In February 2021, I wrote about how Gordon Lightfoot aged appropriately with his song, “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.” After sharing the essay with my close friend, Mark, he surprised me with tickets for a Gordon Lightfoot show at Infinity Hall in Hartford, CT. The night of the show, Mark, and his wife, Anne, my wife, Tracey, and I enjoyed a superb steak dinner and walked to the show. Infinity Hall is an intimate music venue that seats only 500. This is exactly the kind of place to see a folk/rock singer, guitarist, and songwriter like Gordon Lightfoot. You can hear the music while not being blasted by arena-size speakers. You can see the band without the aid of large screens.
The show was pleasant, but sadly, at 83 years old, Gordon’s voice was not fully up to the task anymore. He still sang the songs, but his voice lacked the robust range and strength he had as a younger man. I still enjoyed the show and still loved his current reduced-voice version of “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald” for the same reasons I shared in my earlier piece. I did at times, however, find myself wishing for Gordon’s full voice or for him to allow for more background vocal support on some songs. His bandmates provided some background vocals, which enhanced Gordon’s voice, but it was used sparingly.
I don’t know why, but I imagine Gordon wanted it that way. He may have felt that the people came to hear him play, which he did with excellence, and sing. He may have felt that If people wanted to hear the band sing, they could go see a cover band.
I came away from the show with respect for him continuing to tour his way at the age of 83. I also imagined I’d probably not see him perform live again.
I woke up today, May 2nd, 2023, at 4:00 a.m. I couldn’t fall back asleep, so I grabbed Mark’s latest book, Random Thoughts: A Writer’s Notebook, and went downstairs to read. The book did what well-written books do — it fully absorbed me. I finished the second half of the book in two-and-a-half hours; although, it felt like ten minutes. I made a cup of coffee and turned on the news just in time to hear that Gordon Lightfoot passed away the day before at the age of 84. The report said he had canceled some shows about a month ago, citing health issues. I shared the news with Mark via text. He replied with this obituary from RollingStone.
I was amazed to learn from the obituary that in 2002, at age 64, Lightfoot suffered a ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm and spent six weeks in a coma. He eventually recovered after four surgeries, using 28 units of blood, and a tracheotomy that damaged his vocal cords, greatly weakening his singing voice. He later commented that he was embarrassed that they used 28 units of blood to save his life. Gordon’s humility, along with the realization that his voice was impaired from the tracheotomy rather than hard living, heightened my respect for the man immeasurably.
At 64 years old, after surviving a health event that kills 85 percent of the people who experience it, Lightfoot could have retired, and nobody would have faulted him. Instead, he made what I imagine to be a significant effort to recover and rebuild his voice as best he could, mustered his courage, and went on doing what he loved to do. I’m so glad he did.
I’m so grateful that I got to experience his genius, talent, and humility before it was too late. I am sad to hear of his passing, but I’m more enriched by his living than I imagined possible.
Featured image courtesy of Arnielee, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
