Jennings Nicholas - Lightfoot

O n a hard-backed chair in the upstairs study of his Toronto home, Gordon Lightfoot sat smoking and playing guitar. On what he called his Quebec wicker table were his usual writing tools: a pencil, a pad of yellow lined paper, a cup of coffee and a bottle of whiskey. There was little else in the sparsely furnished room, aside from a telephone, a desk lamp and a large map of Canada on the wall. It wasnt that Lightfoot lacked possessions or was short of money. His house was, in fact, a mansion. Sundown had made him rich. In June 1974, the sultry song and album of the same name had simultaneously topped the charts, bumping Paul McCartney out of the coveted number 1 position and taking Lightfoot to the biggest stages in North America. Things had kept rolling with Cold on the Shoulder and Rainy Day People hitting the Top 10. The momentum carried him across the Atlantic for his first European concerts, followed by a return engagement at Londons prestigious Royal Albert Hall. By late November 1975, after two triumphant final dates at New Yorks Avery Fisher Hall, Lightfoot was back home. But there was no time to rest. With another album due, he had to come up with a new batch of songs.

Lightfoot was deep into his writing session when the phone rang. It was Bob Dylan. Lightfoot and Dylan went back a long way. Theyd both come up during the folk boom, shared a manager in Albert Grossman, had hung out together and respected each other as songwriters. What are you doing for the next two nights? Dylan asked. He was in town with his Rolling Thunder Revue. Would Lightfoot like to join the two shows at Maple Leaf Gardens? Although his writing and recording usually took precedence, Lightfoot couldnt resist.

Rolling Thunder was an entirely different way of touring. It began with the idea of Dylan, his buddy Bobby Neuwirth and mentor Ramblin Jack Elliott playing small venues while traveling around in a station wagon, then accumulated a larger, illustrious cast of characters that included Joan Baez, Roger McGuinn, Ronee Blakley, whod just appeared in Robert Altmans Nashville, and a stellar band featuring gypsy violinist Scarlet Rivera, future Americana star T Bone Burnett and exDavid Bowie sideman Mick Ronson.

Dylans tour had opened on October 30, 1975, in Plymouth, Massachusetts, and rolled through New England in two buses: one called Phydeaux, for the musicians, and the other nicknamed Ghetto, for friends. Dylan, his wife, Sara, and their kids traveled in a lime-green camper called Palm Beach. It was a wild, theatrical affair, with Dylan performing in white greasepaint, Allen Ginsberg along for the ride as resident poet and actor-playwright Sam Shepard documenting the antics, impressionistically, in a journal. Cameras shooting footage for a planned film called Renaldo and Clara captured the giddy spirit of the tour. It was as if a bunch of kids had run away and joined the circus. Spontaneity was the order of the day. During one stop, Dylan and Ginsberg visited Beat writer Jack Kerouacs grave to sing a tribute to their On the Road hero. At another, John Prine and Bruce Springsteen showed up just to be in the audience.

Like a traveling Woodstock, Rolling Thunder was shaping up to be a major pop event. Who could resist a psychedelic musical caravan? The tours destinations were being kept quiet, with handbills like advertisements for an old-timey roadshow getting distributed only at the last minute. But word quickly spread. Lightfoot knew all about it. Fans were thrilled to learn that Dylan had new songs and that he and Baez were performing together for the first time in a decade. Then there were all the famous musicians onstage at once. Additional guests were hopping on and off like passengers on a train. Joni Mitchell was supposed to appear only at Niagara Falls, but she enjoyed the tours communal feeling so much she stayed on for several dates. Now Dylan was inviting Lightfoot to take part in the crazy, star-packed shows scheduled for Toronto.

Dylan and his entourage dropped by Lightfoots house the night of November 30 to discuss it. Things got a little testy with Baez, Lightfoot recalls. Bob and I had to negotiate with Joan right there on the second floor of my house, because she was worried about the running time. She kept saying, There isnt enough time, Bob. There isnt enough time. Joan was kind of uptight but a great lady. In the end, Bob just said to me, Youre booked anyway. Lightfoot was officially on board. As he casually told a newspaper reporter the next day, They gave me a buzz when they got to town, to come down and do a few tunes, and thats just what were gonna do. Like it was no big deal.

Maple Leaf Gardens, home of Lightfoots favorite team, the Toronto Maple Leafs, was Canadas most storied hockey shrine. But the arena also hosted plenty of concerts, including Dylans last Toronto appearance, when he shared the stage with the Band. The fifteen-thousand-seat venue quickly began filling up for the first Rolling Thunder show. Backstage was buzzing. The scene was a whos who of rock nobility. Elton John was there. So too were David Clayton-Thomas, of Blood, Sweat & Tears fame, and Ronnie Hawkins, the man whod groomed the Band for stardom.

Up to this point, the concerts had been running close to four hours. Dylan was in charge, orchestrating everything. He was clearly pleased to have Lightfoot along. On the first night, before singing a stark duet of Dark as a Dungeon with Baez, Dylan dedicated the traditional ballad to Lightfoot, whod first sung it while still a member of the Two Tones. Were gonna do this one for Gordon tonight, Dylan announced. Gordon Lightfoot, is he still here? Then, looking around, he whimsically added, Thought I saw him walking toward the doorstop him! During his next set, before a mesmerizing solo performance of Love Minus Zero / No Limit, Dylan called Lightfoot one of my favorite songwriters in the world.