Gordon Lightfoot documentary on Amazon Prime

[Photojeep]

Last night, my wife and I watched a documentary on Gordon Lightfoot called "If You Could Read My Mind" which contained quite a bit of footage of Mr. Lightfoot from about 2 years ago along with footage of highlights of his career. Very good film and, of course, phenomenal music along the way.

One early scene showed him jumping up saying, "Oops, I forgot to water my guitars" and he walked into what looked like his study that had several guitars on stands and on the wall. He grabbed a hose that was connected to what may have been a wet-bar sink and started to fill a floor mounted humidifier as it apparently had run out of water.

He went on to tell the film crew that, "It's the wood, not the wires" that gives guitars their sound.

Considering how much we talk about such things on this forum, I found it great to see that professional musicians like him also worry about the same things we do and he was happy to do this himself.

If you have Amazon Prime, give it a look-see. You'll enjoy it, I'm sure.

Best,
PJ

[6L6]

Thanks for the heads up!

[BrunoBlack]

Yes, thanks. I just put it on my watch list.

[boneuphtoner]

I really enjoyed it - it showed him humidifying his 12 string and he said it was because he likes to hear “more wood” rather than “the wires” - never thought of it that way but I suppose he has a point

[Wild Bill Jones]

I thought the movie was excellent. Almost as much as when I saw him at a smal NJ venue 15 years ago. He’s one of my favorites. Yes. Watch the show.

[Wade Hampton]

One of my best friends when I was in high school turned me on to Gordon Lightfoot. My friend Steve really did know a lot about music (he also turned me on to John Renbourn.) Anyway, Steve loaned me a live concert album called “Sunday Concert” (or something like that) and that was all it took to turn me into a hardcore Gordon Lightfoot fan from then onwards. Steve didn’t have to loan me anymore Lightfoot albums, either - I started buying each one as it came out.

Steve and his brother Al and my father and I went to see Lightfoot when he played a concert at McCormick Place in 1969 or ‘70 - we were living in the suburbs of Chicago at that time, and none of us boys had our driver’s licenses yet.

So Dad took us down there, which was good of him.

A year or two ago I read that a documentary about Gordon Lightfoot had been made, so as soon as it became available online I watched it.

There was one interesting incident that got mentioned: Lightfoot came out with a new album called “Sit Down, Young Stranger.” Naturally, as a hardcore Lightfoot fan I bought it as soon as it was available. But according to what Lightfoot says in the documentary, sales had topped out at 80,000. So Reprise Records reissued it as “If You Could Read My Mind,” and sales went through the roof. That song was his first radio hit in the United States.

There’s a montage sequence in the movie that shows a fairly broad range of singers who covered that song.

Anyhow, for anyone who’s ever listened to Gordon Lightfoot, the documentary is worth seeing. It’s a bit unsettling to see what he looks like now, as he’s become cadaverously thin, but he’s still out there playing his music, bless his heart.

Thanks for posting about it, Mr. Jeep.


Wade Hampton Miller

[jaymarsch]

I watched it a week or so ago and thoroughly enjoyed it. Great footage from throughout his career and they even have a sound clip of his soprano voice as a choir boy. He is such a fine musician as well as a songwriter. I also found him very genuine in speaking about the things he regrets. It was nice to hear Ian and Sylvia and other artists and performers from the 60s and 70s share their experiences. Definitely worth seeing.
Best,
Jayne

[BoneDigger]

This has been discussed a bit in Open Mic. I bought the DVD but have not watched it yet. Hoping to this week. I'm a huge fan of Mr. Lightfoot!

[Kerbie]

Originally Posted by BoneDigger

This has been discussed a bit in Open Mic.

Yes, it has... right HERE, if anyone would like to read about the DVD.

[JEM1032]

There was an article about him in Vintage Guitar Magazine a few months ago. In 2002 he was hospitalized with stomach problems, and operated on for an aorta aneurism. He spent 6 weeks in ICU, in a coma, and about 3 months in the hospital. He had to have a follow up operation in 2003. I've always loved Gordons music and playing. I seem partial to his 12 string guitar songs.

[pickinray]

I have been a hard-core Lightfoot fan since 1976. I started with with the double album "Gord's Gold" and many others followed after that. I basically wore out my vinyl copy of "Sunday Concert" and saw him play live many times. Gord was, and still is, one of my greatest musical influences. I was in Toronto 2 years ago and walked right by Massey Hall and I immediately thought of Gord and all the concerts he's played there.

The story about the humidifier is not surprising. I've read that he would spend hours tuning his guitars before a show so they sounded just right. He is a true professional and a legendary songwriter. I will be sure to check out the documentary on Amazon.

[KevinH]

Thanks for posting this. My wife and I have been big Gordon Lightfoot fans since our teenage years. First saw him in concert, with Red Shea, in Portland OR in the 70s. He was the reason I bought my first guitar - a 12 string of course. I'd bet a lot of 12-string guitars were sold because of him. He generated such an impressive collection of tunes and lyrics.

[6L6]

Canada's Greatest National Treasure.

[guitargabor]

As one who grew up in Canada,Gordon Lightfoot's music and off stage events were very well known.

At one point a huge debate arose as to which celebrity in Canada would hand out the first million dollar divorce settlement in the country.
The two frontrunners were Gord and Bobby Hull of the Chicago Blackhawks.Lightfoot won that one...(and so did the lawyers)

At any rate everyone in Canada adored Gord, including the separatist folk hero and musician Gilles Vigneault.

He is a true icon of Canada.

A verse from his "Hi way Songs" describes the feeling I get every time I return to visit Canada...

"I would travel all my life
If loneliness was not the price
While headin' north across that line's
The only time I'm flyin'

Gabe

[Glennwillow]

The counselor in my dorm when I was a freshman in college, this was 1966-67, went to high school with Gordon Lightfoot and knew him personally, as an acquaintance. He had the first "Lightfoot" album, released in 1966 and introduced me to Gord's music. I was hooked from that point on.

I knew Gordon Lightfoot's name at that time because I learned to play guitar with Peter, Paul & Mary's records. They had covered "That's What You Get For Loving Me" and "Early Morning Rain." (Both PP&M and GL had the same manager at that time, Albert Grossman.) I never cared for the first song all that much, but really loved "Early Morning Rain." I knew these songs were written by Gordon Lightfoot, but I had no idea who he was until I was introduced to the "Lightfoot" album later.

I already owned a 12-string when I first heard Gord's music, but I certainly appreciated his sound. He had a great facility with a flat pick and had a great strumming sound.

I recently bought the DVD of the GL documentary and enjoyed it. I was surprised that they did not delve into his serious illness from an aneurysm he suffered in 2002. Otherwise, the documentary told a good story of his life.

I like GL's more open approach to talking about things in his old age compared to his reticence in his younger years. But after a lifetime of success (and hard work), I imagine he has more confidence in his 80s than he did much earlier in life.

Considering how much alcohol he has consumed over the course of his life, he is very lucky to have lived as long as he has. The Lightfoot biography is a good read on his life, if you are a GL fan, but be prepared for the whole story, warts and all.

- Glenn