Tags: folk  pop  
Channel: Music
Uploaded: December 31, 1969 at 6:59 pm
Author: JBauder1948
Length: 06:25
Rating: 5.00
Views: 5264
Gordon Lightfoot, Jr. was born in Orillia, Ontario, Canada. He was twelve when he made his first appearance at Massey Hall in Toronto, after winning a competition for boys whose voices had not yet changed. As a teenager, Lightfoot learned piano and taught himself to play drums and percussion. In high school, Lightfoot performed in extensively and eventually became largely self-taught in playing folk guitar. He was influenced during this time by 19th-century master American songwriter Stephen Foster. He was also an accomplished high school athlete and set school records in track and field during his time for shot put and pole vault.Lightfoot moved to California in 1958. He studied at Hollywood's Westlake College of Music, which had many Canadian students. To support himself, he sang on demonstration records and wrote, arranged, and produced commercial jingles. He became influenced by the folk music of Pete Seeger, Bob Gibson, Ian and Sylvia Tyson, and The Weavers. In Canada, Lighfoot performed with The Swinging Eight, a group featured on CBC TV's Country Hoedown, and with the Gino Silvi Singers. He soon became known in the Toronto coffee houses promoting folk music. In 1962, Lightfoot released two singles that were local hits in Toronto and received some airplay elsewhere in Canada as well. In 1963 and 1964 Lightfoot began to develop a reputation as a songwriter. Ian and Sylvia Tyson recorded "Early Mornin' Rain" and "For Lovin' Me;" a year later both songs were recorded by Peter, Paul and Mary. Other performers recording one or both songs included Chad and Jeremy and the Johnny Mann Singers. Established recording artists such as Marty Robbins ("Ribbon of Darkness"), Leroy Van Dyke ("I'm Not Saying"), Judy Collins ("Early Morning Rain"), Richie Havens ("I Can't Make It Anymore"), and The Kingston Trio ("Early Morning Rain"), all achieved chart success with Gordon Lightfoot's material.In 1965, Lightfoot signed a recording contract with United Artists and released his own version of "I'm Not Saying" as a single. Appearances at the Newport Folk Festival, the Tonight Show, and New York's Town Hall increased his following and his reputation. In 1966, he released his debut album Lightfoot!, which brought him increased recognition as both a singer and a songwriter. It featured many now-famous songs, including "For Lovin' Me," "Early Mornin' Rain," "Steel Rail Blues," and "Ribbon of Darkness." On the strength of the Lightfoot! album, which mixed Canadian and universal themes, Lightfoot became one of the first Canadian singers to achieve real stardom in his own country without having to move to the United States.Between 1966 and 1969, Lightfoot recorded four additional albums for United Artists: The Way I Feel (1967), Did She Mention My Name? (1968), Back Here On Earth (1968), and the live recording Sunday Concert (1969). During those years, he consistently placed singles in the Canadian top 40, including "Go-Go Round", "Spin, Spin", and "The Way I Feel". His biggest hit of the era was a rendition of Bob Dylan's "Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues", which peaked at #3 on the Canadian charts. Internationally, Lightfoot's albums from this time were well-received, but did not produce any hit singles. Outside of Canada, he remained better known as a songwriter than as a performer.Lightfoot was signed to Warner Bros./Reprise in 1970 and had a major hit in the United States with his recording of "If You Could Read My Mind." The song was originally featured on his 1970 album Sit Down Young Stranger, which did not sell well. After the success of the song, the album was re-released under the new title If You Could Read My Mind. It reached #5 nationally and the success of the song represented a major turning point in Gordon Lightfoot's career. It also had only the second recorded version of "Me and Bobby McGee" as well as "The Pony Man","Your Love's Return" and "The Minstrel of The Dawn".Over the next seven years, he recorded a series of successful albums that established him as a singer-songwriter. His 1976 single, Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald, reached #2 on Billboard and became his signature song.