Seldom can employees boast 40 years’ company seniority. Both Rick Haynes and Terry Clements can.

Not only that, bassist Rick and lead guitarist Terry have worked for the same boss – Mr. Gordon Lightfoot – for a combined 81 years’ tenure. Both were instrumental (pun intended) in polishing the legendary troubadour’s signature sound during the peak of his career.

Gordon knows, accept no substitutes. These stringbending siamese twins are still backing their boss and don’t show any signs of calling it quits. As long as an unstoppable Lightfoot keeps their fingers nimble by taking his show on the road, it’s likely we’ll see Rick and Terry performing at their respective diamond jubilees.

Gordon Lightfoot @ Massey Hall 2011

Footnote: We got word late yesterday about Terry Clements’ untimely passing on Sunday, February 20. On behalf of Don and myself, our heartfelt condolences to the Clements family, Gordon Lightfoot and band, and all who loved him. May he rest peacefully.
– Mary Bieler, Webmaster

We’ve been Gordon Lightfoot fans for a long time. Even back before it was hip.

But asking us to name our favorite from his 250+ song catalog is like, well, asking us to choose a favorite child. We can, however, easily place “Canadian Railroad Trilogy” in our top five without having to second guess, simply because THE ACOUSTIC GUITAR ARRANGEMENT AND PERFORMANCE OF THIS TUNE IS AWESOME, whether it’s a studio recording or live version. The song demonstrates how Gord basically put the word “song” in “songwriting.”

So what do we care that the Trilogy, which Lightfoot was commissioned to write by the CBC for a 1966 television documentary commemorating the railway’s centennial, will be made into an illustrated book for release later this year?

Because the lyrics are damned awesome as well. You see, Lightfoot was also responsible for putting the word “writer” in “songwriter.”

Back in 1976, Gordon Lightfoot’s song “Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald” made it to #2 in the Billboard charts. For those not familiar, the song tells the tale of an iron ore freighter which capsized during a severe storm on Lake Superior a year earlier, claiming the lives of its entire crew of 29. Lightfoot read about it in Newsweek magazine and immediately sat down and composed perhaps his best-known song, finishing it two weeks later. Basically a dirge, not only was it distinctive due to its lack of fleeting melody or a catchy refrain at a time when disco was coming of age, it was distinctly overkilled by AM radio (just like Hotel California a year later.)

Anyway, perhaps due to the song’s popularity, the case of the Edmund Fitzgerald has never really rested. Initially, the cause of the accident was attributed to human error, as is usually the case when catastrophe meets insurance company. A Canadian television documentary Dive Detectives (History Television, March 31) has re-examined the case and concludes that the Fitz suffered its fate at the mercy of a huge rogue wave, combined with the boat’s age and enormous payload.

The result? The film’s findings have prompted Gordon Lightfoot to slightly change the lyrics of his iconic song in his live performances in order to more or less exonerate whatever crew member may have been responsible for when that “main hatchway gave in.” Hatchway or none, the classic song remains one of the most lyrically poignant ever recorded.

Lightfoot, the lyrics and the film

Don’s scheduled a December 4 show at the Lakeland Center Youkey Theater in Lakeland, Florida. We’ve never been to the Youkey Theater before but we figure it must be a pretty decent venue since our idol Gordon Lightfoot is gracing their stage this coming Wednesday evening.

1. (formerly) a person who composed and recited epic or heroic poems, often while playing the harp, lyre, or the like.
2. one of an ancient Celtic order of composers and reciters of poetry.
3. Gordon Lightfoot.

You can’t get it any more genuine than this. Canada’s national treasure sets off on TOUR through eastern Canada and into the Lower 48 beginning in March. Gordon Lightfoot will warm up with music and conversation at the Toronto Centre for the Arts on February 4, an event brought to you by the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame.