Affair on Eighth Avenue - Gordon Lightfoot | The Midnight Special

[@Robert-gg1er]

I saw Mr. Lightfoot perform twice in the mid-1970's during his commercial peak. I then saw him perform in the late-1990's at an outdoor venue outside of Pittsburgh called Hartwood Acres. We got there two hours before the 6 pm start and Mr. Lightfoot and the band came onstage for a sound check. About 10 people (myself included) walked to the stage and said hello. He was cordial, but you could tell he was focused on business at hand. He was thin and wiry, good-looking in a rugged way. His face was weathered for his age of 58 but I thought he looked like Clint Eastwood only not as tall. The band members placed a silver film-like covering over the guitars and instruments and he explained that provided heat protection for the instruments. He gave a nice concert and I remember him singing his new autobiographical song called A Painter Passing Through. The Allegheny County Sheriff's spokesman said the crowd was the biggest of the year at nearly 10,000 people.

[@kevinmoynihan8087]

Very interesting….thanks…I never saw him play live…

[@ckp2ator389]

Thanks. I'm late to his music but get the impression that he loved to perform thus his touring so long. Good to know he was as committed to the preparation as he was with the performance.

[@sheilafarman2005]

The words, imagery, music, voice...Gordon was the complete package. He was a brilliant composer and performer. We will keep your music alive for future generations ❤

[@JeremiahLong-b7r]

Outstanding songwriter pure genius,, fantastic songs

[@effiemooney8477]

Awh... my heart is aching... ❤😢

[@thistlequiz1154]

Beautiful

[@janicetrimmell6897]

He was able to tell a story that I felt down to my bones. I will never stop listening to his voice. RIP dear one.

[@KittyGrizGriz]

Like Kris Kristofferson, Gordon’s voice is much better but both weave stories in our minds, talented.

[@johnbatch9276]

God must be happy having such a talent to himself

[@marcjacobscontinued9411]

It's actually (and I know it's quite the cliche) very nice to watch an audience without cellphones really listening to a song!

[@bethanyhuber2598]

This was 1974… The cell phone thing didn’t exist yet. Also, the audience was instructed to sit quietly throughout the performance as it was being recorded.

[@marcjacobscontinued9411]

@@bethanyhuber2598 Thanks. I was aware of that. Great instructions though! 🙂

[@HuntOfficial1776]

If you look for any other Lightfoot concerts or really any concerts before the 80s or 90s, everyone is quiet and enjoys the music because people had respect for performers back then.

[@alsmit4153]

They just want to see him and listen to his golden voice. His superb lyrics are enough.

[@BarbaraTaaffe]

His voice was perfect!! ❤️ His love songs would just hypnotized you and take you into another world of Romance ❤️ 🎵🎶 🌹

[@louisliljedahl1566]

Best song, if you ask me.

[@tonyflinn5154]

Yep.

[@paulvincer199]

Gordon Lightfoot was such a great storyteller. Unfortnately he passed away earlier this year in 2023. As a fitting tribute to him, hopefully the Midnight Special will feature more Gordon Lightfoot songs from other episodes in 1976 and 1977. One of his greatest storytelling songs from the 1977 episode include "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" & "Race Among the Ruins"

[@willyepp6611]

Four dead in Ohio Black day in July Alberto bound In the early morning rain Superb stuff!

[@pageribe2399]

​@@willyepp6611 I believe 4 Dead in Ohio is Neil Young

[@NevadaBoss]

I had the high honor of meeting/interviewing Gord & he was exactly what u would think he would be, humble, smart, funny and courteous. He was also one of the greatest songwriters of his generation...or any other. He is, and will be forever, missed. rip Gordie

[@tomcampbell9645]

Truer words, have never been spoken !

[@debbiebaker2112]

Oh that voice! Amazing songwriter too. :)

[@billhallsongs]

oh that voice! Gorgeous!

[@canuck-guy2384]

Instant Goose Bumps! Beautiful song with heart felt lyrics and outstanding vocals.

[@AlanPrice-b7n]

A truly amazing song. I was blown away when I first played the song off his box set.

[@silentlou4375]

His voice so profound.

[@tomcampbell9645]

I I was privileged to see him twice in the early 70's. Gordon Lighfoot had no equal. Remains, even after his passing , on the mountain top by himself. If all had done was write songs, he would have been unrivalled. With that beautiful voice, certainly in those days, he stood alone. And besides that, he was a great, and proud Canadian !

[@mconfive2nine]

His voice is stunning. Captivating for real.

[@that70sgirl90]

Lyrically ... he was one of best. A man and his guitar an Artist like no other. He paints a beautiful picture in your mind. 🎨 Happy Saturday... thank you for sharing! 💖

[@StephanieJeanne]

That was beautiful! He was an amazing storyteller. The pauses and then resumption of playing were perfectly times between all of them. Such a voice he had, too! 😍😌

[@ytnsanw]

My favourite GL song. Never knew this footage existed. What a treat and a privilege to be able to watch this nearly 50 years after the fact...

[@ITSFUNZ]

I suppose we finally know the answer to the riddle ! Thanks for all your amazing work ! You will be a part of our lives forever ! Rest in peace 👏

[@Jreb1865]

Forgot that Gord was on the Midnight Special. Such a beautiful song...

[@xaviercallobre6822]

Gord at his peak.

[@alsmit4153]

His voice is magical!

[@anthonyc70]

I've always loved the story telling of such artists . Harry Chapin, Tom Rush, Joni Mitchell, Joan Baez and Gordon Lightfoot. And many others. They literally create a movie ..one can experience. Such moments. Sometimes I think that this has been lost in today's music.

[@CowGirlKat8691]

After a concert in Idaho with Mr. Lightfoot the main act, a girl I'd never met came beside me with a bottle of Wild Turkey in her hand & said, "Let's to talk to him!!" So we did!! He was putting his equipment away & stopped what he was doing and chatted with us young teen girls for almost a half hour!! She offered him a drink & of course we understood why he had to decline (I didn't drink it either, but I didn't like WT!). What a wonderful gentleman he was y'all!! He took the time to chat with two complete strangers & make us feel as if we was in his living room sitting by the fire talking as old friends. A class act indeed! Thank you Mr Lightfoot! ❤ If y'all read this, sweet friend, thanks for choosing ME out of the crowd to join y'all on stage with him!

[@KittyGrizGriz]

What a sweet & endearing memory! You were so lucky to experience an inspiring moment with Gordon & thank you for sharing! 🥰 I’ve had some memorable times with WT when young~dumb 😉

[@CowGirlKat8691]

@@KittyGrizGriz I have never drank it!

[@unclekennymusic]

takes your breath away...

[@brunosarria3558]

Amazing artist.

[@crlaw75]

Rest in peace, Gord.

[@Navgearhead]

We miss you Gordon.....😔

[@mickylawless1941]

Pure magic!

[@cherixbiggs5819]

This was my Gordon. So very beautiful!

[@broomhag]

Have loved this man for many years. What a voice.

[@gregoryduncan3067]

Has anybody ever noticed that Gordon Lightfoot never did a song that sucked or is it just me?

[@redwandennaoui4508]

Spot on….. RIP ❤

[@StephanieJeanne]

Not just you. He was a superhuman storyteller/musician.

[@marcjacobscontinued9411]

That's EXACTLY what Bob Dylan once said, asked.

[@gregoryduncan3067]

Dylan would know.

[@silentlou4375]

I recently purchased an album and for the most it is great stuff I had never heard, but there is at least 1 cheesy tune from the 80s that might be the exception… but nearly every artist from the 70s created some 80s cheese.

[@barrysmith8920]

Love this!!

[@LightfootOfTheRockies]

I regularly perform this song in concert, and it never fails. It is so perfectly crafted; so full of emotion; so universal in conveying the magic of passion, and the heartbreak of love lost.

[@christineelsass4284]

Perfectly said.

[@rogertemple7193]

the best Canadian performer ever.😎👍 🎵🎶🎼🎸🎸🎹🥁🎼🎶🎵

[@dougdobbins6533]

One of my favorite entertainers. ...ever! I regret I never got to see him in person. Glad to discover this song.

[@KittyGrizGriz]

Love Gordon Lightfoot, R.I.Power music man extraordinaire & thank you for the gifts you left us, forever 🎶🥀🕊️❤️🎶

[@darnick54]

Classic Lightfoot…..his songs bring more than just listening pleasure- they are the best of the singer/songwriter class.

[@marilynfosseen1541]

He was definitely one of the great singer-songwriters of our time.

[@bene.divinocordeiro6196]

Talento nato

[@franks6608]

I saw that Lightfoot debut on midnight special on a Friday nite,what a voice👍👍

[@strummer173]

Pure

[@whataworld8378]

So amazing ✨

[@lightfootfan]

Affair on 8th Avenue Written about a brief affair in 1968 with a German waitress from New York who he met in Washington DC and then again when he returned from a songwriting trip to England.

[@phoenixjim0527]

Lucky bastard

[@KittyGrizGriz]

Ooof, gave me chills reading this, thank you 😊

[@johnbatch9276]

@@phoenixjim0527I do believe he had bona fide parents no luck involved if you get my drift.

[@christopherallen9580]

Interesting. How did you learn of the origi of this song?

[@lightfootfan]

@@christopherallen9580 Bio by Nicholas Jennings - LIGHTFOOT (authorized by Lightfoot)

[@wandamundy1759]

The favourite songwriter of Bob Dylan (his best friend), Billie Joel, Jimmy Buffet, Tony Rice and Darrell Scott - to name a few. A bona-fide Troubador - who will be forever missed.

[@Ibrian8888]

Cool! 🙏🤗🍺cheers

[@KittyGrizGriz]

Does this song touch anybody else very very deeply? It’s almost too much for me emotionally & stirs so much inside ~ almost painful 😓

[@johnbatch9276]

The last time i saw her face is another deeply emotional song that tugs at the heartstrings

[@KittyGrizGriz]

@@johnbatch9276 The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face - Roberta Flack, is that the one?

[@johnbatch9276]

@@KittyGrizGriz no its a different song completely it's a lightfoot song.and glen Campbell does an excellent rendition

[@KittyGrizGriz]

@@johnbatch9276I had a listen, oh my, made me 🥹. The lyrics: “…But that was so long ago that I can scarcely feel The way I felt before And if time could heal the wounds I would tear the threads away That I might bleed some more” Profound lyrical perfection of a love, still lingering on, from a long time ago…❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥

[@KittyGrizGriz]

@@johnbatch9276Oh wow,,,what a tear jerker of a song, too. I listened and enjoyed it, thank you. Gordon’s a genius

[@CogensFamilyTV]

Beyond the beauty of the song..the thing that strikes me is Richard Haynes haircut...seeing how this is 1974!

[@rickvenlo1362]

Astonishing.

[@empoweryou1]

He was Bob Dylan's favorite song writer/singer. That's sayin' something.

[@daltonjessiebutler1092]

Never has such an eloquent song about a one night stand ever been written 😂

[@czrad8125]

Sorely missed

[@kieranlobo1752]

Did he continue to use this Martin D18 the remainder of his life? Such a nice instrument

[@daltonjessiebutler1092]

Yes as far as I know he used the same guitars from the 60s until he passed

[@개끌고산으로-c2p]

재평가 받아야 할 포크 싱어송라이터 고든 라이트푸트

[@johnbatch9276]

I had hair to die for then i just kept dyeing it and it eventually died that's life i suppose 😅

[@adrianwright8685]

"showed me her treasures of paper and tin" What does that mean? Is it a euphemism?

[@lawrencebrissenden]

No, it's not. Lightfoot wrote the song about my late friend Maren Thomas. She said that she showed him some designs she did on paper. I asked her why he wrote "tin". She said there was no tin shown. In her opinion, he just needed a rhyme for "win".

[@ardiris2715]

0:23 Burt didn't allow bathroom breaks. "The show must go on! I'm paying union wages here." (:

[@franks6608]

That was s very big deal to make it on that show back on the day