History Trivia / GordonLightfoot

* CreatorsFavoriteEpisode: He was very proud of "The Wreck of the ''Edmund Fitzgerald''".

* OldShame:
** One of the most literal examples of CreatorBacklash. When an album of his early pre-folk material was released in TheSeventies to capitalize on his newfound fame, Lightfoot had his personal assistant buy every copy he could find, then Lightfoot personally destroyed them with an ax.
** He also wasn't all that happy with his United Artists albums, electing to re-record a bunch of songs from them for ''Gord's Gold''.
** He also stopped performing certain songs in concert because he wasn't comfortable with them anymore, like "For Lovin' Me" (he was embarrassed by the song's male chauvinism) and "Black Day in July" (since it's a song by a white Canadian commenting on race relations in the US, he decided it came across as an outsider being too preachy). He'd gotten burned out on "For Lovin' Me" enough by 1969 that he mashed it up in a medley with "Did She Mention My Name" on ''Sunday Concert''.

* SleeperHit: The single released to promote ''Sit Down, Young Stranger'' was the album's only CoverVersion, "Me & Bobby [=McGee=]". A DJ at KJR in Seattle listened to the album and decided to play "If You Could Read My Mind" on his show. It got such a huge response that Reprise rush-released it as the next single, becoming his BreakthroughHit.

* BreakthroughHit: "If You Could Read My Mind", although he'd already been recording for almost a decade when it hit.

* ChannelHop: After gaining critical acclaim but not much success outside of Canada during his stint with United Artists Records, he left in 1970 and signed with Reprise Records, where he became a star.

** He also stopped performing certain songs in concert because he wasn't comfortable with them anymore, like "For Lovin' Me" (he was embarrassed by the song's male chauvinism) and "Black Day in July" (since it's a song by a Canadian commenting on race relations in the US, he decided it came across as an outsider being too preachy). He'd gotten burned out on "For Lovin' Me" enough by 1969 that he mashed it up in a medley with "Did She Mention My Name" on ''Sunday Concert''.

** He also stopped performing certain songs in concert because he wasn't comfortable with them anymore, like "For Lovin' Me" (he was embarrassed by the song's male chauvinism) and "Black Day in July" (since it's a song by a Canadian commenting on race relations in the US, he decided it came across as an outsider being too preachy). He'd gotten burned out on "For Lovin' Me" enough by 1969 that he mashed it up in a medley with "Ribbon of Darkness" on ''Sunday Concert''.

* CreatorsFavoriteEpisode: He's very proud of "The Wreck of the ''Edmund Fitzgerald''".

** He also stopped performing certain songs in concert because he's not comfortable with them anymore, like "For Lovin' Me" (he's embarrassed by the song's male chauvinism) and "Black Day in July" (since it's a song by a Canadian commenting on race relations in the US, he thinks it comes across as an outsider being too preachy).

* MoneyDearBoy: Lightfoot, in his own words, was "irate" about Reprise Records' plan to change the title of his album ''Sit Down Young Stranger'' (which was not selling) to ''If You Could Read My Mind'' after the latter single charted - even going so far as to fly out to L.A. to have the label explain themselves. They told him the name change was "the difference between x and 7x". Needless to say, the name was changed and he got his 7x.

* MoneyDearBoy: Lightfoot, in his own words, was "irate" about the label's plan to change the title of his album "Sit Down Young Stranger" (which was not selling) to "If You Could Read My Mind" after the latter single charted - even going so far as to fly out to LA to have the label explain themselves. They told him the name change was "the difference between x and 7x". Needless to say, the name was changed and he got his 7x.

* WriteWhatYouKnow: Many of his most famous songs are autobiographical. "Early Mornin' Rain" was inspired by his homesickness when he left Ontario after high school to study music in Los Angeles (and would go to LAX to watch planes take off when he didn't have anything else to do). "If You Could Read My Mind" was about the breakup of his first marriage. "Sundown" was based on an incident when his then-lover, Cathy Smith,[[note]]the same Cathy Smith who later went to prison for giving Creator/JohnBelushi his fatal drug dose[[/note]] went out partying without him, and he was seething with jealousy.

* BigNameFan: Among the celebrities interviewed for the documentary film "If You Could Read My Mind" was Creator/AlecBaldwin.

** One of the most literal examples of this trope. When an album of his early pre-folk material was released in TheSeventies to capitalize on his newfound fame, Lightfoot had his personal assistant buy every copy he could find, then Lightfoot personally destroyed them with an ax.

* MoodWhiplash: The rocking, insightful, and politically charged "Black Day in July" on the album "Did She Mention My Name?" is followed by "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4anIKs8Svko May I]]", a honkytonk-sounding tune with eccentric lyrics.

* CoveredUp: Gord's earlier songs especially have been covered by a wide variety of musicians, including Ian and Sylvia, Judy Collins, Music/ElvisPresley, Music/NeilYoung, Music/PeterPaulAndMary, Music/GloriaEstefan, and Music/BobDylan.

** He also stopped performing certain songs in concert because he's not comfortable with them anymore, like "For Lovin' Me" (he's embarrassed by the song's male chauvinism) and "Black Day in July" (he feels that as a song by a Canadian commenting on race relations in the US, it comes off preachy).

* OldShame: One of the most literal examples of this trope. When an album of his early pre-folk material was released in TheSeventies to capitalize on his newfound fame, Lightfoot had his personal assistant buy every copy he could find, then Lightfoot personally destroyed them with an ax.

* ChannelHop: After gaining critical acclaim but not much success outside of Canada during his stint with United Artists Records, he left and signed with Warner Brothers in 1970, where he became a star.
* CreatorsFavoriteEpisode: He's very proud of "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald".

* BreakthroughHit: "If You Could Read My Mind", although he'd already been recording for almost a decade when it hit.