I first saw him when I was 11 years old (1966) and he was playing at Le Hibou Coffee House in Ottawa. I was a bored clued out kid there with my older brother (22). He had been arm twisted into looking after 35 or so kids 10-17 whose parents were at a convention in Ottawa .
It was the early show and I sitting beside my brother and was jammed into the corner by the stage. Beside me was a large piece of furniture covered in a drop cloth.
Lightfoot comes out and I am bored and uncomfortable. He starts strumming his guitar and I move around to get comfortable and place my arm on this large cloth covered piece of furnature.
Yep it was a piano, and the keyboard cover was up. Of course the sound it makes was horrific and very loud. Having no clue, I push my hands down on the sheet to make the noise stop, now we have another horrible sound . My brother wants to throttle me and I am mortified .
Lightfoot looks over at me and says, "thats my new piano player, you'll hear a lot more from him later in the set".
And he played a great set my brother tells me .
Later I saw him at Massey Hall a few times and then once about 15 years ago in Vancouver. He was not doing well in Vancouver and we left becasue I wanted to remember him for what he was. Later on I understand he got things back together.
My best pal who died last year went to Camp Ahmek and they were finishing a portage and these two guys came ripping over the 'tage and were back on the water in a flash . As they paddled away the guy in the stern turned and said , "Have a great day, I'm Murray McLauchlan, and that's Gordon Lightfoot, pointing to the bowman.
I remember seeing him in 1975 in Toronto as an honoured guest performing on Bob Dylan's Rolling Thunder Review. Dylan introduced him as his favourtie songwriter.
Here is a quick video of the post concert after party at his house in Rosedale.