There was no illusions
On the summer side of life
Only tenderness
—Gordon Lightfoot
Summer Side of Life
A few days ago I watched the documentary Gordon Lightfoot: If You Could Read My Mind directed by Martha Kehoe and Joan Tosoni. It took me back to August 1983 when I saw Gordon Lightfoot in concert at the Universal Amphitheatre in Los Angeles. To borrow the phrase from one of his songs, it was “the summer side of life.”
I was living in Burbank and loved driving by Warner Bros, NBC, Universal and Disney Studios on my way to film school. I was working as a freelance photographer, taking acting lessons, every day was 76 degrees, and the sun was perpetually shining—even at night.
At least, that’s my memory of August 1983. I was 22 and everything seemed possible. And everyone seemed honest.
I went to the Universal Amphitheatre ticket booth inquiring if there were any seats left for the Lightfoot concert that week and without showing any expression Mr. Ticket Booth Man pointed on a chart at two seats front and center. Yeah, those would be good. That was the first and only time to score seats front and center to a concert. I was told that those tickets are set aside for music executives, VIPs, or for the artist to give to friends. If unused they are turned in and go on sale to the public as late as the day of the concert.
The singer songwriters of the ’60s and ’70s (Jimmy Buffett, Jim Croce, John Denver, Bob Dylan, Carole King, Don McLean, Carly Simon, Paul Simon, James Taylor, etc.) are my sweet spot musically. I was pulled in by Peter, Paul and Mary singing Puff the Magic Dragon as a kid, and then hearing American Pie as a 10-year-old sealed the deal.
I’d just become a teenager when Lightfoot’s hits Carefree Highway and Rainy Day People played on the radio. I was too young to really comprehend what he was singing about, but I connected to the vibe and emotions of his music. And all these decades later people are still connecting to his music. Not only is he still performing into his 80s, but his work has been featured recently in Knives Out (the song Sundown), Mr. Robot (the song If You Could Read My Mind), and last year on Family Guy (the song The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald).
In his peak popularity Lightfoot played five nights at the Universal Amphitheatre. That would be impossible for any musician to do in 2021. Partly because of the COVID pandemic, but mainly because the Universal Amphitheatre was demolished in 2013 for The Wizarding World of Harry Potter attraction at Universal Studios Hollywood. But regardless, there’s just a short list of entertainers today that could play five nights (non-pandemic) in one city in a facility that seats 6,000 per night.
The singer/songwriters of the ’60s and ’70s eventually gave way on the charts to disco, Urban Cowboy-inspired country, MTV, big hair bands, Madonna, Prince, Michael Jackson, Guns N’ Roses, Bon Jovi, etc. Bruce Springsteen may be the only Dylan-inspired musician whose success in the ’70s was surpassed by his hits in the ’80s. Some folk/folk rock artists faded away. Some tried to crossover into harder rock and some into country.
Lightfoot went canoeing and sailing back in Canada. He had ups and downs with relationships and alcohol. But he just kept doing his thing—being a singer and songwriter recording albums and touring. At least he was before COVID hit. But now there’s the documentary to remind some of his talent and introduce him to others.
I don’t remember many details about that 1983 concert in LA. But I do recall thinking that sitting front and center was slightly overrated because you had to look up the whole concert. Technically my long time girlfriend had the one true front and center seat. But it was a great experience to listen up close to his timeless and universal songs full of love, loss, and regret.
I don’t know where we went wrong
But the feeling’s gone and I just can’t get it back
—Gordon Lightfoot
If You Could Read My Mind
The summer ended and soon afterwards my girlfriend and I broke up and she married another guy. And just like that I lived out a Gordon Lightfoot song. I got a puppy that soon died of worms. That year did not end on an up note.
Thankfully the next year was one of the best years of my life. Over the years it seems like every decade has its share of winters, springs, summers, and falls. The key is appreciating each season. And, of course, those times of transition in-between seasons are fertile ground for storytellers.
P.S. My go to Gordon Lightfoot song is Rainy Day People.
Scott W. Smith is the author of Screenwriting with Brass Knuckles
Thank you for a wonderful memory. My husband and I saw Gordon Lightfoot at the Universal Amphitheater during that concert run, just before we moved to Colorado. His music is part of the soundtrack of our long marriage.