How about a little Gordon Lightfoot to take you into the weekend?
Charles Wesley Godwin, who for my money is the best in the game right now, teamed up with Amazon Music for an exclusive cover of Gordon Lightfoot’s 1974 hit, “Sundown.” The lead single and title track of his 1974 album of the same name, “Sundown” is arguably the most iconic song ever released by the Canadian folk singer.
Inspired by his relationship with the infamous background singer and groupie Cathy Smith, the song tells the story of Lightfoot, who is at home, wondering if his lover is being faithful to him while she is out on the town. The irony is that Gordon’s relationship with Cathy began as an affair, as he was married at the time they met. Prone to jealousy and violence, Gordon once allegedly broke Cathy’s cheek in a fight.
Prior to that however, Cathy was essentially a teenage groupie for the band, The Band, and even had a baby with either Levon Helm or Rick Danko… it’s unclear who the father was, but the event is believed to have inspired the iconic song, “The Weight.” Richard Manuel offered to marry her, but she refused and ultimately gave the baby up for adoption.
However, Cathy is probably most famous for injecting John Belushi with the “speedball,” a mixture heroin and cocaine, that killed him in 1982. By that time she was pretty much a drug dealer of sorts, someone celebrities could count on to score drugs, and she wound up being arrested and serving 15 months in jail for manslaughter.
Cathy certainly had a pretty wild backstory for a song that sounds rather lighthearted, eh?
Charles speaks on Gordon and the cover, saying:
“I believe Gordon to have been one of the greatest songwriters of our time and felt this opportunity with Amazon Music was perfect to shine a light on one of his most popular songs a little over 50 years after its original release date.
Hopefully, through this version that me and the guys recorded, a new generation of music listeners can be introduced to Gordon’s music and become fans of his themselves.”
Of course, “Sundown” is a song that Charles has covered a number of times, both at his live show, out in the woods, and just at home in front of the camera.
And here’s the original: