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Old 01-19-2020, 09:46 PM   #1
Steve
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Default The first time I ever heard Gordon Lightfoot

I joined this site a long time ago but have not been very active. I thought I would post this. In 1969 I was living in Lancaster California working at Edwards AFB. I was a big folk fan and learning to play guitar. I used to listen to a radio program out of LA at night called "The Folk Show". The host was Skip Weshner and his wife he called "Beautiful". He had guests from time to time like John Hartford. Occasionally, he would play the same song by different artists to compare their interpretations. One night he played "Me and Bobbie McGee" by 4 artists. I don't remember the first 3, but the 4th version was a guy I had never heard before named Gordon Lightfoot. I was stunned! He was the most amazing baritone singer I had ever heard. I started looking for his recordings the next day. Not long after I was transfered to Japan for 4 years. When we returned we lived in the Bay Area. Gord normally played there twice a year. We saw all his concerts for the next 4 years until I was transfered to Germany. The one I remember most was at a theater in the round somewhere in the South Bay. It was a small venue with a circular revolving stage. We had seats on the 1st row. Every time they came around I could have stood up and grabbed his foot! It's hard to imagine that was 51 years ago!
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Old 01-20-2020, 08:38 AM   #2
Martyn Miles
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Default Re: The first time I ever heard Gordon Lightfoot

My ‘first time’ was ( if I recall correctly...) late 1971 when a good friend’s sister was working in the USA.
She was in Los Angeles and sent her brother a pre-recorded cassette of GL’s ‘Summer Side of Life’.
He lent it to me and I was immediately taken with the songs. I’d never heard anything like it in England.
I bought the LP, which I still own. Little did I know how it would set me on a long road, which ended up at the Massey Hall in Toronto.
Even after all this time, ‘Love and Maple Syrup’ is one of my favourite Lightfoot songs.

Martyn Miles
Oxford
England.

Last edited by Martyn Miles; 01-20-2020 at 08:41 AM.
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Old 01-20-2020, 04:34 PM   #3
Affair on Touhy Ave.
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Default Re: The first time I ever heard Gordon Lightfoot

I became familiar with Gord at a young age because my folks had some albums of his.
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Old 01-20-2020, 05:57 PM   #4
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Default Re: The first time I ever heard Gordon Lightfoot

My wife, Fran, loved Lightfoot's music as much as I did. We lived in Plano, TX. We only had 1 chance to see him there. In 2007 Fran became ill and was diagnoiced with pancreatic cancer, stage 4. Fran died that Aug after 54 years of marriage. She was a Jewish convert and her funeral was held at Temple Emanuel in Dallas. She was buried in Ness City, KS with her parents. The night before we had a non-religious service at the funeral home. To close the service I said I would like to spend our last night together doing what we loved best, listening to Gordon Lightfoot. I chose 5 songs to be played. They were:
The First Time Ever I Saw Her Face
Beautiful
If You Could Read My Mind
The Last Time I Saw Her
End of All Time

I think she would have liked that
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Old 01-21-2020, 04:29 AM   #5
Dave, Melbourne,Australia
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Default Re: The first time I ever heard Gordon Lightfoot

I can't remember the first time I heard a Gordon Lightfoot song, but it must have been "Sundown" in 1974 when Australian radio stations were playing it constantly. It reached No 4 in Australia. The next Lightfoot song I became aware of was IYCRMM, because my secondary school included it in the annual concert at the Melbourne Town Hall (and my year level was among those who sang it). Then a schoolmate lent me his brother's LP of Gord's Gold. And after my older sister brought home the Summertime Dream album, I was hooked.

By the way, Steve, I can understand you choosing "End Of All Time" for your wife's passing, because it struck a chord with me when my father died in 2017 and I have included it in my own funeral album (along with "Carefree Highway") for when that time comes.

Last edited by Dave, Melbourne,Australia; 01-21-2020 at 04:33 AM.
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Old 01-22-2020, 11:20 PM   #6
Don Quixote
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Default Re: The first time I ever heard Gordon Lightfoot

There was a thread about this many, many years ago, but it's great that it's come back.

I have a somewhat amusing recollection about this. I was with a group a friends, male and female, in a car, in my high school years. I was sitting next to a young lady that I was just starting to get to know and was, ahem, "hoping to know better." We were talking about some stupid thing or another, when I heard "If You Could Read My Mind" coming over the radio. It was one of the most beautiful things I had ever heard, and I shushed her so I could listen to it. Not exactly the smoothest move, romantically.☺ I will never regret it, however--Lightfoot has accompanied me throughout my life's journey, and if the price was the chance to have some "fun", then so be it.
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Old 01-26-2020, 05:01 PM   #7
Affair on Touhy Ave.
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Default Re: The first time I ever heard Gordon Lightfoot

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Originally Posted by Affair on Touhy Ave. View Post
I became familiar with Gord at a young age because my folks had some albums of his.
The nice thing about that is I'd get to know many of his songs that weren't the major hits and then years later rediscover him through the internet.
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Old 01-31-2020, 08:22 AM   #8
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Default Re: The first time I ever heard Gordon Lightfoot

When I heard IYCRMM for the first time. A few laters later I heard Sundown, and asked myself, who's that? The DJ said "Gordon Lightfoot," & I remembered, "Oh, the guy who recorded IYCRMM!" I bought my first Gordon CD in 1976 - "Gord's Gold," then received "Summertime Dream" for a Chanukah gift. After that I started backtracking & getting many of his albums containing the other album tracks!



Gail

Last edited by paskatefan; 02-03-2020 at 06:40 AM.
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Old 02-02-2020, 11:41 PM   #9
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Default Re: The first time I ever heard Gordon Lightfoot

I'm pretty sure it was my older brothers who introduced me to GL, with IYCRMM and Sundown. Later in High School a buddy showed me Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgeraldand it was all over FM radio.
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Old 02-03-2020, 09:42 AM   #10
Affair on Touhy Ave.
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Default Re: The first time I ever heard Gordon Lightfoot

I don't get what you mean by "all over FM radio" considering it was a hit and I assume most top 40 stations were still on AM at that time.
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Old 03-15-2020, 10:55 AM   #11
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Default Re: The first time I ever heard Gordon Lightfoot

I first heard of Gordon Lightfoot around 1970 when a local Chicago radio station started playing cuts off the "Sit Down Young Stranger" album (later retitled "If You Could Read My Mind"). The first song I recall hearing was "Poor Little Allison" from that same album. I later bought the LP, which I still have, and then soon afterward purchased "Sunday Concert". I was hooked and have been a fan ever since!
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Old 03-23-2020, 07:11 AM   #12
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Default Re: The first time I ever heard Gordon Lightfoot

IYCRMM on 3XY in Australia ... long ago
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Old 03-24-2020, 06:07 AM   #13
Dave, Melbourne,Australia
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Mike in MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA,

I remember 3XY (1420 and later 1422 on the AM band) and it was one of the radio stations in the 1970s playing "Sundown" which first got me noticing Lightfoot's music (and no doubt IYCRMM before I did notice). The only Melbourne radio station callsign surviving since that time is 3AW.

I assume you're living in Melbourne now, but your last post was in 2010 and your previous 8 were before I discovered Corfid in 2008. From your posts, I gather you've been an Old Folkie in Toronto for some of that time.

Joveski in Melbourne was a regular Corfid contributor until he and many others lost access on one day and haven't been able to restore access or contact the website's creator/maintainer Florian. I hope he still visits Corfid to read at least.

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Old 03-24-2020, 07:57 AM   #14
Mike Dixon
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Default Re: The first time I ever heard Gordon Lightfoot

No, always been in Melbourne. Met and married an American girl on this forum and we're together downunder after she migrated in 2006. Hardly been back here since then.

But I have everything Lightfoot's done (LP and CD) right up until the last couple of CDs.
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Old 03-25-2020, 07:42 AM   #15
JohninCt.
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Default Re: The first time I ever heard Gordon Lightfoot

I heard Peter Paul and Mary and Ian & Sylvia do some of his songs and looked for his music after that. That was in the Folk Music era of the 1960's. Been there and done that too. Been a fan ever since. Oh, I'm 77 years old in April. Hey this is my 300th post WoW.
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Old 03-25-2020, 06:12 PM   #16
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Default Re: The first time I ever heard Gordon Lightfoot

Quote:
Originally Posted by Mike Dixon View Post
No, always been in Melbourne. Met and married an American girl on this forum and we're together down under after she migrated in 2006. Hardly been back here since then.

But I have everything Lightfoot's done (LP and CD) right
up until the last couple of CDs.
Mike IIRC you "Hoovered" her up in the once extremely active chat room that was started by Rik Stevens a.k.a. Random 7, but for far too long you have been resting on your Laurels since you failed to post here for ten years 2010 until recently. I was disappointed not to meet you in Melbourne during Susan and my my quick 3 day visit to your city in 2007 ((but we did have an interesting dinner with the Catman (Ron Chidgey) that Mende fellow and the late Peter Treloir)
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Old 03-26-2020, 08:54 PM   #17
Mike Dixon
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Default Re: The first time I ever heard Gordon Lightfoot

Such is life
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Old 04-02-2020, 02:23 PM   #18
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Default Re: The first time I ever heard Gordon Lightfoot

I was dating a girl from Santa Ana, CA named Jeannie Merrit. We were at her house and she had "Did She Mention My Name" album on her stereo. It was the first time I had heard of Lightfoot or heard any of his music. I'm not sure why she and I didn't keep seeing each other. But I'm forever grateful that she introduced me to him and his music. This was in 1969.
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