Summertime Dream
| Summertime Dream | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | June 1976 | |||
| Recorded | December 1975 – January 1976 | |||
| Studio | Eastern Sound Studios, Toronto | |||
| Genre | Progressive folk[1] | |||
| Length | 37:26 | |||
| Label | Reprise | |||
| Producer | Lenny Waronker, Gordon Lightfoot | |||
| Gordon Lightfoot chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Summertime Dream | ||||
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Summertime Dream is Canadian singer Gordon Lightfoot's eleventh studio album, released on the Reprise Records label in 1976. It peaked at #1 on the Canadian RPM national album chart, and #12 on the US Billboard pop chart.[5]
The album marked Lightfoot's commercial zenith in a remarkable period of popularity which had begun with the 1970 hit, "If You Could Read My Mind". He would not achieve the same level of commercial success through to his death in 2023.
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 SS Edmund Fitzgerald which had sunk on Lake Superior in November 1975. The song remains popular to this day and has been credited with making the sinking of 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.[6] In the US, it peaked at #2 on the pop chart and #50 on the country chart while "Race Among the Ruins" peaked at #65 on the pop chart.
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   link |
| Rolling Stone | (not rated) link |
All songs composed by Gordon Lightfoot. Lightfoot was 38 at the time of the release.
Side 1
- "Race Among the Ruins" – 3:21
- "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" – 6:30
- "I'm Not Supposed to Care" – 3:31
- "I'd Do It Again" – 3:14
- "Never Too Close" – 3:04
- "Betty Called Me In" – 2:39 (1999 release only)
Side 2
- "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
Chart performance
Weekly charts
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Year-end charts
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Personnel
- Gordon Lightfoot - vocals, 6- and 12-string guitars
- Terry Clements - lead acoustic and electric guitars
- Pee Wee Charles - pedal steel guitar
- Rick Haynes - bass guitar
- Barry Keane - drums, percussion
- Additional personnel
- Gene Martynec - Moog synthesizer
- Jim Gordon - drums on "The House You Live In"
References
- ^ Person, James (January 1, 1998). "Gordon Lightfoot". In Knopper, Steve (ed.). MusicHound Lounge: The Essential Album Guide. Detroit: Visible Ink Press. p. 294.
- ^ "Gordon Lightfoot - Summertime Dream".
- ^ "Gordon Lightfoot - the Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald".
- ^ "Gordon Lightfoot - Race Among the Ruins".
- ^ List of Canadian number-one albums of 1976
- ^ List of RPM number-one singles of 1976
- ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 177. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
- ^ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 4349a". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
- ^ "Gordon Lightfoot Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
- ^ "Top 100 Albums of '76". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. 17 July 2013. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
