Sundown (Gordon Lightfoot song)
| "Sundown" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Gordon Lightfoot | ||||
| from the album Sundown | ||||
| B-side | "Too Late for Prayin'" | |||
| Released | March 25, 1974 | |||
| Format | 7" 45 RPM | |||
| Genre | Folk rock, country rock | |||
| Length | 3:37 | |||
| Label | Reprise | |||
| Writer(s) | Gordon Lightfoot | |||
| Producer(s) | Lenny Waronker | |||
| Gordon Lightfoot singles chronology | ||||
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"Sundown" is a song by Canadian folk artist Gordon Lightfoot, released as a single in March 1974.
Sundown reached number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and easy listening charts[1] and number thirteen on the Hot Country singles chart,[2] as well as number one in Canada on RPM 's national singles chart.[3] It was Lightfoot's only single to reach number one on the Hot 100.
Content
The song's lyrics seem to describe a troubled romantic relationship, with the narrator recounting an affair with a "hard-loving woman [who's] got me feeling mean".
There are rumours that "Sundown" was inspired by Lightfoot's then girlfriend, Cathy Smith, later more infamously known for her involvement in the 1982 drug-related death of actor John Belushi. Lightfoot has commented in interviews that Smith was "the one woman in my life who most hurt me".
Chart performance
| Chart (1974) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Kent Music Report [4] | 4 |
| Canadian RPM Top Singles | 1 |
| Canadian RPM Adult Contemporary Tracks | 2 |
| Canadian RPM Country Tracks | 4 |
| Dutch Top 40 [5] | 16 |
| German Singles Chart | 30 |
| Irish Singles Chart | 14 |
| U.K. Singles Chart | 33 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 1 |
| U.S. Billboard Easy Listening | 1 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles | 13 |
| Preceded by "Band on the Run" by Paul McCartney & Wings |
Canadian RPM 100 number-one single June 15 – 29,1974 (three weeks) |
Succeeded by "Billy Don't Be a Hero" by Bo Donaldson and The Heywoods |
| Preceded by "Billy Don't Be a Hero" by Bo Donaldson and The Heywoods |
US Billboard Hot 100 number-one single June 29, 1974 (one week) |
Succeeded by "Rock the Boat" by The Hues Corporation |
Year-End Chart
| Chart (1974) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Canadian RPM Top Singles | 3 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 27 |
| U.S. Cashbox Top 100 | 32 |
| Australian Kent Music Report | 35 |
Other versions
- The musical project/collaboration of singer-songwriters Elwood covered the song in 2000. This version peaked (July 8, 2000) at #33 on Billboard 's "Modern Rock Tracks' chart.[6]
- American country music singer Deryl Dodd's version of the song peaked at #59 on Billboard 's Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart in 1999. It was later included on his album, Pearl Snaps (2002).
- American-Canadian country artist Jesse Winchester covered this on Beautiful: A Tribute to Gordon Lightfoot (2003)
- Country singer Toby Keith included a live cover version on the deluxe edition of his album Bullets in the Gun (2010).
- Canadian rock musician Luke Doucet covered it on the album Steel City Trawler (2010).
- French singing duo Marie-Ève Janvier and Jean-François Breau covered the song in French as "L'amour c'est comme l'été", on the compilation album Quand le country dit bonjour... (2012).
Personnel
Engineered by Lee Herschberg
Recorded at Eastern Sound Studios, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
- Gordon Lightfoot: Vocal, 12-string guitar
- John Stockfish: Bass
- Red Shea: Lead electric guitar
- Terry Clements: Lead acoustic guitar
- Jim Gordon: Drums
In other media
- "Sundown" is the ending song of The Blacklist season 1, episode 13: "The Cypress Agency (No. 64)" (January 27, 2014).[7]
- The song entered the Amazon UK chart at number 97 on 18 March 2014, after The Blacklist episode, "The Cypress Agency (No. 64)" was shown on UK television.
- "Sundown" is featured after the opening credits of Supernatural Season 10, Episode 5 "Fan Fiction" (November 11, 2014).
See also
- List of Hot 100 number-one singles of 1974 (U.S.)
- List of number-one adult contemporary singles of 1974 (U.S.)
- List of RPM number-one singles of 1974
References
- ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits: Eighth Edition. Record Research. p. 368.
- ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944-2006, Second edition. Record Research. p. 201.
- ↑ List of number-one singles of 1974 (Canada)
- ↑ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
- ↑ http://www.top40.nl/search.aspx?keyword=Gordon%20Lightfoot&jaar=2011&maand=7&week=27
- ↑ Billboard (selected) Artist Chart History for Elwood
- ↑ "Soundtrack". IMDb.
External links
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