PROFILE
Courtlin Sound - August 2009
In response to many emails
over the years (and to save me rewriting the same answer time and
again) I will include a brief personal profile here for those who may
care to know a little of the background that led me to do this
Lightfoot web page.
First
of all let me say, it's been
a rewarding experience following Gordon Lightfoot's musical journey
all these years. I started listening to him as a 12 year old in 1967.
Until I heard him, it was all
Beatles, all the time. Since then, I've awaited each new release
from Lightfoot with undiminished anticipation. Looking back, each album
is like a signpost, stirring vivid memories of the circumstances
surrounding the point I was at in my life when the album was released.
Some cases in point - taking up guitar (Back Here On Earth); my
first
summer job (Sit Down
Young
Stranger); leaving home
for the first time
to attend university (Sundown);
that
idyllic, yet bittersweet summer of 1976 (Summertime Dream); a
year spent travelling (Endless
Wire); birth of my
first child (Waiting
For You). I can
remember as a high school student, saving my
money to
buy Don Quixote
and
when the day finally came to make the purchase,
I awoke to a freak April snowstorm and can clearly remember walking up
the middle of the street to the record store because the sidewalks
weren't yet shovelled. Or while changing trains in Montreal in 1975, I
wandered into a store to pass the time, only to find the brand new
Cold
On The Shoulder staring
back from the shelves! These are just
examples,
but every album is etched firmly in my conscience, from the day I first
layed my eyes and hands on it in the store, through those first
critical listening sessions - always privately, to soak up every
new nuance of word and music without distraction, the time and place in
my life forever colouring how I hear those particular songs. His music
opened the
door for me to explore artists like Dylan - and many more too numerous
to
mention. But to my mind
Lightfoot is the epitome of what a singer/songwriter should aspire to
be. Watching how he has conducted his career all these years has been
an
inspiration for me in many aspects of life, even extending far beyond
music.
It has also led me to write
and record my own music. Below you will
find details of my first two albums of original songs.
I have just completed my third album, Calm Within The Storm and am very pleased with the
results and response so far. The title track is an environmental song
which I feel is among my strongest songs to date.
I was pleased to be informed that
nationally known
singer-songwriter Tim
Dabbs of Johnstown, PA has recorded two of my songs, High River
Crossroad and Talking With The Angels for his new album, Safely
Home, released August 28, 2006. It was so
great to hear his wonderful interpretations of my songs. I own Tim's
other albums and can vouch for the fact that he is a first class
musician, so I'm very honoured he would choose to record my material.
I was guest for the hour on Sunday Nov. 11, 2007
with Anthony Frazier on the Acoustic Radio Hour from Indiana, PA.
Check out the show if you're interested at Acoustic Radio Hour. Thanks
to everyone who ordered The
Sun Went Down In Style
and Southpaw, your response continues to be
overwhelming! Listen to streaming audio of my first three albums on the
player below or visit my page at ReverbNation. -
WF
