Summertime Dream
Encyclopedia
Summertime Dream is Canadian
singer Gordon Lightfoot
's 12th original album, released on the Reprise Records
label in 1976. The album peaked at #1 in Canada on the RPM
national album chart and at #12 in the U.S. on the Billboard pop chart.
The album marked Lightfoot's commercial zenith after a remarkable period of popularity which began with the 1970 hit, "If You Could Read My Mind
". He would never again achieve the same level of commercial success.
The album shot to popularity on the back of the haunting ballad, "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald
", which told the story of the final hours of the SS Edmund Fitzgerald
which sank on Lake Superior
in November 1975. The song remains popular to this day and has been credited with making the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald the most famous maritime incident in the history of the Great Lakes
.
"The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" reached #1 in Canada on November 20, 1976. In the U.S., it peaked at #2 on the pop chart and at #50 on the country chart while "Race Among the Ruins" peaked at #65 on the pop chart.
All songs composed by Lightfoot.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
singer Gordon Lightfoot
Gordon Lightfoot
Gordon Meredith Lightfoot, Jr. is a Canadian singer-songwriter who achieved international success in folk, folk-rock, and country music, and has been credited for helping define the folk-pop sound of the 1960s and 1970s...
's 12th original album, released on the Reprise Records
Reprise Records
Reprise Records is an American record label, founded in 1960 by Frank Sinatra. It is owned by Warner Music Group, and operated through Warner Bros. Records.-Beginnings:...
label in 1976. The album peaked at #1 in Canada on the RPM
RPM (magazine)
RPM was a Canadian music industry publication that featured song and album charts for Canada. The publication was founded by Walt Grealis in February 1964, supported through its existence by record label owner Stan Klees. RPM ceased publication in November 2000.RPM stood for "Records, Promotion,...
national album chart and at #12 in the U.S. on the Billboard pop chart.
The album marked Lightfoot's commercial zenith after a remarkable period of popularity which began with the 1970 hit, "If You Could Read My Mind
If You Could Read My Mind (song)
"If You Could Read My Mind" is a song by Canadian singer/songwriter Gordon Lightfoot. It reached number one on Canadian music charts and was his first recording to appear on the American music charts, reaching number 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in January 1971. Later in the year, it...
". He would never again achieve the same level of commercial success.
The album shot to popularity on the back of the haunting ballad, "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald
The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald
"The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" is a song written, composed and performed by Canadian Gordon Lightfoot to commemorate the sinking of the bulk carrier SS Edmund Fitzgerald on Lake Superior on November 10, 1975. It was inspired by the Newsweek article on the event, "The Cruelest Month", which...
", which told the story of the final hours of the SS Edmund Fitzgerald
SS Edmund Fitzgerald
The SS Edmund Fitzgerald was an American Great Lakes freighter that made headlines after sinking in a Lake Superior storm on November 10, 1975, with the loss of the entire crew of 29. When launched on June 8, 1958, she was the largest boat on North America's Great Lakes, and she remains...
which sank on Lake Superior
Lake Superior
Lake Superior is the largest of the five traditionally-demarcated Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded to the north by the Canadian province of Ontario and the U.S. state of Minnesota, and to the south by the U.S. states of Wisconsin and Michigan. It is the largest freshwater lake in the...
in November 1975. The song remains popular to this day and has been credited with making the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald the most famous maritime incident in the history of the Great Lakes
Great Lakes
The Great Lakes are a collection of freshwater lakes located in northeastern North America, on the Canada – United States border. Consisting of Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario, they form the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth by total surface, coming in second by volume...
.
"The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" reached #1 in Canada on November 20, 1976. In the U.S., it peaked at #2 on the pop chart and at #50 on the country chart while "Race Among the Ruins" peaked at #65 on the pop chart.
Track listing
- "Race Among the Ruins" – 3:21
- "The Wreck of the Edmund FitzgeraldThe Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald"The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" is a song written, composed and performed by Canadian Gordon Lightfoot to commemorate the sinking of the bulk carrier SS Edmund Fitzgerald on Lake Superior on November 10, 1975. It was inspired by the Newsweek article on the event, "The Cruelest Month", which...
" – 6:32 - "I'm Not Supposed to Care" – 3:31
- "I'd Do it Again" – 3:14
- "Never too Close" – 3:04
- "Protocol" – 4:02
- "The House You Live In" – 2:55
- "Summertime Dream" – 2:30
- "Spanish Moss" – 3:51
- "Too Many Clues in this Room" – 4:49
All songs composed by Lightfoot.
Credits
- Gordon Lightfoot - Main performer, 6- & 12-string guitar, PianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
- Pee Wee Charles - Pedal steel guitarSteel guitarSteel guitar is a type of guitar or the method of playing the instrument. Developed in Hawaii in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a steel guitar is usually positioned horizontally; strings are plucked with one hand, while the other hand changes the pitch of one or more strings with the use...
- Terry Clements - Lead guitarLead guitarLead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure...
- Rick Haynes - BassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
- Barry Keane - DrumDrumThe drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...
s, PercussionPercussion instrumentA percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration... - Gene MartynecGene MartynecCanadian musician/composer Eugene Martynec first came to prominence as a guitarist in Toronto group Bobby Kris & The Imperials in August 1965...
- Moog Synthesizer - Jim GordonJim Gordon (musician)James Beck "Jim" Gordon is an American recording artist, musician and songwriter. The Grammy Award winner was one of the most requested session drummers in the late 1960s and 1970s, recording albums with many well-known musicians of the time, and was the drummer in the blues-rock supergroup Derek...
- Drums on "The House You Live In"