Gordon Lightfoot Book, Music and More!

Like actors who get typecast by roles, musicians can become stereotyped by songs—just ask Dan Hill. The Canadian singer shot to fame in 1977 when his composition “Sometimes When We Touch” topped the international charts and earned him a reputation as an overly sensitive artist. Although he went on to record a wide range of material, the Grammy- and Juno Award-winning musician was forever pegged as that guy whose honesty was, for a lot of people, simply too much. Undaunted, Hill continued writing hit songs—many of them for the likes of Céline Dion, Britney Spears, Michael Bolton and George Benson. His writing also took a literary turn when I Am My Father’s Son, his tell-all memoir about his c...

Toronto’s Queen Street, the portion running west from stately University to cosmopolitan Spadina, was originally a jumble of greasy spoons, barbershops and clothing stores. Owners lived above their shops, while children played on sidewalks. There were even a couple of watering holes that supplied the mostly Irish, Jewish and Eastern European locals with cold, cheap draft beer. By the late 1970s, those bars had become part of a fertile breeding ground, a creative hothouse of forceful protest, stylish adventure and uninhibited experimentation that produced an explosion of musical talent. In many ways, it paralleled the city’s fabled Yorkville scene of the previous decade, with a tight concentration of clubs that served as a launching pad for a generation of future stars.

The catalyst for change was the nearby Ontario College of Art. Drawn by the lure of affordable housing and restaurants serving inexpensive meals, students from the college began moving into the area, rubbing shoulders with the district’s working-class denizens. Soon, artist-run galleries, theatres and other performance spaces sprang up, while music quickly took over the taverns and the illegal, after-hours clubs that surreptitiously opened

Mittoo was a founding member of The Skatalites and a legendary Studio One keyboardist who backed Bob Marley, Jimmy Cliff and others. His music played a crucial role in reggae’s foundation and he left a rich recorded legacy of his work in both Jamaica and Canada, where he lived through the 1970s and ’80s. This reissue of a rare album, recorded in Toronto in 1971, captures Mittoo at his best on gems like the majestic instrumental “Grand Funk” and the soaring, gospel-tinged reggae workout “Soul Bird.”

Heritage Toronto press release: On June 18 2009, Heritage Toronto was joined by some of Canada's most notable musicians to commemorate famed Yorkville coffeehouse, the Riverboat.  Located in the narrow basement of a house at 134 Yorkville Ave, the Riverboat was opened in 1964 by Bernie Fiedler and became the best-known coffeehouse in Canada. Over its history, the Riverboat stage was graced by Canada's music elite, including Joni Mitchell, Neil Young and Gordon Lightfoot. The Riverboat remained open until 1977, by which time it was the sole remaining coffeehouse in the area. A number of musicians who graced The Riverboat's stage during its illustrious life attended the event, includ...