Gordon Lightfoot - Facts & Music Pt. I Quiz

Answer: Orillia, Ontario

Orillia, a town of approximately 31,000, is situated in South Central Ontario, Canada, and is approximately 135 kms. north of the city of Toronto and is where I began my musical career at a young age. Other notables from Orillia include poet and humorist, Stephen Leacock, famous pianist Glenn Gould, and Group of Seven famous painter, Franklin Carmichael.

It is also the home of the Mariposa Folk Festival, which I have been attending for almost 50 years.

Answer: Meredith

The name was passed from Gord's father, also named Gordon Meredith Lightfoot, and is the name he gave to one of his daughters as well.

Answer: (Remember Me) I'm The One

Before Gord's professional career started, he was already well known in his hometown of Orillia as he sang periodically on the local radio station from the age of five. Gord was nine when he made his first actual recording which the principal played on the school's intercom system.

He made his first appearance at Old Massey Hall in Toronto at the age of twelve, a venue that he plays in yearly right up until 2009. Then in July 1962, at the age of 21, he made his first professional recordings, which were "(Remember Me) I'm the One" and "It's Too Late, He Wins."

Answer: Lightfoot!

Gord was with the Albert Grossman management team when he released "Lightfoot!", a record which consolidated his undoubted promise. The album was released by United Artists and paved the way for him to a contract to make four more albums for UA over the next three years.

Answer: Marty Robbins

Many of Gordon's songs were successfully performed by a lot of big name artists back in the 60s, and are often heard being sung by many other artists through the 70s and right up until today.
In later quizzes, we'll discuss other Lightfoot songs that other artists kept in their repertoire, although "Ribbon of Darkness" was the first song Gord wrote to make it to number one on the major music billboard charts.

Answer: Sunday Concert

Gord felt he was being mistreated by United Artists and wanted out of his five record contract. They refused. So he quickly put his musically skilled mind to work and honored the contract. Although he did not want to do a live album, it was the quickest way to get away from United Artists so he made "Sunday Concert" in 1969, having completed his five record deal in approximately 3 and 1/2 years.

Answer: 1967 Detroit riots

Gord wrote the song during the time of the Tet Offensive in Vietnam which occurred during the Vietnamese Lunar New Year, but the song was about the Detroit 1967 Riot, also known as the Detroit 1967 Rebellion. There were many famous artists doing Vietnam protest songs, such as Buffalo Springfield ("For What It's Worth") and The Youngbloods ("Get Together"), but Gord was the only one to write and record a song directly addressing the riots.

The reasons behind the riots incensed Gord to the point where he felt compelled to 'say something' about it through his music and included the song on his album "Did She Mention My Name?".

The riot began July 23, 1967, when police in Detroit decided to 'shut down' a party at an unlicensed bar on the corner of 12th street and Clairemont in the city of Detroit. Strangely enough, the party was being held to welcome back two black soldiers who had served in Vietnam.

The U.S. Government ordered a ban on playing the song on US radio stations and even tried blocking the sale of the record.

It even incurred a severe 'scolding' to the Canadian Government and Lightfoot himself from then president, Lyndon Johnson. It did nothing though to deter Canadian radio stations from playing it regularly. The riot resulted in the deaths of 43 people, with another 467 injured, 7,200+ arrests, and the burning of over 2,000 buildings.

Answer: The Two Tones

According to the group names given and the hint below the question, it should have been easy to guess The Two Tones, as "there were only Gord (Lightfoot) and Terry (Whelan) as musicians" suggests! The name of the album was "Two Tones at the Village Corner" and it was recorded live, January 20, 1962, at the Village Corner in Toronto, a kind of cafe style gathering place for young musicians of the day and their fans.

It had an array of 12 songs, all which were written by artists other than Gord. By no means was it a huge seller, but it received a lot of local airplay in Gord and Terry's hometowns and helped Gord propel himself into an extremely successful solo career.

Answer: Quicksilver Messenger Service

"Pride of Man", a song about prophecy and mankind's spiritual downfall, was released in 1966 on Gord's first album, "Lightfoot", and was also released on Quicksilver Messenger Service's 1968 self-titled album. A psychedelic rock group from the San Francisco area, Quicksilver had a bigger hit with it than Lightfoot did, but it's Lightfoot's version that the writer, Hamilton Camp, liked much better because it maintained the folk tempo he played with and had written the song for.

Despite being 44 years old, the song still carries a powerful and prophetic message about the "Pride of Man."

Answer: Canadian Railroad Trilogy

Canadian Railroad Trilogy is an original song written and recorded by Gordon Lightfoot describing the building history of the Canadian Pacific Railway. It appeared on his 1967 album, "The Way I Feel", but was heard before the album came out or received any airplay, because the song was commissioned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation for a special broadcast on January 1st, 1967, Canada's Centennial year.

In 2004, "Canadian Idol" featured the song being performed by the contest's final six contestants while Gord was in attendance.

It has also been covered by artists John Cougar Mellencamp, George Hamilton IV, and many others. It remains, to this day, one of Gord's most memorable and loved ballads.