State funeral? ‘That’s not Gord,’ says Lightfoot bassist Rick Haynes

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Gordon Lightfoot’s attention to detail in life extended to his wishes for how he would be laid to rest.

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Lightfoot’s long-time bassist Rick Haynes of 55 years says the Orillia-born folk legend gave those details to his lawyer after the singer-songwriter’s 2002 health scare during which he suffered a stomach aneurysm.

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It was announced Wednesday there will be a public visitation on Sunday from 1-8 p.m. at St. Paul’s United Church in Orillia — 62 Peter St. N. — where a book of condolence can be signed.

The funeral will be a private affair for family only, with no details released.

“He was never one for a state funeral, he wasn’t talking about anything grandiose,” said Haynes, 78, down the line from his Mississauga home.

“I’ve heard people say, ‘Well, maybe you’re going to put it in Maple Leaf Gardens or something.’ Well, that’s not Gord. He had made arrangements for a funeral in his hometown of Orillia, to go to the church he went to as a boy, and to be buried beside his parents.”

Haynes was among the circle of people that spent time in hospital with Lightfoot, hoping his longtime bandleader and pal would recover after surviving the stomach aneurysm in 2002 and a 2006 mini-stroke.

“We were hoping that he would come back from it,” said Haynes, after Lightfoot cancelled his entire 2023 North American tour for “health reasons” a few weeks ago.

“We were at the hospital for a while. He had excellent care. His time was up. He was declining. He had a lot of health issues. So it really caught up with him.”

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Lightfoot died of natural causes at the age of 84 on Monday and the outpouring of love for the folk icon has been overwhelming ever since.

“He was very caring and even when he wasn’t feeling well he would ask me how (my wife) Marilyn was feeling, and how the family was,” said Haynes.

Haynes said he’s going to miss his “very loyal friend.”

“I won’t miss the music because I have the music,” said Haynes.

“I’ve got all the CDs and records here. Of, course, I will miss playing it and I will absolutely, first and foremost, miss the man — totally.”

As for his professional demeanor, Haynes describes Lightfoot as “very focused. He was the hardest working musician I had ever known.”

Back in the ‘70s, Haynes said they would do 100-120 shows a year and his personal favourites to play were The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald and If You Could Read My Mind.

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Most recently, it was more like 80 shows annually but given Lightfoot’s advancing age, it was impressive.

“It didn’t surprise me because that’s what he lived for — was to play on stage,” said Haynes.

Especially at Toronto’s Massey Hall where Lightfoot adopted the venue as his own as the most frequent performer.

If there’s any future Lightfoot musical tribute at Massey, Haynes said of his participation: “I think that would be interesting. I wouldn’t want to be a part of anything that wasn’t done in the best taste and memory of Gord.”

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Haynes himself pulled off one of the greatest stunts when applying for bass player in Lightfoot’s band in the first place.

It was early 1968 and Haynes was unfamiliar with Lightfoot’s music but that didn’t stop him one bit.

“(Gord) said, ‘Do you know my stuff?’ and I said, ‘Sure I do,’” recalled the bassist, who was more into R&B, jazz and blues than folk.

“And then my wife went out to the Towers Store in Mississauga, that used to be there, and bought Gordon Lightfoot albums that were available and I started learning all of his songs.”

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Article content

Gordon Lightfoot’s attention to detail in life extended to his wishes for how he would be laid to rest.

Article content

Lightfoot’s long-time bassist Rick Haynes of 55 years says the Orillia-born folk legend gave those details to his lawyer after the singer-songwriter’s 2002 health scare during which he suffered a stomach aneurysm.

Article content

It was announced Wednesday there will be a public visitation on Sunday from 1-8 p.m. at St. Paul’s United Church in Orillia — 62 Peter St. N. — where a book of condolence can be signed.

The funeral will be a private affair for family only, with no details released.

“He was never one for a state funeral, he wasn’t talking about anything grandiose,” said Haynes, 78, down the line from his Mississauga home.

“I’ve heard people say, ‘Well, maybe you’re going to put it in Maple Leaf Gardens or something.’ Well, that’s not Gord. He had made arrangements for a funeral in his hometown of Orillia, to go to the church he went to as a boy, and to be buried beside his parents.”

Haynes was among the circle of people that spent time in hospital with Lightfoot, hoping his longtime bandleader and pal would recover after surviving the stomach aneurysm in 2002 and a 2006 mini-stroke.

“We were hoping that he would come back from it,” said Haynes, after Lightfoot cancelled his entire 2023 North American tour for “health reasons” a few weeks ago.

“We were at the hospital for a while. He had excellent care. His time was up. He was declining. He had a lot of health issues. So it really caught up with him.”

Article content

Article content

Toggle full screen mode Previous Gallery Image

Next Gallery Image Toggle gallery captions

All 15 Photos for Gallery

Function Not Available

Full Screen is not supported on this browser version.

You may use a different browser or device to view this in full screen.

OK

Lightfoot died of natural causes at the age of 84 on Monday and the outpouring of love for the folk icon has been overwhelming ever since.

“He was very caring and even when he wasn’t feeling well he would ask me how (my wife) Marilyn was feeling, and how the family was,” said Haynes.

Haynes said he’s going to miss his “very loyal friend.”

“I won’t miss the music because I have the music,” said Haynes.

“I’ve got all the CDs and records here. Of, course, I will miss playing it and I will absolutely, first and foremost, miss the man — totally.”

As for his professional demeanor, Haynes describes Lightfoot as “very focused. He was the hardest working musician I had ever known.”

Back in the ‘70s, Haynes said they would do 100-120 shows a year and his personal favourites to play were The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald and If You Could Read My Mind.

Article content

Most recently, it was more like 80 shows annually but given Lightfoot’s advancing age, it was impressive.

“It didn’t surprise me because that’s what he lived for — was to play on stage,” said Haynes.

Especially at Toronto’s Massey Hall where Lightfoot adopted the venue as his own as the most frequent performer.

If there’s any future Lightfoot musical tribute at Massey, Haynes said of his participation: “I think that would be interesting. I wouldn’t want to be a part of anything that wasn’t done in the best taste and memory of Gord.”

RECOMMENDED VIDEO

Haynes himself pulled off one of the greatest stunts when applying for bass player in Lightfoot’s band in the first place.

It was early 1968 and Haynes was unfamiliar with Lightfoot’s music but that didn’t stop him one bit.

“(Gord) said, ‘Do you know my stuff?’ and I said, ‘Sure I do,’” recalled the bassist, who was more into R&B, jazz and blues than folk.

“And then my wife went out to the Towers Store in Mississauga, that used to be there, and bought Gordon Lightfoot albums that were available and I started learning all of his songs.”

RECOMMENDED VIDEO