Old B&W Photos of Gord

[Yuri]

Are there really no more photos of Gord & the Boys from this years Massey to be shared?

At the risk of infringing on a copyright, here are some B&W photos reproduced from Alfreida Gabiou’s 1979 book on Gordon Lightfoot.
Perhaps some of you haven’t seen some of these early photos.
(1979-Quick Fox Books, Gage Trade Publishing, P.O. Box 5000, 164 Commander Blvd., Agincourt, ON, M1S 3C7 - ISBN 7715-94992)
Majority of photos credited to Joseph Sia, Horst Elhricht & 'Dagmar'.
(individual credits and photo discription attached to jpegs)

[Yuri]

Here is one I love of the Two Tones.
...and another early photo.

[Dream Street Rose]

Hi Yuri,

You are good. I have the book and these pictures look like the pictures in the book. Good job and thanks for sharing.

DSR

[814scenic]

Hi Yuri,
Most of these pictures are new to me. Thanks very much for sharing.
Sharon

[Jesse Joe]

Thanks Yuri for sharing those photos. They are awesome, B&W's !

[BILLW]

The last picture on the right (of the two) reminds me of the lines he "speaks/raps" from In My Fashion:

Take a look around again
Is it any different now than it was then ?

(I think NOT !)

Bill

[imported_Next_Saturday]

Very nice Yuri, thanks for sharing.

[formerlylavender]

I hadn't seen any of them...thanks for posting.

[vlmagee]

Originally Posted by podunklander

Yuri - thanks for sharing these! And certainly posting these is 'fair use' with properly citing them. I'm glad I had a chance to flip through this book while I was at your house and wish I would have had time to read it. I recognize some of the photos as having been taking during the Newport Folk Festival (1966?) if I recall correctly.

If that year is correct...was that the only time Gordon performed at the Newport Folk fest? I'd appreciate knowing this if anyone can tell me.

It was July 25, 1965 during the Sunday afternoon session. Dylan went electric at the evening session that night. You can see the program at the Hamilton Camp web site here: www.hamiltoncamp.com/musician.asp . It was the only time Gord performed at Newport. Hamilton had performed there with Bob Gibson in 1960.

[charlene]

Lightfoot spoke about the Newport event when he was interviewed on The Hour on May 6..

http://www.cbc.ca/thehour/videos.html?id=732852699

[vlmagee]

Originally Posted by podunklander

... and I still dream that all the great folkies will be there once more but every year seems to get further away from the tradition .

I'm afraid that the traditional Newport Folk Festival is gone for good. This year's program is a dramatic break from tradition, in an effort to broaden its appeal. Sad to say, although it may survive as a summer music festival, I think its days as a "folk" festival are over.

The Boston Globe had a long article about the plans for this year:

http://www.boston.com/ae/music/artic...ls_traditions/

There is a GL connection, even this year. If you go, you just might hear Jimmy Buffet doing CRT!

'Indeed, Buffett - whose "Margaritaville" is a staple at arenas and tailgate parties - is considering playing a stripped-down set with just two acoustic guitars at his Newport debut. "I threatened to do Newport before I was gone, and I seriously want to honor the heritage of the festival," Buffett says. "I came up as a folk singer. I've always loved the idea of being a balladeer. You know, I might do Gordon Lightfoot's 'Canadian Railroad Trilogy.' I am not going to do a Parrothead show."' - Boston Globe

[Rainbow Trout]

Thanks for the great pics! It is always great to see new "old" photos!

[RM]

In the first set of photos, about the 8th row down, Lightfoot is wearing suspenders and chatting with a pretty short chap. Is that short fellow Paul Simon ?

[charlene]

yep - that is Paul Simon with full beard..

I don't have my book handy for any details of when or where the photo was taken..
Yuri??

[Sundown17]

I do have the book handy...

"With Paul Simon, backstage at Saturday Night Live, 1976.

[Yuri]

Yes in deed - Paul Simon with the beard.

It's been years since I read the book and just dug it out recently to show Pam during her stay with us. It then occurred to me that some of the group may not have seen the photos as the book has been out of print for years. So I scanned most, but not all in and posted them here. Most that I omitted were printed over two pages - have to scan and stitch.

The photo description simply says "With Paul Simon, backstage at Saturday Night Live, May 22nd, 1976 - Photo by Joseph Sia." The book has no index and flipping through the pages around the photo doesn't give any further description. I'll have to re-read the book!

One photo I omitted was of Gord talking to a stagehand backstage on Saturday Night Live. A highlight marker bled through the page (Yes, I studied 'Gord 101' and highlighted pertenant passages and made notes in the margin!) Another photo was spread over two pages and I scanned in the Gord side while omitting Terry. (Yes, I hear ya')

A couple of interesting notes in the book.

Asked what Gord's favourite song was (at that time) he said 'Both Sides Now' - the Joni Mitchell tune.

The final line in the book has Alfreida Gabiou ask Gord "How did you begin writing songs?"
To which Gord Replied "It started with a kiss..." Awwwwww....

[RM]

Originally Posted by Yuri

The photo description simply says "With Paul Simon, backstage at Saturday Night Live, May 22nd, 1976 - Photo by Joseph Sia.

Thanks to all who replied to my Paul Simon query.

I found that bit of above info interesting. As I recall, Simon hung out with the SNL bunch, and my first assumption was that Simon was hosting the show that night. An info net search for the May 22, 1976 show states that Buck Henry was actually the host.

Well, it was interesting to me.......never mind.

[charlene]

Paul Simon is great buddies with Chevy Chase..have you ever seen the video they made? I laff just thinking about it..

YouTube - Paul Simon - You can call me Al

and another with Chevy and Steve Martin

YouTube - Paul Simon Music Video: Proof

[Yuri]

There was a less than flattering photo of Gord with Chevy from that date in that bunch as well.

[paddletothesea]

Great photos!!!! Where did you get some of those ones I've never seen before?
Thanks for posting them.

Wonder everyones comments on this:
I've always noticed some of the older Gord pics that he looks like a real jerk or a$% but when you meet him in person he is the nicest man one can ever meet. Wondering if Gord in his early years was sort of the partying jerk to people or was he always as nice as he is now?

He looks really hungover in some of the photos too.

[Jesse Joe]

Hey Yuri,

This is one book I dont have, lots of great photos. But now that it's out of print, do you think it's worth $ 150.00. Because I found they have 1 used & 1 new on Amazon for that price.


Amazon.com: Gordon Lightfoot: Alfrieda Gabiou:...

[Yuri]

Jesse Joe
I don't know what to tell you about the book. I bought it when it was released and paid the market price. Now, I wouldn't sell it for $1000 but I don't think I'd pay $150 for it. (Can you follow that convoluted thinking?)
Published in 1979, it covers his early to mid career. At 128 pages it is less than 1cm (half inch) in thickness. Most of the photos I've posted here and they're all B&W on the same paper the print is on. In other words, no glossy photo prints.
As I mentioned earlier in this thread, it's been years since I read the book and no longer recall my impression of it. I have enjoyed just flipping through it and reading some passages. As with any biography, you can't take everything as the gospel truth.
Bottom line is, if you feel the book is worth $150 to you, by all means get it. It's your call...
Yuri

The few times I've managed to catch a listing for this book on ebay...it's been consistantly selling for between $50-75.

What the book is worth -what people are willing to pay for it! I don't know how many copies were printed (or reprinted) before it went OOP. Personally, I wouldn't pay that much for this book...I don't think it's scarce or rare. $30-$60 is a fair price according to condition. Yuri's copy is in good condition - but for the highlighting. Still, he could get a higher range, fair price if he decided to sell it.

Another website to check on this book and others is www.abebooks.com . I just checked there but don't have time to peruse all the listings. There are plenty of copies of, "I wish you good spaces..." beginning at $1.61.

Ok I did look at the listings and saw Gabiou's book listed for between $59.95 and $150 -this one includes a 'recent' signed color photo. The book is indicated as being a 1st edition. This really doesn't add to the value of the book unless there is more than one printing. And sometimes, it's other printings that are worth more if say, there was additional text or photos added. Many things that can affect the value.

If I was going to spend the $$$ -I would buy 2 copies. I would by a "reading" copy and than another in vg-fine condition to "save" .

[Jesse Joe]

Thanks for the info Yuri & Pam, it is very much appreciated. Yes $150.00 is a bit much, I will try to get it elsewhere. Boy on Wayne's Site it's incredible all the books and magazines about Gordon Lightfoot...

http://www.lightfoot.ca/books.htm

[RM]

Originally Posted by Yuri

The final line in the book has Alfreida Gabiou ask Gord "How did you begin writing songs?"
To which Gord Replied "It started with a kiss..." Awwwwww....

Running the risk of reckless posting and steering this thread completely off the road, that last line triggered a flashback to one of my favorite songs. I first heard it on an album by Australian songwriter Paul Kelly. The song was originally done by an English group called Hot Chocolate. Here's a funky early 80's video of it. Is there a connection ?.........probably not. It's just a nice tune.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3pf7o-9OOk