expect what happened on the early evening of July 23 to appear in a song someday, though it certainly cries out for epic commentary by someone.

According to news reports that emerged last week, the incident began around 5 o'clock on a rainy evening. Bob Dylan was in town for a gig that night with Willie Nelson and John Mellencamp just a few miles away.

Dressed in a hoodie and dark raincoat, Dylan must have looked like a cross between the mysterious stranger in "The Man in the Long Black Coat" and the hipster "lost in the rain in Juarez." What he didn't look like was someone who belonged in that Hispanic working-class neighborhood on a rainy evening.

Unlike most rockers who surround themselves with entourages 24/7, Dylan has always craved alone time whenever he could get it. One of his hobbies is sleuthing out the rock 'n' roll roots of whatever community he's performing in that night.

The 68-year-old Voice of a Generation gets his kicks visiting the childhood homes of his contemporaries and the various literary and performing artists who have inspired him over the years. There is speculation he was looking for one of Bruce Springsteen's old haunts when he lingered a little too long in front of a house with a "For Sale" sign on it. Dylan spooked an occupant of the house, who called the cops when he allegedly peered through one of the windows.

"We got a call for a suspicious person," Long Branch police officer Kristie Buble, 24, told ABC News. "It was pouring rain outside, and I was right around the corner so I responded. By that time he was walking down the street. I asked him what he was doing in the neighborhood and he said he was looking at a house for sale."

For a split second, Bob Dylan must have wondered if his unflattering depiction of the cops in Patterson, N.J., immortalized in the song "Hurricane," had finally caught up with him. He probably felt a pang of relief mixed with mortification when Officer Buble failed to recognize him at all. Just like the character in "Like a Rolling Stone," Bob Dylan was experiencing what it felt like to be "a complete unknown." It was a rare slice of anonymity in a world that generally worships him. He decided to own the moment by becoming one of his trickster characters.

"I asked him what his name was and he said, 'Bob Dylan,' " Ms. Buble said. "Now, I've seen pictures of Bob Dylan from a long time ago and he didn't look like Bob Dylan to me at all. He was wearing black sweatpants tucked into black rain boots, and two raincoats with the hood pulled down over his head. So I said, 'OK, Bob, what are you doing in Long Branch?' He said he was touring the country with Willie Nelson and John Mellencamp. So now I'm really a little fishy about his story."

Had Officer Buble seen the smile forming in the corner of his mouth, she would have known something was happening, even if she didn't know what it was. She asked him for ID, but Bob Dylan doesn't carry ID. What would be the point? He hasn't needed to show anyone ID since about 1963.

While identifying cultural icons that transcend generations obviously isn't Officer Buble's strong suit, she gets points for accurately perceiving Dylan's spiritual evasiveness, even while he was "cooperating" with her. Little did she know that she was fitting all too neatly into a narrative Dylan has recited countless times.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



For nearly five decades, Bob Dylan has chronicled the adventures of scruffy wanderers and tricksters nearly laid low by the cleverness of a waitress here or a girl with calico eyes there. Whether named Isis or the Girl from the North Country or Sweetheart Like You, these women usually demand something from Dylan's stand-in -- often something he characterizes as a piece of his soul. Though Ms. Buble is the first to ask for ID, she's very much part of a tradition of women and authority figures easily perplexed by him.

Ms. Buble's sergeant, only a few years older than she, also failed to recognize Bob Dylan. It would be easy to complain that we're entering a new Dark Ages because people in their mid-20s can't recite the lyrics to "Lay, Lady, Lay" as well as their elders. But one of the things Dylan so eloquently points out in his songs and interviews is the fragmentation of our culture. We don't have common reference points anymore.

We hear about "Jon & Kate Plus 8" every day, but I couldn't pick them out in a police lineup if my life depended on it. Lady Gaga is a mystery to me. Megan Fox -- who's that? Cultural obliviousness is a two-way street, I suppose.

Eventually, the cops got Dylan back to his tour bus where his manager vouched for him. Dylan even produced an ID card to seal the deal. Satisfied, the cops left.

Things could have been worse. The cops could have knocked on Willie Nelson's tour bus door and been nearly overcome by billowing clouds of marijuana smoke. We were a Taser gun and a mass arrest away from another White House beer summit.



Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09230...#ixzz0OZVQ5oBc

[Hershey102]

Artists work so hard to become recognized, then trade their privacy in exchange for that fame. Not that Dylan or Lightfoot would complain, though. I suspect that Gord could comfortably walk around (perhaps even in Toronto) without disguise and without hassle. Most hard core fans are in their middle years and would be respectful to him should paths cross. Dylan, on the other hand, has had more recent commercial success and has to be a bit more discreet. Now, that's not a critique of talent, just an observation that Dylan is still playing to larger audiences (currently on tour with Willie and Mellencamp).

[sunshine]

When I flew to Vancouver from my home in Boston in April, the 20-something Canadian customs official asked me what the nature of my business in Canada was. I said I was going to see 2 Gordon Lightfoot concerts at the Vancouver Performing Arts Center. The customs officer said, "Who's that?" I said, "You don't know who Gordon Lightfoot is?" He said no he didn't. I was astonished, thinking that the pride that all Canadians must have in their treasured poet must be universal and taught from childhood. Guess not . . . and that one generation's superstar is an unknown to the next generation. Just couldn't imagine it had happened to Gordon in his beloved Canada. I was never a fan of Frank Sinatra or Al Jolson but at least I can place the reference when I hear it.
________
Buell RSS1200

[charlene]

I'm sure there are lots of people who have no idea who Sinatra or Jolson are either..or any of a number of 'names' that one would think would be recognizable, but they're not - by name or by face or even their individual artistic talent.

Originally Posted by sunshine

When I flew to Vancouver from my home in Boston in April, the 20-something Canadian customs official asked me what the nature of my business in Canada was. I said I was going to see 2 Gordon Lightfoot concerts at the Vancouver Performing Arts Center. The customs officer said, "Who's that?" I said, "You don't know who Gordon Lightfoot is?" He said no he didn't. I was astonished, thinking that the pride that all Canadians must have in their treasured poet must be universal and taught from childhood. Guess not . . . and that one generation's superstar is an unknown to the next generation. Just couldn't imagine it had happened to Gordon in his beloved Canada. I was never a fan of Frank Sinatra or Al Jolson but at least I can place the reference when I hear it.

[joveski]

Originally Posted by jj

petty was ok ...but as a tie in, at the Harrison tribute (concert for george) i enjoyed petty's version of i need you...btw, loved preston's my sweet lord...would have thought dylan would have appeared for that gathering

bob was on tour in the US at the time, but as a tribute, he played 'Something'. he even mentioned the tribute show and said the band couldnt be there but they'll play this tune cause he and george were good buddies.

probably the most he's spoken on stage in recent years!. and it was a damn good heartfelt version.