Ok, am I the only one? Whenever I watch a Gunsmoke rerun and listen to James Arness talk, it sounds like Lightfoot to me.
I think Gord (these days anyway) sounds a little higher than Jim Arness. But in terms of "hearing" Gord elsewhere, I have ALWAYS heard Gord's voice in the last refrain of Bob Seger's "Against the Wind" - the upper "gainst" part. Honest to God I even checked the album credits to see if he wasn't on vocals on that one track. It does NOT sound like Glenn Frey to me and I will go to my grave in the firm belief that it is Gord, unless the man himself says otherwise.
When I listen to interviews with Lightfoot, such as Alan Thicke's regarding "Harry Tracy," or such things, and then I hear James Arness on "Gunsmoke," they sound very much alike to me. Probably not these days, however.
I just played my cassette of Bob Seger's "Against The Wind" and I agree that the harmonising voice at the end sounds uncannily like our Gord. I was heavily into Seger in the 1970s-80s. I later thought he must have retired quietly, but I recently discovered he recorded an album of new songs (and then did a concert tour) a couple of years ago. Apparently he had spent the intervening 11 years as a hands-on family man after becoming a parent late in life. He never toured Australia, but I understand he suffered from the fear-of-flying phobia. That's a pity, because his Silver Bullet Band was brilliant in concert and "Live Bullet" and "Nine Tonight" were as good as any live album I've heard.
Gunsmoke and GL
