Eric Elison celebrates Gordon Lightfoot in Beaver Creek

So often it’s a girl — in this case, one named Beth, who Eric Elison was sweet on in high school and introduced him to Gordon Lightfoot before the 1974 “Sundown” album came out.

“We went to her house and unwrapped a Lightfoot album. He had just come out with an album called ‘Don Kearney,’ and I sat there in Beth’s living room. We put the album on the big stereo, and her mom made us a plate of chocolate chip cookies. Beth was sitting there, we were listening to Gordon Lightfoot, and I fell in love with Beth, Beth’s mom’s cookies and Gordon Lightfoot all at the same time,” he said.

His rich baritone voice along with his heartfelt performances perfectly suit the Lightfoot tribute, which has taken him worldwide since his first Lightfoot gig in August 2019.

While some people asked him why he played tribute shows when Lightfoot still toured — up until a couple months before his death in 2023 — his response was: The legend can’t get to all the places he needs to be.

Elison was discovered, so to speak, at a folk festival when Chuck Mitchell — Joni Mitchell’s ex-husband — said to Elison: I’m calling Gordy and telling him that you’re channeling him.

“I was actually playing my own music at the time, and it was long after that I recorded some songs in Nashville, and my producer called me and said, ‘I passed your CD around, and people say you ought to be doing a Lightfoot tribute because you sound so much like him,” he said. “So I got some advice from several people, and my producer said, ‘If you really want to break into the music industry and play larger theaters, play this music.’ And, of course, I loved it, so it was a natural for me.”

He performs Lightfoot’s music close to the originals, along with a five-piece band, just like Lightfoot’s.

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“I have a lead acoustic player (Gordon Lustig), who plays just like Red Shea — he’s just a marvelous fingerstyle lead guitarist. My steel player (Todd Clayton) used to play for Charlie Pride, and he sounds a lot like Pee Wee Charles, who was Lightfoot’s pedal steel player, (I have) a great bass player, Frank Sanchez, who used to play for Weird Al Yankovic, and drummer Mike Campbell — he’s on a replacement for me, but he’s got some pretty solid pro experience, so together, I’ll just say this: Fans will not be disappointed,” he said.

Lightfoot’s music resonates with audiences worldwide. In fact, he was one of Bob Dylan’s favorite songwriters, Elison said, and it was Dylan who presented Lightfoot the Juno Award for Canadian Music Hall of Fame induction in 1986. 

Elison attributes Lightfoot’s popularity to his amazing voice and the great stories in his songs, from romance and adventure to history, the latter of which include “Canadian Railroad Trilogy” and “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.”

“He had a wonderful resident baritone, which I can bring to the show. People loved his 12-string guitar, which he was known for, as well as his fingerpicking on songs like ‘If You Could Read My Mind’ or ‘Song for Winners Night.’ It’s things like that that really make Gordy’s music stand out,” he said. “And then, of course, songs like ‘Sundown’ really became an anthem for the mid-70s — it’s a very evocative song.”

He also points out that more young people are discovering Lightfoot’s music, along with older fans.

“A lot of them are blown away by the quality of the music itself,” he said. “What I’ve found is a lot of younger people, they love the story songs. They love ‘The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald,’ but a lot of them are drawn to the romance that is in songs like ‘Song for Winter’s Night,’ ‘If You Could Read My Mind’ and ‘Softly.’ They’re just gorgeous songs,” he said.

Of course, “Beautiful” is another standout song — one Elison’s wife gave him “permission” to return to Nashville to record some songs based on his producer’s request only if he recorded “Beautiful.” He also tells the story of Alec Baldwin telling Lightfoot that song is his favorite and asking why he wrote it, and Lightfoot said: “I wanted to write it for all the young guys out there who maybe couldn’t sing or couldn’t write songs of their own but wanted to tell their girlfriends or their loved ones just how beautiful they were.”

“So that song really resonates with people, young and old. I would say it’s the romantic numbers of Lightfoot that are drawing younger people,” he said, encouraging all ages to see the show. “I guarantee they’re gonna have a great time.”