“Sundown,” “If You Could Read My Mind,” “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face,” “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald” and “Early Morning Rain” will forever hold a place in musical history for Gordon Lightfoot.
But he continues to write new songs and create new albums. On Sunday, he’ll perform in Tulalip.
Music came early for Lightfoot, winner of a competition for boys with unchanged voices and performer in barbershop quartets. Captivated by Bob Dylan’s music and “Dark as a Dungeon,” a Merle Travis song, the Canadian started down the songwriting path.
Ian and Sylvia and Peter, Paul and Mary covered his “For Lovin’ Me” and “Early Mornin’ Rain,” the latter becoming one of the most covered songs in popular music history, sung in a variety of genres.
The five-time Grammy nominee and 17-time Juno Award winner is in the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame.
A few years ago Johnny Cash covered “If You Could Read My Mind,” which nudged Lightfoot back into the spotlight.
LeRoy Bell: The singer-songwriter started with the acoustic soul sound on the CD “Spending Time.” It sold more than 12,000 units independently and played on more than 100 radio stations. “Two Sides to Every Story” is his follow-up. Bell will perform Thursday in Everett. Bell, with Casey James, wrote Elton John’s Grammy-nominated 1979 top-10 hit “Mama Can’t Buy You Love” and Elton’s 2004 British chart-topper “Are You Ready for Love?”
Soulbender: Long-time Queensryche’s guitarist Michael Wilton and ex-Sister’s Machine and Alice in Chains singer Nick Pollock are part of Soulbender, a heavy-rock band performing tonight in Everett with a self-titled debut album. Soulbender represents the shadow of its fans, 10 songs with the dark side running through them.
Vikki Carr: When she was 3 years old, Carr stood on milk crates to reach the church microphone and belt out a song. She no longer needs milk crates to reach the microphone but she still sings. Carr performs Sunday in Bow. She sings jazz, pop and country music as well as Christian church music and she’s had great success singing Latin music. Her songs have earned Grammy nominations, 10 singles entered the pop charts, and she won a Grammy for Best Mexican-American Recording in 1985 with “Simplemente Mujer.”
Duncan Shadrack: The country rocker plays original songs Sunday in Everett, including ones from the current CD, “The Other Side.” Shadrack has opened for Bo Diddley, Joe Nichols and Billy Ray Cyrus. He’s sung in church and school choirs, carried the lead in a barbershop quartet and sung in a funk band but he never let go of his country roots.
Paul Lippert: The children can sing along with Lippert on Tuesday in Everett. Although he started singing nursery rhymes with his mother, at age 9 he wanted to be a rock ‘n’ roller. Instead, he opted for Harvard, hung out on the Cambridge folk scene and married his high-school sweetheart. His family turned him into a writer and singer of children’s songs. Eventually his “In the Same Boat” won a Parents’ Choice Gold Award. His latest album for all ages is “Humpty Jumpty.”
Show Brazil!: Authentic Brazilian music and dance, including jazz, samba and bossa nova, will take the stage Wednesday in Shoreline. Dancers, percussionists and instrumentalists play traditional instruments. Capoeira music, a form that originated from a Brazilian martial art developed by 17th-century escaped African slaves, also will be showcased.
Gordon Lightfoot performs Sunday at Tulalip Amphitheatre.
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