Lightfoot’s rise to stardom channeled the excitement of the era. We’re capable of sensitivity and poetry.” In the documentary, Geddy Lee, the lead singer of Rush, says, “He sent the message to the world that we’re not just a bunch of lumberjacks and hockey players up here. But who are we?” That’s a question that popular culture was put on earth to address, and Lightfoot arrived at the perfect moment to answer it. In 1967, Canada celebrated 100 years of existence, and amid the centennial its citizens were asking themselves, “Okay, we’re here. We also hear about what a revolutionary figure Lightfoot was in his native Canada - which sounds quaint and a little dull, but isn’t, because what he did, in effect, was to invent pop stardom for a country that was seeking its identity. (The film then jumps decades ahead to versions by Paul Weller and Neil Young.) From the start, his songs were covered by a dazzling array of artists, and we see versions of the heartbreakingly beautiful 1966 ballad “Early Morning Rain” sung by Peter, Paul and Mary, Ian and Sylvia, Judy Collins, and Elvis in his white suit. We hear testimonials, from people like Sarah McLachlan and Steve Earle, about his immaculate quality as a musician: the way his 12-string guitar was always perfectly tuned for that impeccable ringing sound (he was such a powerful and propulsive guitarist that for a long time he didn’t need drums), the way he wrote his songs out on music paper, notating the melodies like cantatas, and the way the tunes themselves were built like intricate pieces of cabinetry. Yet he was the kind of obsessive songwriter who turned that trauma into incandescence. He’s a survivor of excess - battles with the bottle, three marriages, plus two other relationships in which he had children (he has six kids in all). He now has a been-around-the-block Chet Baker gauntness, with long hair combed straight back and falling down over his shoulders and features that are aged but sharp and lean, giving him the slithery look of a rock ‘n’ roll wizard. In “Gordon Lightfoot: If You Could Read My Mind,” Lightfoot looks like a different person than the wavy-haired preppie cowboy he was in his heyday. He wrote with the sincerity of Dylan (who he was friends with), in a style that merged folk and country and pop, but the liquid-gold lilt of his voice turned every ballad into a confession. His most famous lyric (addressed to the woman he was married to when he wrote “For Lovin’ Me”) was, “If you could read my mind, love,/What a tale my thoughts could tell…” And listening to Lightfoot’s songs, you just about could read his mind. In the ’60s and ’70s, the words and melodies poured out of him, and they often expressed an indelible melancholy, yet there was a rapture to it all, a feeling that Lightfoot was transported by the things he was singing about. I was born and raised here,” Brandon joked to Rolling Stone magazine.Some pop songs are inescapably happy, like “Give It Up” by KC and the Sunshine Band or “Happy” by Pharrell Williams, and some are sad, like “Eleanor Rigby” or Elton John’s “Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word.” But then there’s the kind of song that’s happy and sad at the same time, like a gorgeous splash of late-afternoon sun glinting through the rain. Ten years after the LP’s release, the band marked the anniversary with a special two day celebration at the very casino that gave the record its name. Sam’s Town took The Killers to another level, transforming them from indie pop rockers to a band destined for stadiums with epic tracks in When You Were Young, Bones and For Reasons Unknown. Choose a room overlooking the bubbling brook and trees of the Mystic Falls Indoor Park or opt for a view of the glittering city lights and majestic mountains surrounding the Las Vegas Valley.”Īn interior view of the Sam's Town Hotel and Gambling Hall. Sam's Town boasts 646 elegantly appointed rooms and suites. Sam’s Town was designed to attract local (rather than tourist) trade and the venue’s sign was visible through Killers bassist Mark Stoermer’s childhood bedroom window.Īs the official Sam’s Town Facebook page says: “Sam's Town is nestled in the shadow of the Sunrise Mountains, just a few quick miles from the Las Vegas Strip. Sam Boyd had moved to Vegas with his family in 1941 and he quickly worked his way up from dealing at the tables to owning some of the biggest and most successful casinos on the strip. Sam's Town Hotel and Gambling Hall in June 2021.
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