Sit Down Young Stranger
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''Sit Down Young Stranger'' is
Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
singer
Gordon Lightfoot Gordon Meredith Lightfoot Jr. (born November 17, 1938) is a Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist who achieved international success in folk, folk-rock, and country music. He is credited with helping to define the folk-pop sound of the 1960 ...
's fifth studio album and his best-selling original album. Shortly after its 1970 release on the Reprise Records label, it was renamed ''If You Could Read My Mind'' when the song of that title reached #1 on the ''
RPM Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or with the notation min−1) is a unit of rotational speed or rotational frequency for rotating machines. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 defines a unit of rotation as the dimensionl ...
'' Top Singles chart in Canada and #5 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in the US. The album itself reached #12 on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart. In Canada, the album was on the charts from April 18, 1970, to November 27, 1971. It peaked at #8 on March 13, 1971 after an earlier peak at #12 on June 20, 1970. Its last 24 weeks were spent in the 90s, except for appearances at #88 and #100.


History

''Sit Down Young Stranger'' was Lightfoot's first recording for his new label, Reprise Records. He had left
United Artists United Artists Corporation (UA), currently doing business as United Artists Digital Studios, is an American digital production company. Founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, the stud ...
because he believed they did not adequately promote his albums. On this album, Lightfoot included more orchestration, which is particularly evident on "If You Could Read My Mind". It was also the first studio album to feature long-time Lightfoot electric bass guitarist Haynes. "Minstrel of the Dawn" and "Approaching Lavender" were orchestrated by Randy Newman. The album contained one of the first recorded versions of
Kris Kristofferson Kristoffer Kristofferson (born June 22, 1936) is a retired American singer, songwriter and actor. Among his songwriting credits are " Me and Bobby McGee", " For the Good Times", " Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down", and " Help Me Make It Through the ...
and
Fred Foster Fred Luther Foster (July 26, 1931 – February 20, 2019) was an American record producer, songwriter, and music business executive who founded Monument Records. As a record producer he was most closely associated with Roy Orbison, and was also ...
's "
Me and Bobby McGee "Me and Bobby McGee" is a song written by American singer-songwriter Kris Kristofferson and originally performed by Roger Miller. Fred Foster shares the writing credit, as Kristofferson wrote the song based on a suggestion from Foster. A posthu ...
" which had previously been a country hit for Roger Miller and would later become a hit for Janis Joplin. A small number of
vinyl Vinyl may refer to: Chemistry * Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a particular vinyl polymer * Vinyl cation, a type of carbocation * Vinyl group, a broad class of organic molecules in chemistry * Vinyl polymer, a group of polymers derived from vinyl ...
copies of the album contain no title on the front cover. This is because the cover was originally supposed to be just a picture of Lightfoot, but it was then thought that stating the title would increase the album's sales. The untitled copies did have a small sticker on the cellophane wrap bearing the album's title. One rarity of note is "The Pony Man" appears on the Warner Brothers loss leader ''Schlagers!'' without the harmonica overdub.


Reception

In his retrospective
Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...
review, critic Jim Newsom praised the album, writing "While future albums would begin to drift away from the folky acoustic timbres of this one, the beauty and simplicity of Sit Down Young Stranger make it a timeless recording."


Track listing

All compositions by Gordon Lightfoot; except where indicated


Side 1

#"Minstrel of the Dawn" – 3:26 #"
Me and Bobby McGee "Me and Bobby McGee" is a song written by American singer-songwriter Kris Kristofferson and originally performed by Roger Miller. Fred Foster shares the writing credit, as Kristofferson wrote the song based on a suggestion from Foster. A posthu ...
" (
Kris Kristofferson Kristoffer Kristofferson (born June 22, 1936) is a retired American singer, songwriter and actor. Among his songwriting credits are " Me and Bobby McGee", " For the Good Times", " Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down", and " Help Me Make It Through the ...
,
Fred Foster Fred Luther Foster (July 26, 1931 – February 20, 2019) was an American record producer, songwriter, and music business executive who founded Monument Records. As a record producer he was most closely associated with Roy Orbison, and was also ...
) - 3:38 #"Approaching Lavender" – 2:56 #"Saturday Clothes" – 3:20 #"Cobwebs & Dust" – 3:20 #"Poor Little Allison" – 2:30


Side 2

#"Sit Down Young Stranger" – 3:26 #"
If You Could Read My Mind "If You Could Read My Mind" is a song by Canadian singer-songwriter Gordon Lightfoot. Lightfoot wrote the lyrics while he was reflecting on his own divorce. It reached 1 on the Canadian Singles Chart on commercial release in 1970 and charted in ...
" – 3:48 #"Baby It's Alright" – 2:58 #"Your Love's Return (Song for
Stephen Foster Stephen Collins Foster (July 4, 1826January 13, 1864), known also as "the father of American music", was an American composer known primarily for his parlour and minstrel music during the Romantic period. He wrote more than 200 songs, inc ...
)" – 3:55 #"The Pony Man" – 3:27


Chart performance


Certifications


Personnel

* Gordon Lightfoot -
guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...
,
piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...
, vocals *
Red Shea Patrick Henry "Red" Shea (November 29, 1898 – November 17, 1981) was a Major League Baseball pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each p ...
- guitar * Rick Haynes - bass with: * Ry Cooder - slide guitar on "Me and Bobby McGee", mandolin on "Cobwebs and Dust" *
Van Dyke Parks Van Dyke Parks (born January 3, 1943) is an American musician, songwriter, arranger, and record producer who has composed various film and television soundtracks. He is best known for his 1967 album ''Song Cycle'' and for his collaborations with ...
-
harmonium The pump organ is a type of free-reed organ that generates sound as air flows past a vibrating piece of thin metal in a frame. The piece of metal is called a reed. Specific types of pump organ include the reed organ, harmonium, and melodeon. Th ...
on "Cobwebs and Dust" *
John Sebastian John Benson Sebastian (born March 17, 1944) is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist and harmonicist who founded the rock band The Lovin' Spoonful. He made an impromptu appearance at the Woodstock festival in 1969Randy Newman - string arrangement on "Minstrel of the Dawn" and "Approaching Lavender" *
Kris Kristofferson Kristoffer Kristofferson (born June 22, 1936) is a retired American singer, songwriter and actor. Among his songwriting credits are " Me and Bobby McGee", " For the Good Times", " Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down", and " Help Me Make It Through the ...
was rumored to have provided harmony vocals on "Me and Bobby McGee" ;Technical *Gary Brandt, Lee Herschberg - engineer * Barry Feinstein,
Tom Wilkes Thomas Edward Wilkes (July 30, 1939 – June 28, 2009) was an American art director, designer, photographer, illustrator, writer and producer-director. Life Wilkes was born in Long Beach, California and raised in southern California. Wilkes atte ...
- design, photography


References


External links


Album lyrics and chords
* {{Authority control Gordon Lightfoot albums 1970 albums Reprise Records albums Albums arranged by Randy Newman Albums produced by Joe Wissert Albums produced by Lenny Waronker Albums conducted by Randy Newman