Last night (5/1/2023), shortly before I shut down for the night, I saw a blurb on Facebook that Gordon Lightfoot had passed away. After verifying with a couple other sources, I shared the original link, then posted a Youtube of the first Lightfoot song I thought of. Nope, not "The Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald". Rather, his #1 song from 1974: "Sundown".
Gordon Lightfoot was a big star in Canada, where he was born (not for from Toronto), with his first Canadian hit in 1962. He'd had 1/2 dozen Canadian Top 40's before he cracked the US charts in 1970 with "If You Could Read My Mind", which hit #5 on the Hot 100, and topped the US country charts.
Still, he didn't break big until 1974, with Sundown, which started a run of 4 big hits in 2 years:
- Sundown - #1
- Carefree Highway - #10
- Rainy Day People - #26
- Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald - #2
All very solid songs. I didn't own any Lightfoot albums back then, but I certainly knew the hits. Later, I acquired his "Summertime Dream" album when I got married, which I have dubbed to digital.
I noted that "Sundown" was the song that first popped into my head. His 1st (US) hit, it peaked right about my 14th birthday, the summer before I started High School. It spent 18 weeks on the charts, 11 in the Top 40, and 7 in the Top 10, making it a notable part of my life soundtrack at a key time. That said, it is the only one of those mid 70's hits that I don't currently own. That will have to change.
Anyway, rest in peace, Mr. Lightfoot, and thanks for the music, and the memories it brings!
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