http://www.thestate.com/2015/02/22/4...till.html?rh=1
Gordon Lightfoot knows what his audience wants, and he is happy to oblige. Fifty years into his career as a singer/songwriter, he is still having fun.
Lightfoot, who helped define the folk-pop genre in the 1960s and ’70s, will perform Sunday, Feb. 22, at the Koger Center for the Performing Arts, one stop on his “50 Years on the Carefree Highway” tour.
“We’ll have a great time during the show,” the 76-year-old performer said. “We have a great band.”
Lightfoot’s five band members range from his bass player who has been with him for 45 years to the newest member, his lead guitarist who joined the band a mere four years ago.
The show promises a large sampling of Lightfoot’s greatest hits, which include “Sundown,” “Early Morning Rain,” “Carefree Highway,” “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald,” “Canadian Railroad Trilogy” and Lightfoot’s own favorite, “If You Could Read My Mind,” which he plans to play near the end of the show.
Asked if he has grown tired of any of his songs, Lightfoot responded with an emphatic “No!”
“We certainly can’t do them all within one show,” he said. “We’ve got all the standards and we rotate with some supporting material. The standards carry a lot of weight. People would be disappointed if they didn’t get them.”
Over the span of his career, Lightfoot has earned five Grammy nominations, 17 Canadian Juno Awards and induction into both the U.S. and Canadian Songwriter’s Hall of Fame. Lightfoot’s songs have been recorded and performed by the likes of Bob Dylan, Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Hank Williams, Barbra Streisand and Alison Krauss.
Lightfoot’s favorite cover of one of his songs is Johnny Cash’s version of “If You Could Read My Mind.”
“It was the last one he did before he passed away,” Lightfoot said.
Lightfoot and his band will take the stage at 8 p.m. at the Koger Center. Tickets are $38, $48 and $63, and available at kogercenterforthearts.com
Bridget Winston, Special to The State
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COLUMBIA,South Carolina-Feb.22-2015
