Gordon Lightfoot, Canadian Singer/Songwriter, Dies at 84

[Tennesseer]

Another singing legend has passed.

Gordon Lightfoot, Canadian Singer/Songwriter, Dies at 84

Gordon Lightfoot, the Canadian singer/songwriter behind the folk hits “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald,” “Sundown” and “If You Could Read My Mind,” died at age 84 on Monday (May 1), his family has announced.

“Gordon Lightfoot passed away this evening in a Toronto hospital at 7:30 p.m.,” a statement on Lightfoot’s Facebook page announced, promising “more to come.”

Gordon Lightfoot, Canadian Singer/Songwriter, Dies at 84

[NoNamePerson]

One of the saddest songs ever written. R.I.P Mr. Lightfoot. 

[busymom]

Aw nuts!  I remember liking a number of his songs, including "If You Could Read My Mind" & "Carefree Highway".  

[toomuchreality]

So sad.🥀
He was one of my favorites. So many good songs, I thought.
I loved thee Wreck of the Edmond Fitzgerald, the 1st time I heard it. It was so sad. I went home and got out our encyclopedia, to read about the story, immediately after. (I hadn't heard of it, prior to that. )

I always hoped to see him live, in concert, In a small, intimate venue would have been my preference. Unfortunately, that never happened.

I haven't listened to my CDs in forever. But I think it's time for me to go through them and decide what I want to keep. I almost gave them ALL to my neighbor last week, without going thru them, just to have them gone. I'm glad now, that I didn't.

Go in peace, knowing you and your talent were cherished by many.💕

[Opti]

I did another Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo   when I heard this morning. 

He was a bard in the truest sense with that song.

[billisonboard]

May 2, 2023 3:19:55 GMT -5 toomuchreality said:

So sad.🥀
He was one of my favorites. So many good songs, I thought.
I loved thee Wreck of the Edmond Fitzgerald, the 1st time I heard it. It was so sad. I went home and got out our encyclopedia, to read about the story, immediately after. (I hadn't heard of it, prior to that. )

I always hoped to see him live, in concert, In a small, intimate venue would have been my preference. Unfortunately, that never happened.

I haven't listened to my CDs in forever. But I think it's time for me to go through them and decide what I want to keep. I almost gave them ALL to my neighbor last week, without going thru them, just to have them gone. I'm glad now, that I didn't.

Go in peace, knowing you and your talent were cherished by many.💕

on all of this.

I just canceled my Sirius XM subscription last week and put my CD travel case back in my truck. Pretty sure I have a disk or two of his. Will have to switch out if they aren't already in the case.

[NoNamePerson]

May 2, 2023 8:24:31 GMT -5 billisonboard said:

May 2, 2023 3:19:55 GMT -5 toomuchreality said:

So sad.🥀
He was one of my favorites. So many good songs, I thought.
I loved thee Wreck of the Edmond Fitzgerald, the 1st time I heard it. It was so sad. I went home and got out our encyclopedia, to read about the story, immediately after. (I hadn't heard of it, prior to that. )

I always hoped to see him live, in concert, In a small, intimate venue would have been my preference. Unfortunately, that never happened.

I haven't listened to my CDs in forever. But I think it's time for me to go through them and decide what I want to keep. I almost gave them ALL to my neighbor last week, without going thru them, just to have them gone. I'm glad now, that I didn't.

Go in peace, knowing you and your talent were cherished by many.💕

on all of this.

I just canceled my Sirius XM subscription last week and put my CD travel case back in my truck. Pretty sure I have a disk or two of his. Will have to switch out if they aren't already in the case.

I have a friend who thought I had lost my mind when I did this. I have probably 1,000 cd's. Some are purchased CD's but 95% are ones I burned back when P2P file sharing was legal and every CD has my favorite songs on them. I love having a total variety of artists on each CD if that makes sense. I know I have some of his songs on various CD's too. The Wreck of the Edmond Fitzgerald is definitely on one   

[billisonboard]

May 2, 2023 8:33:14 GMT -5 NoNamePerson said:

May 2, 2023 8:24:31 GMT -5 billisonboard said:

on all of this.

I just canceled my Sirius XM subscription last week and put my CD travel case back in my truck. Pretty sure I have a disk or two of his. Will have to switch out if they aren't already in the case.

I have a friend who thought I had lost my mind when I did this. I have probably 1,000 cd's. Some are purchased CD's but 95% are ones I burned back when P2P file sharing was legal and every CD has my favorite songs on them. I love having a total variety of artists on each CD if that makes sense. I know I have some of his songs on various CD's too. The Wreck of the Edmond Fitzgerald is definitely on one   

My collection is the opposite percentage but have been mainly listening to my burned CDs. I mean, where else could I hear Master Jack by 4 Jacks and a Jill?

[Opti]

May 2, 2023 8:33:14 GMT -5 NoNamePerson said:

May 2, 2023 8:24:31 GMT -5 billisonboard said:

on all of this.

I just canceled my Sirius XM subscription last week and put my CD travel case back in my truck. Pretty sure I have a disk or two of his. Will have to switch out if they aren't already in the case.

I have a friend who thought I had lost my mind when I did this. I have probably 1,000 cd's. Some are purchased CD's but 95% are ones I burned back when P2P file sharing was legal and every CD has my favorite songs on them. I love having a total variety of artists on each CD if that makes sense. I know I have some of his songs on various CD's too. The Wreck of the Edmond Fitzgerald is definitely on one   

Wow I have a few burned CDs, nowhere near in that amount. Probably somewhere around 10 and at highest 20. I would be devastated if some were lost. One is a singer songwriter team out of Nashville whose work may no longer be for sale. I also have a few CDs gifted to me because the giver thought the CD would be better off with me.

[Opti]

May 2, 2023 8:24:31 GMT -5 billisonboard said:

May 2, 2023 3:19:55 GMT -5 toomuchreality said:

So sad.🥀
He was one of my favorites. So many good songs, I thought.
I loved thee Wreck of the Edmond Fitzgerald, the 1st time I heard it. It was so sad. I went home and got out our encyclopedia, to read about the story, immediately after. (I hadn't heard of it, prior to that. )

I always hoped to see him live, in concert, In a small, intimate venue would have been my preference. Unfortunately, that never happened.

I haven't listened to my CDs in forever. But I think it's time for me to go through them and decide what I want to keep. I almost gave them ALL to my neighbor last week, without going thru them, just to have them gone. I'm glad now, that I didn't.

Go in peace, knowing you and your talent were cherished by many.💕

on all of this.

I just canceled my Sirius XM subscription last week and put my CD travel case back in my truck. Pretty sure I have a disk or two of his. Will have to switch out if they aren't already in the case.

FWIW I was frantically looking for my CD travel case (and umbrella) yesterday. I found it. 

[billisonboard]

Found his If You Could Read My Mind disk and this was the first song:

The minstrel of the dawn is gone
I hope he'll call before too long
And if you meet him you must be
The victim of his minstrelsy
He'll sing for you a song
The minstrel of the dawn

[Artemis Windsong]

I listened to part of his play list on you tube.  By WEF started to play, I had to shut it off. 

[Tennesseer]

Gordon Lightfoot: 12 of His Finest Musical Moments

As news spread May 1 of Canadian songwriting and singing legend Gordon Lightfoot’s death, realizing the full impact of his artistry and the breadth of his catalog felt all the more jolting. To hear Lightfoot’s virtuosic work is to have been pierced by its beauty.

In a 2020 interview with this writer, Lightfoot rhetorically questioned his own storied craft. “Am I psychologically invested and involved?” he quizzed himself. “Yes. Are these songs me? I guess. It’s very important that I do the work that I do to get me there, writing these songs. All the poetic license allowed me from those around me helps. But when they ask where it is that all of this comes from, I still always say it is my imagination.” Then, with a sense of gallows humor, Lightfoot teased, “When I croak, will people remember that, remember my work?”

They will, from the gently trembling, sensualist tone of Lightfoot’s baritone vocals to the frankly soulful lyrics, and woozily folksy sound of his 12-string acoustic guitar-based songs. Here are 12 great musical moments from the pen and the voice of Gordon Lightfoot.

Nico, “I’m Not Sayin’” (1965)Already a Canadian national treasure by this point, Lightfoot moved his fortunes and base of operations to the U.S., where he signed with Bob Dylan’s manager, Albert Grossman, and wrote and recorded his own version of this open-heartedly romantic single. Yet it was Nico – in a solo effort apart from the Velvet Underground – whose version of “I’m Not Sayin’” cuts deeper. For all her usual icy display (to say nothing of Jimmy Page’s production and his 12-string guitar), Nico’s version of Lightfoot’s words simply runs hotter.

Rest of the twelve here: Gordon Lightfoot: 12 of His Finest Musical Moments

[toomuchreality]

May 2, 2023 8:24:31 GMT -5 billisonboard said:

May 2, 2023 3:19:55 GMT -5 toomuchreality said:

So sad.🥀
He was one of my favorites. So many good songs, I thought.
I loved thee Wreck of the Edmond Fitzgerald, the 1st time I heard it. It was so sad. I went home and got out our encyclopedia, to read about the story, immediately after. (I hadn't heard of it, prior to that. )

I always hoped to see him live, in concert, In a small, intimate venue would have been my preference. Unfortunately, that never happened.

I haven't listened to my CDs in forever. But I think it's time for me to go through them and decide what I want to keep. I almost gave them ALL to my neighbor last week, without going thru them, just to have them gone. I'm glad now, that I didn't.

Go in peace, knowing you and your talent were cherished by many.💕

on all of this.

I just canceled my Sirius XM subscription last week and put my CD travel case back in my truck. Pretty sure I have a disk or two of his. Will have to switch out if they aren't already in the case.

I used to have quite a few of his records. But I have given all my vinyl record and my stereo equipment away. However, I still have a lot of CDs. Many different genres. Most from the 70s. I know I have a few Of Gordon Lighfoot's. Gord's Gold is the first one that comes to mind.

I'm really going to feel bad, when James Taylor and Carole King go. So many good artists from that era.

[Tennesseer]

Mariner'Church, Detroit Michigan

Established to serve mariners, the church holds a Blessing of the Fleet every March for those going to sea, and a Great Lakes Memorial Service every November for those who have lost their lives at sea.

The church's bell tolled 29 times in November 1975 to mourn the loss of the freighter Edmund Fitzgerald; once for each of her 29 crew members.[13][14] The church continued to hold an annual memorial, reading the names of the crewmen and ringing the church bell until 2006.[15]

The church is mentioned in Gordon Lightfoot's song "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald", which goes: "In a musty old hall in Detroit, they prayed in the Maritime Sailors' Cathedral. The church bell chimed 'til it rang, 29 times, for each man on the Edmund Fitzgerald." In 1985, Lightfoot performed the ballad at the tenth memorial service for the Edmund Fitzgerald. After viewing the sanctuary, Lightfoot proclaimed to the congregation that he wrote the song under a false impression and would in future performances refer to the church as a "...rustic old hall..."[7] On May 2, 2023, the day after Gordon Lightfoot's death, the church's bell tolled 30 times, once for each of the Edmund Fitzgerald's 29 crew members and once in memory of Gordon Lightfoot.[16]

Mariners' Church

[toomuchreality]

May 13, 2023 19:29:25 GMT -5 Tennesseer said:

Mariner'Church, Detroit Michigan

Established to serve mariners, the church holds a Blessing of the Fleet every March for those going to sea, and a Great Lakes Memorial Service every November for those who have lost their lives at sea.

The church's bell tolled 29 times in November 1975 to mourn the loss of the freighter Edmund Fitzgerald; once for each of her 29 crew members.[13][14] The church continued to hold an annual memorial, reading the names of the crewmen and ringing the church bell until 2006.[15]

The church is mentioned in Gordon Lightfoot's song "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald", which goes: "In a musty old hall in Detroit, they prayed in the Maritime Sailors' Cathedral. The church bell chimed 'til it rang, 29 times, for each man on the Edmund Fitzgerald." In 1985, Lightfoot performed the ballad at the tenth memorial service for the Edmund Fitzgerald. After viewing the sanctuary, Lightfoot proclaimed to the congregation that he wrote the song under a false impression and would in future performances refer to the church as a "...rustic old hall..."[7] On May 2, 2023, the day after Gordon Lightfoot's death, the church's bell tolled 30 times, once for each of the Edmund Fitzgerald's 29 crew members and once in memory of Gordon Lightfoot.[16]

Mariners' Church

That's cool that they rang the bell for him. That brings tears to my eyes.
I wonder if they will continue to do it in the future?

[Tennesseer]

May 13, 2023 23:21:56 GMT -5 toomuchreality said:

May 13, 2023 19:29:25 GMT -5 Tennesseer said:

Mariner'Church, Detroit Michigan

Established to serve mariners, the church holds a Blessing of the Fleet every March for those going to sea, and a Great Lakes Memorial Service every November for those who have lost their lives at sea.

The church's bell tolled 29 times in November 1975 to mourn the loss of the freighter Edmund Fitzgerald; once for each of her 29 crew members.[13][14] The church continued to hold an annual memorial, reading the names of the crewmen and ringing the church bell until 2006.[15]

The church is mentioned in Gordon Lightfoot's song "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald", which goes: "In a musty old hall in Detroit, they prayed in the Maritime Sailors' Cathedral. The church bell chimed 'til it rang, 29 times, for each man on the Edmund Fitzgerald." In 1985, Lightfoot performed the ballad at the tenth memorial service for the Edmund Fitzgerald. After viewing the sanctuary, Lightfoot proclaimed to the congregation that he wrote the song under a false impression and would in future performances refer to the church as a "...rustic old hall..."[7] On May 2, 2023, the day after Gordon Lightfoot's death, the church's bell tolled 30 times, once for each of the Edmund Fitzgerald's 29 crew members and once in memory of Gordon Lightfoot.[16]

Mariners' Church

That's cool that they rang the bell for him. That brings tears to my eyes.
I wonder if they will continue to do it in the future?

Probably not. That was a one time only. They changed the ringing of bells back in 2006 (see below from cited article I linked above to) and who the bells covers now.

On November 12, 2006, two days after the 31st anniversary of the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald, the church broadened its memorial ceremony to include the more than 1,000 lives lost on the Great Lakes.[17] In 2006, the bell at Mariners' Church tolled eight times, not the usual 29: five times for the five Great Lakes, a sixth time for the St. Clair and Detroit rivers, a seventh for the St. Lawrence Seaway, and an eighth time for military personnel who died.[15]

[toomuchreality]

May 14, 2023 10:13:23 GMT -5 Tennesseer said:

May 13, 2023 23:21:56 GMT -5 toomuchreality said:

That's cool that they rang the bell for him. That brings tears to my eyes.
I wonder if they will continue to do it in the future?

Probably not. That was a one time only. They changed the ringing of bells back in 2006 (see below from cited article I linked above to) and who the bells covers now.

On November 12, 2006, two days after the 31st anniversary of the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald, the church broadened its memorial ceremony to include the more than 1,000 lives lost on the Great Lakes.[17] In 2006, the bell at Mariners' Church tolled eight times, not the usual 29: five times for the five Great Lakes, a sixth time for the St. Clair and Detroit rivers, a seventh for the St. Lawrence Seaway, and an eighth time for military personnel who died.[15]

That's a bummer. They aren't even ringing it 29 times, much less 30. 🥀

[Deleted]

Truly a Canadian legend....saw him in Toronto's Massey Hall in the 70's. Very simple, humble, and wonderful man.

Another one around that era was this gentleman, who is 74 now.....I used to get the two mixed up back then.