Gordon Lightfoot

https://variety.com/2023/music/obituaries-people-news/gordon-lightfoot-dead-edmund-fitzgerald-folk-singer-1235600585/

 

I lost one of my favorite musical artists yesterday, who was responsible for one of my all-time favorite songs, as well as one of my favorite albums. I can’t say his death came as a complete surprise – he was 84, and for quite a few years, his lifestyle was much more rock-and-roll than his music.

 

I saw him live once at Wolf Trap, probably in the mid-1980s. It was one of the few times we sat on the lawn. Unfortunately, by that time his years of smoking had already taken a significant toll on his voice.

 

WXPN’s four-hour morning show today was right on it, starting at 6am with “Early Morning Rain” and throwing in several other Lightfoot classics during the next four hours. Steve, who does the two-hour Tuesday Morning Mix program on Takoma Park’s community radio station, went far and above the call of duty, ditching his previously-planned playlist and replacing it with a nothing-but-Lightfoot broadcast. (Oddly enough, he also began with “Early Morning Rain”.) For those so inclined, all of their programs are archived and available for listening for two weeks; just go to https://takomaradio.org/schedule.

 

An excellent documentary film about Lightfoot came out a few years ago. It’s apparently available on Amazon Prime and a number of other platforms.

Shuffle #164 (May 2, 2023)

Gordon Lightfoot edition

 

The Last Time I Saw Her

The Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald

Love & Maple Syrup

Did She Mention My Name

Softly

Ballad Of Yarmouth Castle

Endless Wire

Walls

Sit Down Young Stranger

April 29, 2023 – Pirates 6, Nats 3

https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/WAS/WAS202304291.shtml

 

Time: 2:52

Attendance: 22,090

Section 220, Row J, Seats 1-2 – club-level section, behind 1st base. We were under the overhang in case of rain (which fortunately didn’t happen).

 

The first four innings seemed to fly by, taking just under an hour. The Pirates stuck first in the top of the second, starting the inning with a walk and two singles. Two innings later, they doubled their lead on a solo homer by 1B Connor Joe. The Nats came right back to tie the score in the bottom of the 4th on a two-out, two-run double by backup catcher Riley Adams.

 

Martinez lifted starting pitcher Patrick Corbin with one out and one on in the top of the 6th. The decision quickly backfired, as CJ Edwards Jr. gave up a two-run tater to RF Miguel Andujar, the second batter he faced. Luis García led off the bottom of the 6th with a triple and scored to cut the deficit to a single run, but three Washington relievers combined to allow two more runs in the top of the 8th. At least the game remained close enough to force the Pirates to use their two best relief pitchers to finish things off. (As it turned out, they wouldn’t be needed in the nightcap of the doubleheader, as the visitors demolished the Nats, 16-1.)

 

Metro was generally fine, although the first part of my trip down on the Red Line was considerably slower than usual. The carved turkey sandwich was quite good, and I was pleasantly surprised that those in the “FIS Champions Club” now get free soda and iced tea. While I packed an umbrella just in case, I finally decided that a jacket would be more trouble than it would be worth. I was a bit chilly at the beginning, but felt fine as the afternoon progressed, and it was quite warm after the game as we took a stroll by the river in the sunshine.