Gordon Lightfoot, Union Suit Fan?  Part I

Perhaps, but I don't really know. This popular Canadian singer-song writer, who passed away May 1, 2023 in Toronto, has been called Canada's "national treasure" and the country's "most successful and loved contemporary folk singer." 

Born in 1938 he was no doubt very familiar with long underwear, being from the north country and all. Lightfoot began writing and performing music in 1958 and became famous and loved in the 1960's and 70's. My very favorite song of his was "If you could read my mind." To hear, copy and paste:  https://youtu.be/jiU2lrGnT7U?t=1

By the time I purchased his album featuring this popular song, I, myself, had been wearing union suits for a few years.

Lightfoot's first public wearing the one-piece, button up the front, rear escape hatch long underwear may have been in the film, Harry Tracy, first released by Telefilm Canada in 1975. He played  U.S. Marshall Morrie Nathan, starring along side Bruce Dern who played Tracy, the last of the old west, train-robbing, notorious gang members. All the other late 19th century thieves and murderers were with dead or in prison.

The first 15 minutes was of Tracy wearing only his boots and white long johns breaking out of a jail in freezing cold Aspen, Colorado 

 It was not revealed why escape artist Tracy was in jail unclothed, and how he happened to escape. 

He raced across town in the snow in his underwear until he found a horse to steal. Tracy high-tailed it out of town, bent on finding the woman (Helen Shaver as Catherine Tuttle), a judge's daughter whom he deeply loved and had traveled all the way to Portland in the far northwest to seek. 

Hot on his heels, was the Marshal and his native American tracker:

Tracy was finally chased down and apprehended, still in his long johns by the marshall... 

Get away from me with that damn camera! 

...and returned to jail where he was confined in only dripping wet underwear, 

until a train could take him to a more secure prison. 

He had made the front page of the local newspaper

 in his long johns being attended to by his true love: 

The marshall was wakened, pulled on his britches over this union suit 

to inform Harry it was time to head to the train station: 

To see what happens next on the train ride to prison, check back with Union Suit Fans in the Limelight for Part II of "Gordon Lightfoot, Union Suit Fan?" 

You'll see how Marshall Nathan ends up out in the snow in only his derby and union suit!