About
Gordon Lightfoot, born November 17, 1938 in Orillia, Ontario, and died May 1, 2023 in Toronto, was a Canadian singer-songwriter. A major figure in folk-pop of the 1960s-1970s, he recorded over 500 songs and sold more than 10 million albums worldwide. His iconic songs include 'If You Could Read My Mind', 'Sundown', and 'The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald'. His works have been covered by Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan, and Johnny Cash. He received numerous honors, including the Governor General's Performing Arts Award (1997) and Companion of the Order of Canada (2003).
* 1938-11-17 — † 2023-05-01
Major works
- If You Could Read My Mind (1970)song
- Sundown (1974)song
- The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald (1976)song
- Canadian Railroad Trilogy (1967)song
- Early Morning Rain (1964)song
Key milestones
- 1986Inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame.
- 1997Received the Governor General's Performing Arts Award.
- 2003Appointed Companion of the Order of Canada.
Themes
sailing and shipwreckslove and relationshipsCanadian history and landscapenostalgia and melancholyeveryday life and observation
Sources: ggpaa.ca · songhall.org · lccn.loc.gov