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The Singer
United Artists
We have to get this out of the way straight off: Gordon Lightfoot's middle name is Meredith. Gordon Meredith Lightfoot Jr. was born in Orillia, Ontario, in 1938. As a youth, he sang in the choir of Orillia's St. Paul's United Church. In a stark contrast to his contemporary Bob Dylan, Lightfoot was a boy soprano who first found praise as a vocalist.
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Hometown Boy
Char Westbrook
Growing up, Lightfoot appeared on local Orillia radio and sang at Kiwanis music festivals. He taught himself piano and drums as a teen and played gigs north of Orillia in the resorts of Muskoka.
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Influencial
Capitol
In high school, Lightfoot took up the guitar and focussed on songwriting. Who were his influences? The Beatles? Bob Dylan? No. Do you know why? Because Lightfoot was in high school in the '50s just like The Beatles and Bob Dylan and they weren't famous yet and there was no internet and they weren't penpals. (OR WERE THEY?)
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The Songwriter
Public Domain
Lightfoot's songwriting hero was Stephen Foster. No, not David Foster, legendary Canadian producer and ex of Yolanda Hadid. Stephen Foster (1826-1864, pictured), known as 'the father of American music,' wrote over 200 songs including "Oh! Susanna," "Suwanee River," "My Old Kentucky Home," and "Beautiful Dreamer." In other words, Foster was a legit folk songwriter in the truest sense.
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The Swinging Eight
CBC
By the early '60s, Lightfoot and his group, The Swinging Eight (we don't know what that name means, we are just trying to convince ourselves it was "a different time") were regularly featured on CBC's 'Country Hoedown.' Lightfoot drew crowds to his shows at Toronto coffee shops where he played folk songs. His early singles "(Remember Me) I'm the One," "Negotiations," and "It's Too Late, He Wins" were minor hits in Canada but he had yet to record an album.
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Your Mother Should Know
Capitol
In 1964 he appeared at the Mariposa Folk Festival in Orillia and began to develop a reputation as a songwriter. Canadian folk duo Ian and Sylvia Tyson recorded his songs, followed by U.S. folk stars Peter, Paul and Mary. (We're not just being colloquial and familiar, that's the name of their group: Peter, Paul and Mary. Go ask your mom. See?)
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He Exclaimed
United Artists
Lightfoot! is the name of Lightfoot's 1966 debut album and despite the naff exclamation point which calls to mind the campaign slogan of Jeb Bush's failed presidential campaign ("Jeb!"), it included what would eventually become one of Lightfoot's signature songs...
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"Early Morning Rain"
Capitol
Although it appeared on his 1966 debut, "Early Morning Rain" was a slow burner. It gained increasing popularity in 1970 when Bob Dylan covered it. In 1972, Elvis Presley recorded a famous version. Lightfoot himself re-released it in 1975 with this Chris Martin-meets-ET record sleeve. Paul Weller and Billy Bragg and dozens of others stars have recorded this classic, which begins, "In the early mornin' rain/ With a dollar in my hand/ With an aching in my heart/ And my pockets full of sand/ I'm a long ways from home/ And I missed my loved one so/ In the early mornin' rain/ With no place to go."
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"Canadian Railroad Trilogy"
United Artists
To kick off Canada's Centennial year, the CBC commissioned Lightfoot to write the "Canadian Railroad Trilogy" for a special broadcast on January 1, 1967. In 1970, Lightfoot won the Juno Award for Top Folksinger or Group. It was the first of his 13 wins in 29 nominations. He has also been nominated for five Grammy Awards.
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"If You Could Read My Mind"
Warner Bros
In 1970, Lightfoot scored a major international hit with the million-seller "If You Could Read My Mind." He followed it up with the hits "Talking in Your Sleep" and "Summer Side of Life" in 1971, and "Beautiful" in 1972. Also that year, Lightfoot contracted Bell's palsy, a condition that left his face temporarily partially paralyzed. (Former Prime Minister Jean Chrétien also had the condition). But it didn't stop Lightfoot from cranking out the hits, including
"Sundown" and "Carefree Highway" in 1974, "Rainy Day People" in 1975, "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" in 1976, "Race Among The Ruins" in 1977 and "The Circle Is Small" in 1978.
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The Original 6 God
Macleans
By the end of the '70s, Lightfoot had released 10 gold albums and earned a huge loyal following. After endless touring, he played an unprecedented nine-day sold-out homecoming concert series at Massey Hall in Toronto. A 1978 Maclean's profile called him "Canada’s wealthiest, most important, and most durable resident entertainer." (He was also on the cover of Maclean's in 1968, pictured.) He named one of his yachts "Sundown" and lived in a sprawling mansion in Toronto’s Rosedale neighbourhood (that's where Drake's building his mansion now: they'll be neighbours!).
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Now You See It
Capitol
In the 1978 Macleans article, his business manager, Al Mair, called him “a genius. He was the first one to prove that you could be a major international star and remain in Canada.” (Surely at this point, no one could have predicted that a day would come when Lightfoot might arguably be demoted to Canda's second-most-beloved Gord. But there's no question that Lightfoot paved the way for the Hip's Gord Downie as a successful Canadian singer-songwriter who chronicled Canada in poetic terms in the 1970s.) With ballads like "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald," which told the tale of an ill-fated ore carrier on Lake Superior, and "Canadian Railroad Trilogy," the story of building the Canadian Pacific Railway, Lightfoot was fulfilling his his Stephen Foster-ific traditional folk singer goals
of becoming a chronicler who was able to turn true events into legends just through the act of his singing them. Also he is clearly Chris Pratt's style icon.
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'Beautiful'
All Music
During the 1980s and 1990s Lightfoot continued to record albums and tour heavily. In 2002, he underwent surgery for a ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm. In 2003 he was made a Companion of the Order of Canada, the country's highest civilian honour. Also in 2003, 'Beautiful: A Tribute to Gordon Lightfoot' was released featuring covers of Lightfoot songs by Canadians like The Cowboy Junkies, Bruce Cockburn, Jesse Winchester, Maria Muldaur, and The Tragically Hip.
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Handy Hands
Canadian Bank Note
Lightfoot suffered a stroke in 2006 which temporarily left part of his right hand paralyzed. (Right hands are handy, especially for guitar players who use them to continue to tour and play guitar live all the time.) In 2007, Canada Post honoured Lightfoot, as well as fellow Canadian music stars Anne Murray, Paul Anka and Joni Mitchell, with postage stamps.
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He's Not Terra Lightfoot's Uncle, BTW
Keystone
One time in February 2010, Lightfoot was at the dentist when he overheard the news he was dead. Yes, Lightfoot had been the victim of a Twitter death hoax! He dispelled rumours of his demise with a radio interview. Lightfoot continues to tour regularly and sell out prestigious theatres across the country. Just as he had at Canada's 100th birthday party in 1967, Lightfoot took to the stage last summer at Parliament Hill on Canada Day, 50 years later, to celebrate Canada's 150th.
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New Music
Photo: Scott Dudelson/Getty Images
In 2019, Lightfoot announced plans for a new studio album, his 21st, and his first in nearly two decades, since 2004's Harmony.
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Back On The Road
Photo: Daniel Knighton/Getty Images
In 2017, as plans began coming together for his 21st studio album, Lightfoot hit the road, touring numerous cities across Canada and the U.S., though the tour was interrupted by a personal injury in 2019, and later by the COVID pandemic.
Despite the setbacks, Lightfoot continued touring until 2023, when he cancelled his full slate of concerts due to his health.
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Last Hurrah
Photo: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images for Stagecoach
On March 20, 2020, Lightfoot released his final studio album, Solo. It was his first in nearly two decades, and came 54 years after his debut.
Featuring 10 songs, all written by Lightfoot, the album was comprised of demos the artist had originally made in the early '00s. Though he at first made attempts to re-orchestrate and re-write the songs, Lightfoot finally decided to record the songs mostly as-is, shining a light on the softer vocals he'd developed with age over his long career.
United Artists
Char Westbrook
Capitol
Public Domain
CBC
Capitol
United Artists
Capitol
United Artists
Warner Bros
Macleans
Capitol
All Music
Canadian Bank Note
Keystone
Photo: Scott Dudelson/Getty Images
Photo: Daniel Knighton/Getty Images
Photo: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images for Stagecoach
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