TORONTO

To prepare for the Grey Cup, I caught Gordon Lightfoot at Massey Hall this week, then checked out Justin Bieber on YouTube.

Never mind football, the Cup shapes up as a summit of Canadian icons. Bieber and Lightfoot in a halftime show for the ages.

I haven’t been this excited since Hendrix faced off with Country Joe & the Fish at Woodstock.

Beliebers and Lightheads, take your marks.

Which raises the musical question: Who’s the greater Canadian icon, the Stratford kid or the man from Mariposa?

Let’s start with some numbers.

Lightfoot packed Massey Hall as usual, all 2,765 seats.

Before I headed out the door for the show, I checked Bieber’s video of Baby on YouTube: 799,984,782 views. By the time you read this it may hit 800 million. That’s like every man, woman, child and poodle in Europe.

Mind you, the Baby video also had 3,152,000 “dislikes.” Some people get jealous of icons.

Bieber sold 15 million albums before his 18th birthday and is the world’s hottest pop singer.

Pshaw, you say? Flash in the pan? Maybe, but he has survived his voice change and other perils of puberty. And true icons define their eras. Bieber is the definitive star born on YouTube.

Lightfoot, whose voice changed during the Korean War, has sold 10 million records, but also penned hits for the likes of Harry Belafonte, Marty Robbins and Peter, Paul and Mary.

He defined folk/pop in the 1960s and 70s, even more so than Bob Dylan, if you ask me. At least Gordie sings on key.

He and Bieber have other things in common.

Both are proudly and vocally Canadian.

Both have been known to have women trouble. Well, who hasn’t?

Both have had health scares.

Lightfoot nearly died of an aneurysm in 2002 and was even declared dead online a couple of years ago.

Bieber was concussed walking into a glass door last spring. Pretty tame brush with death, but he’s young.

On Tuesday, Lightfoot was on Newstalk 1010’s Late Shift with my pal Warmington and spoke of how much he admired Bieber and how his family is looking forward to the half-time show — to see Bieber.

Pop princess Carly Rae Jepsen and the band Marianas Trench round out the lineup. They are somewhat less iconic than Burton Cummings, who headlines a pre-game show with country star Johnny Reid.

Lightfoot will open half-time with four stanzas of the Canadian Railroad Trilogy, perfect for this 100th Grey Cup.

There was a time in this fair land

When the railroad did not run …

“Then I can stand back and watch Justin Bieber,” Gord told Joe, sounding pretty thrilled for a guy who’s 73.

By now, I assume Bieber’s mom has explained who the heck is Gord Lightfoot anyway.

I doubt the Biebs gives much thought to his own place in history. He’s too busy trying to win back Selena Gomez.

Justin’s big. But he still can’t carry Lightfoot’s jockstrap. Maybe some day.

Meantime, be you a Belieber or a Lighthead, it’s one helluva halftime show.

“Absolutely the best ever,” says CFL marketing VP Sara Moore.

Marketing VPs always say that, but she’s right.

I hope the football is even half as iconic.

******

Speaking of icons, Variety Village has had a tough year, with flooding and all.

So there’s extra urgency to my annual Christmas Fund for that Scarborough athletic centre for disabled kids.

It kicks of in Sunday’s paper, with some touching tales and a mouth-watering pile of draw prizes.

Over the years the fund has raised more than $1.1 million.

Hit it, Mr. Lightfoot:

We’ve been friends through rain or shine

For such a long, long time

Beautiful. Over to you, Justin:

Baby, baby, baby, oooh.

Thanks, fellas. Rock the Grey Cup.

Mike Strobel’s column runs Wednesday to Friday, and Sunday. mike.strobel@sunmedia.ca, 416-947-2265 or twitter.com/strobelsun.

Strobel’s book, Bad Girls — And Other Perils (Dundurn Press), is available in stores, online or by calling the Toronto Sun News Research Centre at 416-947-2258 or toll-free 1-877-624-1463.