Friday » November 17 » 2006
A new day for Lightfoot
Iconic songwriter back on stage after near-fatal illness
Ted Shaw
CanWest News Service
Friday, November 17, 2006
That famous whisky-smooth baritone has returned, and so has Gordon Lightfoot's confidence as he embarks on another leg of his first North American tour in four years.
"I was worried about the voice for a year or so," said the 68-year-old legendary folksinger.
"It just seemed to come back after about a year and a half."
That was 18 months after he suffered a nearly fatal aneurysm in his abdomen in late 2002.
It was another 10 months before he dared perform on a stage.
"It was a long time for a guy who loves to do shows," Lightfoot said from his Toronto home. "I was really concerned about my playing. My hands didn't seem to want to work properly and I had to practise that for the longest time."
The setback also had him thinking about the musical organization he put together nearly four decades ago. Several people, including his long-serving band, rely on Lightfoot's talent.
"I was a terrible mess there for a while," he said.
The collapse occurred in his hometown of Orillia, prior to a fundraising concert. "It was four in the afternoon, I was on the floor of my dressing room, and I wasn't getting up."
Later from his hospital bed in Hamilton, Lightfoot instructed his band to add instrumental tracks to 10 songs he'd recorded just before the incident.
Two years later, the CD Harmony was released, Lightfoot's last studio album. Lightfoot's physical recovery was aided by the strict diet and exercise regimen he'd begun in 1982 after giving up alcohol.
While he tours an average 50 days a year now, another 130 days he works out in a gym. He also makes sure he eats a full breakfast and dinner.
"I can afford to take a break from the performing, but I can't afford to take time away from the exercise. I used to feel fatigue on the road, but not anymore."
The slightest "energy lag," he said, is picked up on by his audiences.
"They're going to feel it out in the crowd, and I don't want that. That's my measuring stick of how I'm doing."
Recently, the Canadian musical hall-of-famer and multiple Juno winner was honoured when Johnny Cash's posthumous American Recordings V release included a cover of If You Could Read My Mind.
The song, which dates from 1970, is one of three that Lightfoot sings at every concert. The other two are Canadian Railroad Trilogy and Sundown.
"It's mind-boggling, humbling really when someone covers my songs," said Lightfoot, who estimated there are maybe 80 to 90 versions of If You Could Read My Mind, his most-covered song.
"The first was a disco version in 1972 by a singer named Viola Willis. It was a beautiful version of it."
In 2004, a tribute titled Beautiful contained several covers of Lightfoot tunes, among them Murray McLauchlan doing Home From the Forest and Jesse Winchester on Sundown.
"I was really, really happy with the way they did it. I sometimes wonder whether I deserve this kind of consideration. I don't jump up and down and cheer when someone covers a song. I'm more interested in how it's done. Did they do it right? How does it sound?"
Lightfoot is back touring with his band of many years, which includes Terry Clements, with him since 1972, and Rick Haynes who joined in 1969.
"We're like Barnum and Bailey," Lightfoot said about his continued appeal.
"People of all ages come to see us. We've been really lucky as far as demographics go."
He hasn't recorded any new material lately.
"I'm coasting right now," he said, adding he rehearses several times a week even when he's not touring in order to perfect the 40 songs he takes with him on the road.
"This is my job," Lightfoot said. "I have always approached things professionally. I don't like surprises."
Gordon Lightfoot performs at Massey Hall tonight, Saturday and Sunday. Tickets cost $45-65 and are available online at
www.ticketmaster.ca..
© CanWest News Service 2006
CanWest interview-Nov.2006
