One has to listen carefully to the lyrics as they tell the tale and the unbelievable course of events later in the track It is the real story of the West. The first bridge lyrics and then the last bridge:
Such an excellent song. Every time I hear it I think of the incredible people that opened up Canada and the United States. The unbelieveable hardships they must have endured wow. Here's to some of the toughest and bravest people that ever walked the earth.
this song floored me as a teen, back when it came out. lol, i played it over and over again... i always thought they were a great band and would be a part of the soundtrack of my life. truly, they were "sunny days". thank you for sharing this one :)
i saw these guys in Whitby Ontario, last summer and they sounded just as good as back in the day, one of the best Canadian bands of all time, and this is one of the best songs ever written.
@KillerKratos8 Hey. I agree, these guys were iconic. In the early 70s, I think they defined not just Canadian Music, but Canadian Culture as well. Big, Broad, Passionate, Innovative, Honest, Fun Loving, Intelligent, Down to Earth... and just a little out side of the mainstream. I often wonder what would have happened if they played Woodstock instead of Isle of Wright that year.
Great song by a great band! Thanks for posting. I always loved this song even though it brings other connotations to mind about manifest destiny and the stealing of a continent. Nice pics.
AGreat Ballad of the Pioneers in 1800's that fought and battled their way by the hundreds of thousands out to California to seek it rich in the Great Calif. Gold Strike. This lead thousands of 'easterners' to the West, a very unruley and wild Country. A true journey of Hardship for many. A Great tune by Lighthouse that slowly disbanded, they never 'made the Big Bucks, nor the recognition they should have..... Spanky... Toronto..
Thanks very much for posting this song. As others said, it evokes some powerful emotions while listening to the lyrics. Until finding it here, I had not heard this song for a couple of decades. I bought the 8 track in the early 70's, and still have it!!! I should hook up one of the players I also still have, just to see how well it will play...
Very well-selected video. Great song too by a group that should have been more successful. Terrific musicians and several good songs. They broke up too soon.
Very, very nice video. And I agree, this would make a great music selection for a western. Music like this makes me sad that we as a society now seem all but incapable (willingness aside) to write and produce music like this...deep in tone and sound, complex rhythm and just sounds so good. Thanks for putting this up.
Thanks for posting this excellent video tribute to this tremendous song. It's a funny thing with competition. politics and who you know in the music industry. Especially then. Lighthouse is a perfect example of a super group who's music was played little in the US in the 70's. The 70's were a monumental time for rock music and Lighthouse was unfortunately not much part of the US scene. However, I will say that their music is as good as any classic rock band out there. Very inspirational . . .
This song was always a favourite of mine. This song never received the recognition it should have.
I saw "Lighthouse" yesterday (I believe the lead singers name is Dan Clancy) & unfortunately they did not perform this song. I knew they wouldn't. But I did enjoy "Sunny Days" & "One Fine Morning".
I grew up in Southern Ont, and this Band was top 5 in terms of Radio and 1'st Accessability, Frequent gigs at "the Lighthouse" in Port Dover Ont, on the north Coast of Lake Erie are THE stuff of (local) legend-keen listener as a child I listened to their "lighthouse Live" Album countless times. Am a Musician largly cause of music like this, + Fleetwood Mac.Procop interview a few yrs ago-Mcbride walked away from "the rec-deal" in washington dc
Sadly, this incarnation of the band only did one more album (Sunny Days)after the live album this was taken from. Bob McBride, the lead singer, left the band shortly there after. After that, the band slowly dissolved. Unfortunately, there wasn't much money to be had splitting the take from a gig 10 to 12 ways. However, the boys got together again in 1982 for "One Fine Weekend" in Toronto. In the early 90s, They started performing together again until Bob passed away. They still play sometimes.
@70sfusion Every now and then you could catch Skip on a toronto radio station but no longer. I caught up with him on Young st a few years back. We chatted for a bit. I was very happy to be able to thank him. For all the bands great work. They were a big part of the 70's that I grew up in.P.S. I know the Byrds did 8 miles high first but these guys did it best.
Yes, the double live LP is by far their best stuff, a real classic album. It's on CD now and it's been remastered. " 8 Miles High" has been extended with some solos that don't appear o the vinyl version. It's really worth the the purchase.
Never heard this on the radio. Had an 8 track with it on it and dreally thought it had a greater story to tell than the other songs on the 8 track. That was in my first new car, a 71 camaro just before my tour in SE Asia. Great story of suffering and challenge.
Thanks for posting! I've always loved this tune, since first hearing it on "Lighthouse Live" LP, bought in the '70's. It's a real tearjerker about the American History of the mid 1850's. What a waste of lives in that time, in search of a fortune found by only a very few...
Hello - I've come back back to this song again, because I obviously like it - and what I think I read is that it seems like it's been mostly Canadians that have stepped up to say thank you - and yet the song doesn't describe our heritage (our being mostly railroad or ship-port entry to Canada ) - did this song not get any air-play in America in the early seventies? Just asking - Lzloon, Andrew Lynch
dispatches67. You're right about this song not describing Canadian heritage. This is a decidedly American story. I'm not sure how much air-play it ever received in the States, But if Lighthouse was able to sell out Carnage hall in 1972, I'm sure a few Americans knew of them and probably of this song. Even though this song is about an American experience, it is an inspirational bit of work by a great group of Canadian boys. It guess that kind of thing transcends boarders.
I don't recall ever hearing it here in the US, but I bought the 8 track (!) & when I heard this, I liked it better than One Fine Morning as it told a great story. And I loved the mellow guitar work.
8 track, boy we're dating our self. FYI, I had the 8 track too. It lived in my car and went everywhere with me. I agree, I think I like this song better than One Fine Morning as well. It's such a powerful/epic piece. It really shows off the depth of the band, especially in this live version. I also love the guitar work. Ralph Cole was not an "explosive" guitar player but he could sure convey emotion in his playing. Glad you like the song.
My 4TH grade teacher (Mr. Hynes) played this song in class quite a few times, he even gave us a pop quiz on the lyric content, that was back in the 1973-74 school year. I haven't heard this song in 34 years, thanks for the post.
Thanks. I'm glad you enjoyed this video. They really were one of the great Canadian Bands. Not many seem to remember them now though. I especially always loved this song. I still get chills in the intro when the horns kick in. I can just picture the wagon trains slogging their way across the burning desert. .
ValsHere - same year (1972) there was a song written by a group, and the lyric went like " Africa..ahh.. hahah, beautiful land..ah hahh, home of the free..etc...I can't place the group.. but I was in a big car accident in Septmeber of 1972.. and when I woke up that was the song on the car radio..do you know of it? I write about this because it's one of those moments stays with a 16 years olds mind at that moment in time.
Hey, thanks for the comment. Just when I thought no one was paying attention to this video....
Unfortunately, not many people today remember Lighthouse. They really did rock. They came from a time when you could be experimental and STILL be popular. Ah well!
Nice job piecing together the pictures to go with the music. It's not easy to do.
keyshop41 3 days ago
anyone have an upload of Eight Miles High by Lighthouse,,, they did an incredible live arrangement of it... great band ...
hfpinperson 3 months ago
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One has to listen carefully to the lyrics as they tell the tale and the unbelievable course of events later in the track It is the real story of the West. The first bridge lyrics and then the last bridge:
Epic. Iconic. Timeless.
sturoc0 4 months ago
Comment removed
sturoc0 4 months ago
Haven't heard this in nearly. . . 40 years???
ferociousgumby 6 months ago
Underated Genius's
babyimawantyou 10 months ago
Such an excellent song. Every time I hear it I think of the incredible people that opened up Canada and the United States. The unbelieveable hardships they must have endured wow. Here's to some of the toughest and bravest people that ever walked the earth.
2ndRCHAret 1 year ago
this song floored me as a teen, back when it came out. lol, i played it over and over again... i always thought they were a great band and would be a part of the soundtrack of my life. truly, they were "sunny days". thank you for sharing this one :)
MrBuckwilliam 1 year ago
i saw these guys in Whitby Ontario, last summer and they sounded just as good as back in the day, one of the best Canadian bands of all time, and this is one of the best songs ever written.
KillerKratos8 1 year ago
@KillerKratos8 Hey. I agree, these guys were iconic. In the early 70s, I think they defined not just Canadian Music, but Canadian Culture as well. Big, Broad, Passionate, Innovative, Honest, Fun Loving, Intelligent, Down to Earth... and just a little out side of the mainstream. I often wonder what would have happened if they played Woodstock instead of Isle of Wright that year.
70sfusion 1 year ago 2
still touring..still genius..i have talked to Skip Prokop in recent times
shadoww1000 1 year ago
Lighthouse's Music Is Heartfelt soulfoul & Passionate
glamourboy89 1 year ago
I'm impressed , what you did to a favorate track is fabulous ! you are a genius
Zoppoman 1 year ago
What a song! What a story! Lighthouse is alive and well. And they sound better than ever!!! I just saw then Friday (July 9th/10) Catch them!
daryle1ca 1 year ago
They're doing a 40th anniversary reunion this summer. They'll be at the Cornwall festival on July 9th.
dreamcatweaver 1 year ago
Great song by a great band! Thanks for posting. I always loved this song even though it brings other connotations to mind about manifest destiny and the stealing of a continent. Nice pics.
crazyhorse99999 1 year ago
Great song, creative video! Thanks for sharing a great American song, about our pioneers.
Sueski2 1 year ago
@Sueski2
Its a Canadian song actually, formed in Toronto!
yeahboizz 1 year ago
@yeahboizz Hey, cool! I had visions of California. I stand corrected.
Sueski2 1 year ago
Comment removed
yeahboizz 1 year ago
AGreat Ballad of the Pioneers in 1800's that fought and battled their way by the hundreds of thousands out to California to seek it rich in the Great Calif. Gold Strike. This lead thousands of 'easterners' to the West, a very unruley and wild Country. A true journey of Hardship for many. A Great tune by Lighthouse that slowly disbanded, they never 'made the Big Bucks, nor the recognition they should have..... Spanky... Toronto..
3p1k0n3r 1 year ago 2
Saw their reunion concert in Toronto last week. It was spectacular!
philgexile 2 years ago
Great music...I heard these guys live three times back in the early seventies...It was spectacular....Thanks for the memories....
bcwdrums 2 years ago
Just saw these guys in Moose Jaw last Saturday night; they sound better than ever!
1957boz 2 years ago
Thanks very much for posting this song. As others said, it evokes some powerful emotions while listening to the lyrics. Until finding it here, I had not heard this song for a couple of decades. I bought the 8 track in the early 70's, and still have it!!! I should hook up one of the players I also still have, just to see how well it will play...
MisterTbon1 2 years ago
Well done!
snottydyck 2 years ago
Very well-selected video. Great song too by a group that should have been more successful. Terrific musicians and several good songs. They broke up too soon.
Ivor662 2 years ago
Very, very nice video. And I agree, this would make a great music selection for a western. Music like this makes me sad that we as a society now seem all but incapable (willingness aside) to write and produce music like this...deep in tone and sound, complex rhythm and just sounds so good. Thanks for putting this up.
charlie8575 2 years ago
Thanks for posting this excellent video tribute to this tremendous song. It's a funny thing with competition. politics and who you know in the music industry. Especially then. Lighthouse is a perfect example of a super group who's music was played little in the US in the 70's. The 70's were a monumental time for rock music and Lighthouse was unfortunately not much part of the US scene. However, I will say that their music is as good as any classic rock band out there. Very inspirational . . .
marklev222 2 years ago
This song was always a favourite of mine. This song never received the recognition it should have.
I saw "Lighthouse" yesterday (I believe the lead singers name is Dan Clancy) & unfortunately they did not perform this song. I knew they wouldn't. But I did enjoy "Sunny Days" & "One Fine Morning".
It was a nice step back into time.
harleygal24 2 years ago
nice presentation :)
I always loved this song
good job
dustypuppy 2 years ago
I grew up in Southern Ont, and this Band was top 5 in terms of Radio and 1'st Accessability, Frequent gigs at "the Lighthouse" in Port Dover Ont, on the north Coast of Lake Erie are THE stuff of (local) legend-keen listener as a child I listened to their "lighthouse Live" Album countless times. Am a Musician largly cause of music like this, + Fleetwood Mac.Procop interview a few yrs ago-Mcbride walked away from "the rec-deal" in washington dc
and the Band ends.Bob fought heroin in Ott till d
WildjoeWilliams 2 years ago
So where did these guys end up?
ASFLLM 2 years ago
Sadly, this incarnation of the band only did one more album (Sunny Days)after the live album this was taken from. Bob McBride, the lead singer, left the band shortly there after. After that, the band slowly dissolved. Unfortunately, there wasn't much money to be had splitting the take from a gig 10 to 12 ways. However, the boys got together again in 1982 for "One Fine Weekend" in Toronto. In the early 90s, They started performing together again until Bob passed away. They still play sometimes.
70sfusion 2 years ago
@70sfusion No Bob McB. and No Skip Proko. = No Lighthouse , Now just 'fill-ins' as I refer to them.. Just never get close to the Originals...
3p1k0n3r 1 year ago
@70sfusion Every now and then you could catch Skip on a toronto radio station but no longer. I caught up with him on Young st a few years back. We chatted for a bit. I was very happy to be able to thank him. For all the bands great work. They were a big part of the 70's that I grew up in.P.S. I know the Byrds did 8 miles high first but these guys did it best.
2ndRCHAret 1 year ago
Always liked this song. still treasure the original live double LP this is on.
nrryder 2 years ago
Yes, the double live LP is by far their best stuff, a real classic album. It's on CD now and it's been remastered. " 8 Miles High" has been extended with some solos that don't appear o the vinyl version. It's really worth the the purchase.
70sfusion 2 years ago
Perhaps one of the best songs of all time.
This song truly sends chills through me.
Well done Lighthouse!
Southsideshuffler 2 years ago
I agree with you completely. I always get chills when the horns first kick in. Such a powerful song and epic story.
70sfusion 2 years ago
@70sfusion what is the story behind it? what happened in 1849?
GOTIMMIES 1 year ago
Never heard this on the radio. Had an 8 track with it on it and dreally thought it had a greater story to tell than the other songs on the 8 track. That was in my first new car, a 71 camaro just before my tour in SE Asia. Great story of suffering and challenge.
ASFLLM 3 years ago
Thanks for posting! I've always loved this tune, since first hearing it on "Lighthouse Live" LP, bought in the '70's. It's a real tearjerker about the American History of the mid 1850's. What a waste of lives in that time, in search of a fortune found by only a very few...
Great Lighthouse Tune!
davidpockettrpt 3 years ago
What a great song. When I first heard it I could see it. Weird.
ASFLLM 3 years ago
We Canadians know this band very well, very big here in the early 70's, as big as The Guess Who for a few years.
secordman 3 years ago
its pretty sad that no one really knows this band, but it so good
glich86 3 years ago
Hello - I've come back back to this song again, because I obviously like it - and what I think I read is that it seems like it's been mostly Canadians that have stepped up to say thank you - and yet the song doesn't describe our heritage (our being mostly railroad or ship-port entry to Canada ) - did this song not get any air-play in America in the early seventies? Just asking - Lzloon, Andrew Lynch
dispatches67 3 years ago
dispatches67. You're right about this song not describing Canadian heritage. This is a decidedly American story. I'm not sure how much air-play it ever received in the States, But if Lighthouse was able to sell out Carnage hall in 1972, I'm sure a few Americans knew of them and probably of this song. Even though this song is about an American experience, it is an inspirational bit of work by a great group of Canadian boys. It guess that kind of thing transcends boarders.
70sfusion 3 years ago
I don't recall ever hearing it here in the US, but I bought the 8 track (!) & when I heard this, I liked it better than One Fine Morning as it told a great story. And I loved the mellow guitar work.
NatureMuzic 3 years ago
8 track, boy we're dating our self. FYI, I had the 8 track too. It lived in my car and went everywhere with me. I agree, I think I like this song better than One Fine Morning as well. It's such a powerful/epic piece. It really shows off the depth of the band, especially in this live version. I also love the guitar work. Ralph Cole was not an "explosive" guitar player but he could sure convey emotion in his playing. Glad you like the song.
70sfusion 3 years ago
blessing for doing this a chill went down my spine hearing it again
dereklobo 3 years ago
My 4TH grade teacher (Mr. Hynes) played this song in class quite a few times, he even gave us a pop quiz on the lyric content, that was back in the 1973-74 school year. I haven't heard this song in 34 years, thanks for the post.
hoag1964 3 years ago
Great video! Yes, indeed, I agree this would be a great music for a western movie or a western TV series. You know, I like western movies too :-)
Firithfenion 3 years ago
Thanks for the feedback firithfenion, it's greatly appreciated.
70sfusion 3 years ago
Spectacular video. Brings back great memories.
One of the many great Canadian Bands that I was fortunate enough to see a few times.
Thanks for posting this song.
ValsHere 3 years ago
Thanks. I'm glad you enjoyed this video. They really were one of the great Canadian Bands. Not many seem to remember them now though. I especially always loved this song. I still get chills in the intro when the horns kick in. I can just picture the wagon trains slogging their way across the burning desert. .
70sfusion 3 years ago
ValsHere - same year (1972) there was a song written by a group, and the lyric went like " Africa..ahh.. hahah, beautiful land..ah hahh, home of the free..etc...I can't place the group.. but I was in a big car accident in Septmeber of 1972.. and when I woke up that was the song on the car radio..do you know of it? I write about this because it's one of those moments stays with a 16 years olds mind at that moment in time.
Thanks - andrew
lzloon72 3 years ago
Hi Andrew,
I am pretty sure that the group you are looking for were called Thundermug. They did the high school dance circuit back then too.
I hope you made a full recovery.
Cheers!
ValsHere 3 years ago
Excellent - Huge Kudos to the Creator of this Video - Great Canadian band, that rocked in 1972
lzloon72 3 years ago
Hey, thanks for the comment. Just when I thought no one was paying attention to this video....
Unfortunately, not many people today remember Lighthouse. They really did rock. They came from a time when you could be experimental and STILL be popular. Ah well!
70sfusion 3 years ago
..and this is good. 5 stars
tsjoencinema 4 years ago