PREVIEW: "The Ghost of Lonesome Lefty" - The Documentary

With no disrespect to either "Mr. Chill" Kelly Hoppe or Ron Leary, no one can sing the torch and twang like Lonesome Lefty.

For years, he was an enigmatic staple of the Windsor music scene, with regular shows at The Bridge Tavern and Sky Lounge (both gone now unfortunately) and occasional appearances at other watering holes around town. And whether it was just himself playing solo, as a duo with Two Dollar Bill or with his ensemble cast of Lonesome Lefty & The Crying Shames, his performances always felt like an education in storytelling. They may not all have been packed houses, but the shows were always nothing short of spectacular.

Whether you like old-timey country or folk or "western" music is irrelevant. What is relevant is that Lonesome Lefty is a singer that bares his soul in his music like very few people can in this world. And while he's written a few songs of his own (which are fantastic), he's a walking encyclopedia of Canadian country music - not the Shania Twain stuff, we're talking the old dogs here. His record collection is the stuff of legend.

Sadly, Lonesome Lefty left Windsor a few years back (I believe to Chatham?), although he has returned for shows here and there.

But luckily one young film maker here in Windsor is capturing what enchanted Windsorites for years and hopefully displaying to legions of Canadian music fans just what a gem we have in our area. Tim Swaddling is currently finishing up his latest film, a documentary on our dear Lefty, entitled "The Ghost of Lonesome Lefty" and if it's even half as good as the trailer that's popped up on-line, it's going to be essential viewing and something I'd love to own on DVD.

But enough of my yackin' - watch for yourself...


Lonesome Lefty documentary project - teaser trailer (v1) from Tim Swaddling on Vimeo.