I first heard Gordon Lightfoot as a kid in the late 60s. My mother would play his music, and Simon and Garfunkel, continuously every Sunday as she did the wash. In the later 70s, my father, who worked in security on Pariiament Hill here in Ottawa met Gordon who was visiting the parliament. My father asked for an autograph for my mother and Gordon gave him a huge poster (like 5' x 5') of the Endless Wire album cover signed and made out to my mother. My dad brought it to my mother who did not believe it was from GL (my father had a tendency to joke around, so she was suspicious based on "past practice"). Meanwhile, I had just finished painting 2 walls of our semi-finished basement room which I was allowed to use as my own (many a great party was convened there) - with the help of an Artistically handy friend, I had one wall painted top to bottom with a huge VH symbol (like on the cover of Van Helen II), and another wall had Jimmy Page's ZoSo symbol in similar size. After some discussion upstairs like "quit kidding around - GL didn't sign that, you did", I ended up with the poster and proudly placed it on the 3rd wall right next to my other two heros. Things have basically stayed that way since then (tho the poster is long gone) - regardless of the ebb and flo of my musical tastes: from BTO / LZ / Black Sabbath to KISS / RUSH / TRIUMPH to VH .. to ... to ... , Gordon Lightfoot has always been in the rotation for me.
