This week in The Wall Street Journal, I interviewed Gordon Lightfoot on his #1 hit Sundown for my "Anatomy of a Song" column (go here). I also interviewed Lenny Waronker, the song's producer. Gordon opened up, and we talked about Cathy Smith, the woman he was living with in the early 1970s and whose decision one night to hit the bars with her girlfriends inspired Gordon to write the song. Gordon remains one of the great songwriters and for me, he's among a small group of artists I've interviewed who is as warm a person as he is a great storyteller. (To read my earlier interview with Gordon on his childhood, go here.)
Here's Gordon on The Midnight Special in 1974...
Here's Return Into Dust, from his most recent album, Solo, a newly discovered collection of songs recorded alone in 1999. A stunning folk-pop songwriter bested only by Bob Dylan. And a gorgeous voice...
Do yourself a favor, see the new documentary on Gordon, If You Could Read My Mind, streaming now. Here's the trailer...
SiriusXM. Tune in on Thursday, Aug. 20, at noon, when I'll be on Feedback (Volume, Ch. 106) with co-hosts Nik Carter and Lori Majewski for an hour to talk in detail about Gordon Lightfoot and the writing and recording of Sundown.
Also in the WSJ this week, I interviewed Alyssa Milano for my "House Call" column in the Mansion section (go here). Alyssa starred on TV's Who's the Boss? and Melrose Place. She got her start as a kid when her sitter took her along to an audition and asked her if she wanted to try out, too. Alyssa wound up one of four selected (out of 1,500 kids) to join the touring company of Annie as a ragamuffin. Bet you didn't know pictures of Alyssa were used by Disney when animators were coming up with the Ariel character for The Little Mermaid.
Recently, Alyssa had a rough time with false coronavirus tests. Despite having virus symptoms in April, tests came back negative. Then two weeks ago she had the antibodies test, which came back positive, which means she had the virus all along but it went undetected. All is well now with her and her famiily, though she still has issues related to the virus, including hair loss. You should know that she, too, is a lovely person.
The Big Love, Laurie Verchomin's memoir about her time with Bill Evans in 1979 and '80 as his romantic partner, is now available in French (in France, go here; in the U.S., go here). For the English edition, go here.
Laurie tells me that a recording of Evans, unreleased in the U.S., is coming out next year in the U.S. Evans played four songs on a Yamaha grand at his 50th birthday party on August 16th,1979, an event organized by bassist Marc Johnson and held at pianist Garry Dial's apartment at Manhattan Plaza. The music was released last October in France, Switzerland and Belgium with the French edition of her book. Laurie tells me that Dial recorded the tracks with Evans's permission. The songs were Letter to Evan, Laurie (written for her), Fun Ride, Bill's Hit Tune, Blue Serge and For All We Know.
Other translations of her emotional, revealing book are coming next year, including an Italian edition from Minimum Fax in Rome and a Ukrainian edition by Old Lion Publishing in Lviv. Bill Evans would have been 91 on Sunday.
To read my five-part interview with Laurie in 2009, go here. Remember, a link to subsequent parts is above the red date at the top of each post.
Dave Thompson, the marvelous pianist who plays in the style of Bill Evans, sent along a SoundCloud of him playing We Will Meet Again, taped last week. Go here...
First blues recording. A post by Jonathan Goldman at New York 1920 lovingly details the recording of Mamie Smith's Crazy Blues at Okeh Studios in New York in 1920. It's widely considered to be the first blues record. Go here.
A CD you should know. Clairdee: A Love Letter to Lena (Declare Music). Clairdee is a warm, soulful singer who makes every song she sings her own. I love her new tribute album to Lena Horne. For Clairdee, Horne's struggles in Hollywood are relatable. In the 1940s and '50s, the charismatic Horne straddled between who she was—a Black actress and singer with enormous talent—and what white Hollywood wanted to present and how often. Despite her abilities, Horne could only go so far, no matter how hard she worked, a depressing barrier for anyone. On her new album, Clairdee's heart is in every song, and her backing band and arrangements are terrific, especially the songs with a Singers Unlimited-like vocal backdrop. Go here.
Here's Clairdee singing the 1973 Charles Fox and Norman Gimbel song made famous by Jim Croce, I Got a Name...
