Dear all,
What was the first Gord song you heard,
or the song, that converted you to him?

Frank.

The first tunes I remember hearing were IYCRMM, and Beautiful. His music became more meaningful to me when I heard cuts from
"Sundown" on the local progressive station (at that time) for the Cincinnati area-WEBN.
SD and EW cemented the connection I've had with his music as well as DQ.

IYCRMM-Ditto.
"Talking in your sleep" was the second.
Both 1971.

Frank.

Sundown a couple of days before Christmas 1997 on a hot steamy night around 4:00am when I couldn't sleep on some regional AM station. IYCRMM a couple of days after Christmas 1997 on the same station in the same weater.
The SD album came in January 1999 when i found it for a dollar at a 2nd hand record shop.
GG mid last year and every other album on CD in November last year (expect for ODR, Salut, and WFY which are still tape Grrr)

I was living in Southern California in the late 60's. I used to listen to a disk jocky at night from LA named Skip Weshner who had a 3 hour folk music show every weeknight. One night he played 4 versions of "Me and Bobby McGee" back to back. The last one he played was by a singer I had never heard named Gordon Lightfoot and he blew me away.

I don't know the first song I ever heard, I was only a baby the first time I heard him. My dad was a big Lightfoot fan, and used to listen to his albums. The first song I remember hearing was in the late eighties. I was on a camping trip with my boy scout troop, and our scoutmaster was telling us ghost stories. Then he told us to listen to this song, and its story. He played The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald for us. I remembered the song, but didn't know from where so I asked my dad if he ever heard of this Gordon guy. Well he gave me his Gord's Gold, Summertime Dream, and Cold On The Shoulder albums, and I've been hooked ever since.

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"If people could look into each other's eyes
What a wonderful place this world would be"
GL

[This message has been edited by Paul J B (edited October 22, 2000).]

Well Frank, You know I go back a long way. The first Gordon Lightfoot song that I heard on the radio was "Remember Me" (I'M the One who loves you.) I heard this song while I vacationing at my Aunt's motel that she ran in Bobcaygeon, Ontario. I believe this song went to #3 on the Canadian Hit Paarade list. This song is on Songbook, disc #1. This song sounds much different than his later work.

sundownbuff - I just picked up the Lightfoot box with four cd's and a book. The first song on the first cd is "Remember Me". I really like the song although as Gord says himself in the book, I came off "sounding like a cross between Jim Reeves and Pat Boone." I'm glad he went on to develop his own unique, one of a kind, sound. By the way, the first song of his I heard was "If You Could Read My Mind". I just chalked it up as another quality pop tune at the time. (This didn't mean much then as there were quite a few high quality pop song writer/musicians around) Little did I know who much this up and coming folk phenomenon would inspire my own songwriting and musical taste in the coming years. Windhorse

Wow, that's exactly how I got hooked on GL. I had heard IYCRMM and thought it was good, liked the voice, but...no really big deal. Then I was on my way to my favorite place in Maine, like 2 years later, stopped in a music store in Skowhegan on the way, didn't know what I was looking for. I saw the cassette of Summertime Dream on a display, said to myself, oh, I remember this guy, maybe this will be good. well, that was the start of one of the best things of my life...discovering GL. I went backwards and forward getting everything I could, and it's just so fantastic. How lucky we all are that he has been so prolific, we have so much of his wonderful gifts to enjoy...he has really had an impact on my whole life..I'll always love and cherish him and all that he has given to me, and to so many others.
Barbara


[This message has been edited by knottypine (edited October 23, 2000).]

This is a great question and it brought back some interesting memories.I was 11 or 12 during the mid 60's. My parents would drop me off for the summer(school vacation) at my grandparents (from Slovakia) farm in the Eastern townships just 1 hour south of Montreal and near the U.S.A. border. No TV, radio only for the farmer's weather forcast but my uncle had a record player.He had only three albums. Harry Belefonte,The Kingston Trio and Lightfoot!( I believe his first album) So the first Gord song that I ever heard was "Rich Man's Spiritual" the first cut on the album. I cut my musical teeth on The way I Feel, Early Morning Rain,I'm Not Sayin', and Oh, Linda,which my uncle told me had a "beatnik" beat, so it was really cool. Sometimes Gord's songs were the only english words that I would hear for weeks at a time. He had a very captive audience and he really did capture my imagination some 35 years ago.These days,when I listen to the whole album, it brings back wonderful memories of a skinny kid helping his grandparents work the beautiful Canadian soil.

I was walking around in a Phar-Mor store about 8 or 9 years ago. When I heard the Edmund Fitz song. I was in the music section of the store, so I asked the clerk who was singing the song. She didnt know. I figured out a few weeks later while listening to the radio at work, the DJ said Gordon Lightfoot but didnt say the name of the song. So I went and bought Gords Gold thinking for sure it would be on their. Much to my surprise it wasnt but I recognized alot of those great songs on the CD. I was like jesus how come I never heard of this guy before, Ive been a big fan ever since.

I remember the first Gordon Lightfoot song I ever heard..."The Wreck of the Edmund Fitgerald" in the Fall of 1976. I hated that song!! I remember it got tons of airplay in the Detroit area. I was only about 15 yrs old & I wanted to hear rock and roll songs, not some slow song that seemed to last forever!! http://www.corfid.com/ubb/smile.gif Of coarse, later on in life (1982) I became a big Lightfoot fan!