вЂњEarly Morning RainвЂќ came about when he thought back to his poor, homesick student days in Los Angeles, watching big 707s taking off at the airport. Inspired by Bob Dylan and Ian Tyson, Lightfoot soon switched gears and began writing the more poetic, folk-flavored material that made him famous. вЂњWe were aiming in a different direction at the time,вЂќ he recalls, вЂњwith more of a Pat Boone-ish, Jim Reeves kind of approach.вЂќ A pre-folk, middle-of-the-road pop recording, it reached No. But within months heвЂ™d released a single of another original song, вЂњ(Remember Me) IвЂ™m the One,вЂќ credited to simply Gord Lightfoot. LightfootвЂ™s first commercially recorded and released composition, вЂњThis is My Song,вЂќ appeared on 1962вЂ™s Two Tones at the Village Corner, a live duo recording made with his then singing partner Terry Whelan, a high school friend. Returning to Canada with composition and sight-reading skills, Lightfoot launched his music career in Toronto вЂ“ but took day jobs as a bank teller and a backup singer, dancer and drummer (under the pseudonym Charles Sullivan) to make ends meet. native studied orchestration and musical theory. The roots of his craft can be traced to the Westlake School of Modern Music in Los Angeles, where, at 18, the Orillia, Ont. Canadian songwriters have often covered his work, most notably on the 2003 compilation Beautiful: A Tribute to Gordon Lightfoot, which included Bruce Cockburn, Murray McLauchlan, Ron Sexsmith, Blue Rodeo, Cowboy Junkies and the Tragically Hip. The craft and beauty of his work, dating back to 1967вЂ™s вЂњCanadian Railroad TrilogyвЂќ all the way up to 1998вЂ™s autobiographical classic вЂњA Painter Passing Through,вЂќ has inspired artists from Elvis Presley and Barbara Streisand to Bob Dylan and Judy Collins. And he often admits that he had absolutely no idea that his masterpieces вЂњIf You Could Read My MindвЂќ and вЂњThe Wreck of the Edmund FitzgeraldвЂќ would become hits.Д«ut Lightfoot is undeniably gifted. He never fails to credit Ian and Sylvia вЂ“ who recorded two of his earliest songs, вЂњEarly Morning RainвЂќ and вЂњFor LovinвЂ™ Me,вЂќ and introduced him to their manager, Albert Grossman вЂ“ with his good fortune as a composer. HeвЂ™s more comfortable talking about his work ethic, good timing and good luck. Uncommonly humble for a star of his magnitude, Lightfoot would much rather talk about his live show and rehearsing his band for the 65 to 80 North American dates he still proudly performs each year than his songwriting gifts. Sometimes the pressure causes the job to get done, to keep things moving and make the next record.вЂќ When it was time to make the songs, I had to do that. вЂњI had a band and a family, so I had a responsibility. вЂњI was under contract for 33 years to record companies,вЂќ he says by way of explanation, adding вЂњ33 yearsвЂќ again for emphasis. вЂњIt was a great run while I was doing it,вЂќ Lightfoot says about his compositional output, which resulted in an astonishing 400 published songs (234 of which heвЂ™s recorded). The songwriting well hasnвЂ™t run entirely dry вЂ“ his girlfriend, Kim Hasse, recently encouraged him to complete one unfinished song, вЂњIt DoesnвЂ™t Really Matter.вЂќ There are three or four others вЂњon the back burner,вЂќ he admits, but to pull them together at this late stage, well, he feels there just isnвЂ™t time. Sitting in the kitchen of his sprawling home in North YorkвЂ™s exclusive Bridle Path neighborhood, the 75-year-old legend admits that these days his focus is strictly on touring and spending time with his family (a life-threatening abdominal aneurysm in 2002 kept him out of action for two years). To say that heвЂ™s been prolific is like saying the CN Tower looms over Toronto. Many became hits many more are considered iconic, as quintessentially Canadian as a Group of Seven painting or Alice Munro short story. On an unseasonably warm Thanksgiving, Gordon Lightfoot is in an uncharacteristically reflective mood, sipping coffee and looking back on a career that has produced every kind of song imaginable: historical epics, romantic ballads, sea shanties, country ditties, folk-style protests and bluesy вЂњtoe-tappers,вЂќ to use LightfootвЂ™s quaint term for his uptempo numbers.

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