Talk:Gordon Lightfoot/Archive 2

Archive 1

Archive 2

Death a twitter hoax

National Post put a story online that Gordon Lightfoot is dead - February 17, 2010 —Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.205.215.57 (talk) 20:01, 18 February 2010 (UTC)

Soo today has a story online announcing the death of Gordon Lightfoot Gordon Lightfoot: 1938-2010

There is a Vancouver Sun story quoting Ronnie Hawkins saying Lightfoot is dead, but the big Canadian media are ot going with this and neither should we until we're sure.Spoonkymonkey (talk) 19:53, 18 February 2010 (UTC)

So far what is out there [1]
[2]...Buzzzsherman (talk) 19:53, 18 February 2010 (UTC)

Ottawa Citizen have pulled the "Breaking News" alert that they had on their site. Nat'l Post still has theirs up..Buzzzsherman (talk) 20:00, 18 February 2010 (UTC)

Looks like the story is wrong. That's why we don't jump the gun on Wikipedia. Spoonkymonkey (talk) 20:02, 18 February 2010 (UTC)

We will see changing fast ..I reverted the fist time it was added then found that ref added back. but like you i am not sure here..I have post for help with this article in a few places so hopefully we will get a few more people looking into this..Buzzzsherman (talk) 20:04, 18 February 2010 (UTC)

If we're not sure, he shouldn't be shown as dead. The Ottawa Citizen has already pulled its alert. Nothing on the 3:00 radio news. I'm reverting.Spoonkymonkey (talk) 20:09, 18 February 2010 (UTC)

Protection

In view of these conflicting reports, I've semi'd this page for six hours until we get some facts. Rodhullandemu 20:13, 18 February 2010 (UTC)

Gordon Lightfoot very much alive...Buzzzsherman (talk) 20:15, 18 February 2010 (UTC)

And the National Post is reporting that Lightfoot just did a radio interview about the hoax. This is getting enough attention that it probably warrants a mention in the article, but I think we have enough solid proof that the initial report was bogus. I hate Twitter. 23skidoo (talk) 20:27, 18 February 2010 (UTC)

We will have to watch the outfall of this, it may deserve its out section..but will have to give it time.Buzzzsherman (talk) 20:35, 18 February 2010 (UTC)

Just leave it. One media outlet quoting one source said he was dead. It was a five-minute Internet phenom. Spoonkymonkey (talk) 20:46, 18 February 2010 (UTC)

Gordon Lightfoot: Not dead Toronto Star —Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.205.215.57 (talk) 20:53, 18 February 2010 (UTC)

Lightfoot very much alive, despite reports of death CTV

"Lightfoot spoke to CTV Toronto's Paul Bliss on Thursday afternoon, and the singer said that he was doing fine. Sitting at his Toronto office, Lightfoot shrugged off the rumours and said he had no idea where the story began. "It's a hoax," he said, as the phone rang on his desk."

I've added a brief neutral summary of the story as it currently stands to the appropriate subsection of the article. I'm not particularly attached to it if somebody feels really strongly that it shouldn't be there at all — but we obviously want to prevent this from spreading any further than it already has. Bearcat (talk) 21:51, 18 February 2010 (UTC)

I took it off. It's in very bad taste to link his health to a death hoax/screw-up. Also, these are not news pages, and, in the great scheme of Lightfoot's long life and career, this is but a very minor -- but creepy -- blip..Spoonkymonkey (talk) 22:38, 18 February 2010 (UTC)

Agreed that it's a minor blip. As a rule, rumours aren't notable unless they start to take on lives of their own. And even then, they may not be: see the lack of certain rumours from the Lady Gaga article. I agree that there is no need for a mention of the rumour in the article. —C.Fred (talk) 22:55, 18 February 2010 (UTC)

I think the difference here is that reliable media are reporting on the blip. No reputable media outlet ever gave the rumour about Lady Gaga's plumbing any play whatsoever — that played out entirely in unreliable gossip blogs. Whereas in this case, a normally reliable media outlet published the story, then retracted it, and then other reliable media picked up on what happened. Which really isn't the same thing at all — this crossed into notability the moment it became something that actual mainstream news media are reporting on. Bearcat (talk) 23:24, 18 February 2010 (UTC)

Wait six months and see if anyone knows or cares. Try to get things in perspective. This is not a news digest site. Spoonkymonkey (talk) 01:23, 19 February 2010 (UTC)

The Lady Gaga incident wound up with Barbara Walters asking about it in an interview, so I think we're still apples and apples with the level of media. That said, I do agree with Spoonkymonkey's point: Wikipedia is not a news source, so we should not cover every little story about a subject. —C.Fred (talk) 01:26, 19 February 2010 (UTC)

I think this still needs to be a part of the article because it illustrates how pervasive modern social networking websites are in terms of influencing what ends up making the news and because Gordon himself addressed the rumors. It is as much a part of his biography as all of the illnesses this article chronicles. It is not merely some rumor or gossip but rather a part of his life's story and it should very much be a part of the article, particularly as it shows how much he is highly regarded, considering how much international attention was brought to this story. BTW, Wikipedia may not be a top news source, but it's still a news source, and a chronicler of a lot of news reports that end up being a part of history. What Wikipedia is not is that it's not: (a.) a site for scurrilous, unsubstantiated gossip, or (b.) a fan site. That's what it's not. But what is now considered "news" is part and parcel of the informational spirit of Wikipedia. Arcana07 (talk) 21:39, 19 February 2010 (UTC)

I'd be surprised if you could find more than a handful of Wikipedians who would agree that being asked about something in an interview with Barbara Walters, whose celebrity interview specials have about as much WP:RS value as Rona Barrett at the best of times, actually constituted reliable news coverage. It doesn't even approach being the same thing as actual news articles being written about an actual incident that actually happened. Bearcat (talk) 07:43, 20 February 2010 (UTC)

Ditto. Worse, it isn't even a unique event. I've reverted reports of GL's death from this article at least twice, and others have as well. We have a large scale if flawed attempt in this article to cover the breadth of the career of a major musical artist, and this kind of scurrilous nonsense won't even be news tomorrow - which is when it should be reverted because of the thorough debunking of the rumor. Sensei48 (talk) 08:18, 20 February 2010 (UTC)

You and everyone else who doesn't want this in the article have a ridiculously 20th century mindset when it comes to these sorts of things. Nowadays, a lot of what's making history in this world happens online, and you can be sure that at the end of the year, this will be mentioned as something notable that happened in the entertainment world, particularly --- as I've heard from the fan grapevine -- Gordon's dental visit happened on a break from preparations for a tour and he did mention that he hadn't received as much airplay in a very long time, as the airplay resulting from the rumor being taken for fact. But whatever, I'm not going into an edit war with anyone; you want to keep this article from being as rich and full of information as it could possibly be (I'm very close friends with a huge Gordon fan who's let me know how weak the article is as it stands today), fine, I have other things on this site I could be concerned with. Arcana07 (talk) 05:20, 21 February 2010 (UTC)

At the end of the day, this hoax was not anything to do with his actual life. It was what some people were saying, and in some cases believing, was the case. But what people say and believe about things are not what things themselves are. He won't be remembered for some stupid prank perpetrated by other people; he'll be remembered for what he's done himself. -- Jack of Oz ... speak! ... 06:03, 21 February 2010 (UTC)

Red Shea

I was mildly surprised to read that Red left the touring band in 1970: in February 1972 BBC2 broadcast two live concerts by Gordon that included Red (and Rick Haynes on bass). During one of the concerts (I taped them), Gordon announces that Rick's wife has just given birth to a baby boy, so that should pinpoint the recording date (for those with the requisite knowledge). Did the Beeb sit on them for over a year?

I will just add that both concerts were stunning, with that immaculate Beeb engineering. Paul Magnussen (talk) 19:32, 1 September 2010 (UTC)

Ethnic Heritage

Lightfoot is an unusual name. Is it Old British, Irish or is it Native American?

Does anyone know his ethnic roots? If so that should be added to the article.

98.245.170.157 (talk) 05:30, 23 October 2010 (UTC)

>> Lightfoot, although not very common, is a recognizable British name in the U.K. -- the 1881 census lists over 4000 people of that surname Atanovic (talk) 19:40, 5 June 2011 (UTC)

Gordon was an 8 generation Canadian, a descendant of Jacob Smith (1739-1821) & Elizabeth Lewis (1741-1790) who walked from New Jersey to the Hamilton, Ontario area, crossing the Niagara River in August 1788. Early census records indicate German ancestry. Later ancestors came from England. [NL Roseman]

Please add Tony Rice as recording artist covering Gordon's songs

Tony Rice made a CD "Tony Rice Sings Gordon Lightfoot".

It is a GREAT album. Please mention Tony in paragraph 3.

Thanks

John Lockridge64.203.189.33 (talk) 20:23, 12 January 2016 (UTC)

The day I met Gordon Lightfoot

The first time I saw Gorgon he was playing at the Riverboat in Toronto. It was Sept 1964. I was attending Ryerson and lived on Walker St. I met Gordon one day at the beer store at the corner of Young and Walker. He was in front of me and we each purchased a case of Molson Export Ale. I said hi and he said hi. That was the last time I spoke to him but my wife and I listen to his music all the time...........Keep playing

Sincerely,

Brian Benninger — Preceding unsigned comment added by Brianbenninger (talk • contribs) 23:32, 7 October 2018 (UTC)

Lightfoot's Origin in Windsor

The infobox currently has:

Origin: Windsor, Ontario, Canada

I will be adding a citation needed to this as it is unsubstantiated in the article.

I could find no reference to Lightfoot having origins in Windsor anywhere. Searching for any references linking Lightfoot to Windsor came up empty. There were a few Windsor Star articles about him but none mentioned any connection to Windsor. (Of course, those articles may not have been written by a journalist based in Windsor.)

I watched a 34 minute CTV interview with Lightfoot where they discuss his career in significant depth. The video is undated but they say he is 80 years old so it should be from 2018 or 2019.

In the interview, Windsor is not mentioned once. The interviewer, Lisa LaFlamme, asks at 30:57 "Do you think that boy who was 17 years old who drove from Orillia to Toronto ...", Orillia being his birth place. Lightfoot mentions trips from Orillia to Toronto later. He talks about how working out of New York helped him avoid the hassle of work permits. Windsor does not come up at all.

It looks like stating Lightfoot's origin in Windsor is tenuous at best and maybe simply incorrect. I hope this can be substantiated or removed if incorrect.

Wantnot (talk) 13:50, 6 June 2019 (UTC)

A Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for deletion

The following Wikimedia Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for deletion:

• Gordon Lightfoot - Back Here on Earth.png

Participate in the deletion discussion at the nomination page. —Community Tech bot (talk) 11:20, 14 November 2020 (UTC)

Uencyclopedic with fan tributes

The article is poor quality by emphasising praise from fans over an encyclopedic entry of neutrally providing just the facts. For example, the last 2 sentences in the lede from his biographer are redundant. That along with the many other quotes could be condensed into just his awards. (The claim he is "unquestionably Canada's greatest songwriter" is questionable with other Canadian songwriters such as Leonard Cohen, Bryan Adams, Paul Anka, the Guess Who, Shania Twain, Joni Mitchell or Neil Young.) Balance doesn't mean adding criticism such as NRBQ often performed The Wreak of the Edmund Fitzgerald as so boring the band would pretend to fall asleep during the song. Colonial Computer 05:04, 24 July 2022 (UTC) — Preceding unsigned comment added by 22yearswothanks (talk • contribs)

Death

Just got a message that Gord died today. 2605:8D80:461:BBB5:C4D4:2E70:69E2:7CA1 (talk) 01:30, 2 May 2023 (UTC)

Yeah that's why I updated it 2607:FEA8:6040:8000:94AC:B53B:2C36:9C8D (talk) 02:19, 2 May 2023 (UTC)

The word "legend"

I don't mean to be insensitive about the loss of a beloved musical artist, but I think the lead section should be changed to remove the word "legend". It's generally best to avoid describing a person as a legend, or legendary, in Wikipedia's voice, though of course it's often easy to find sources that do so. See MOS:FLOWERY, and also "legend" sometimes means that someone didn't actually exist. Plus in this case, I'm getting a "page not found" for the first source (The Dallas Morning News), and the second source (Songwriter's Hall of Fame) doesn't say that he was a legend -- though again, it would be easy to find sources that do say that. I'm going to go ahead and change that part, and replace it with the statement, referenced by the SHOF page, that "... his songs have been recorded by some of the world’s most renowned artists including..." — Mudwater ^(Talk) 22:59, 2 May 2023 (UTC)

Done. Here's the diff. — Mudwater ^(Talk) 23:07, 2 May 2023 (UTC)

Aneurysm

He did not have an aortic aneurysm. In a Sept 2020 interview with Ian Woolley of the News Beat this was the discussion: "I had to ask him about the many health scares that have dogged him throughout his long career. In the early 70s, it was Bell’s Palsy that froze part of his face, and in 2002 an abdominal artery in his stomach burst."

Gordon said: “It was a ruptured splenic artery aneurysm which was the official term. Rob.mulloy (talk) 00:37, 3 May 2023 (UTC)

Orphaned references in Gordon Lightfoot

I check pages listed in Category:Pages with incorrect ref formatting to try to fix reference errors. One of the things I do is look for content for orphaned references in wikilinked articles. I have found content for some of Gordon Lightfoot's orphans, the problem is that I found more than one version. I can't determine which (if any) is correct for this article, so I am asking for a sentient editor to look it over and copy the correct ref content into this article.

Reference named "BBC":

• From Newsweek: Magistad, Mary Kay (February 20, 2013). "China's 'leftover women', unmarried at 27". BBC News. Beijing. Archived from the original on April 10, 2013. Retrieved March 29, 2013.
• From List of anti-war songs: Quinn, Michael. "The Proclaimers – Notes & Rhymes – Review". BBC – Music. Retrieved 25 December 2019.
• From November 1975: "Fish Stocks Dwindle- The Decline of the East Coast Fishing Fleet", BBC.co.UK
• From Radio Bart: Martyn, Warren; Wood, Adrian (2000). "Radio Bart". BBC. Retrieved 2009-06-07.
• From Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.: "1968: Martin Luther King shot dead". On This Day. BBC News. 2006. Retrieved September 17, 2006.

I apologize if any of the above are effectively identical; I am just a simple computer program, so I can't determine whether minor differences are significant or not. Feel free to remove this comment after fixing the refs. AnomieBOT⚡ 00:06, 4 May 2023 (UTC)

 Fixed, I believe. @Gerda Arendt: Hello! In this edit you added a reference to a BBC article by Nichola Rutherford, and named the reference "Rutherford". Then in two subsequent edits -- here and here -- you added references to "BBC", thus causing our little AnomieBOT to try to help out -- see above. I think I fixed it with this here edit. — Mudwater ^(Talk) 01:12, 4 May 2023 (UTC)

You did, and I'm sorry that I missed it, - I was tired. I normally name refs after the author but had forgotten by the the time I returned late. --Gerda Arendt (talk) 06:25, 4 May 2023 (UTC)

@Gerda Arendt: No worries. I just wanted to make sure I was fixing things instead of messing them up more. Thank you. — Mudwater ^(Talk) 10:21, 4 May 2023 (UTC)

Why isn't his death listed on Wikipedia front page's "Recent Deaths"?

Why isn't his death listed on Wikipedia front page's "Recent Deaths"? Shouldn't it be added to that list? Summerhaven1 (talk) 16:40, 5 May 2023 (UTC)

(I tried to do it myself - I've modified many a Wikipedia article over the years - but don't know how to get his name/link posted in that section of the front page. Does someone else know how to do that?) Summerhaven1 (talk) 16:41, 5 May 2023 (UTC)

@Summerhaven1 It looks like the hangup is the seven {{citation needed}} tags. See WP:In the news/Candidates#RD: Gordon Lightfoot. —C.Fred (talk) 16:51, 5 May 2023 (UTC)