Singer
Gordon Lightfoot

Gordon Meredith Lightfoot, Jr., (born November 17, 1938) is a Canadian singer and songwriter who achieved international success in folk, country, and popular music. He came to prominence in the 1960s, and broke through on the international music charts in the 1970s with songs such as “If You Could Read My Mind” (1970), “Sundown” (1974) and “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald” (1976). His songs have been recorded by some of the world’s most succes ... sful recording artists, including Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash and Bob Dylan. Robbie Robertson of The Band declared that Lightfoot was one of his “favourite Canadian songwriters and is absolutely a national treasure.” Lightfoot was born to Gordon Meredith Lightfoot Sr. and Jessica Lightfoot in Orillia, Ontario, Canada. As a youth, he sang in the choir of St. Paul’s United Church under the direction of choir-master Ray Williams. Lightfoot remarked in 2005 that it was Williams who “taught him how to sing with emotion and how to have confidence in his voice”. Lightfoot moved to Los Angeles, California during the 1950s where he studied at Hollywood’s Westlake College of Music. He returned to Canada by the early 1960s and began performing in coffee houses in the Toronto folk scene. He sang with Terry Whelan in a duo called the Two Tones. They released a live album recorded in 1962 called Two Tones at the Village Corner. In 1966, his debut album Lightfoot! was released and it brought him recognition as a songwriter. It featured many now-famous songs including “For Lovin’ Me”, “Early Mornin’ Rain”, “Steel Rail Blues” and “Ribbon of Darkness”. On the strength of this album, which mixed Canadian and universal themes, Lightfoot became one of the first Canadian singers to achieve real stardom in his own country without moving to the United States. The album was released internationally and was also well-received. It was followed by numerous other albums through the late 1960s. But he remained better known as a songwriter than as a singer, with cover versions of his songs recorded by artists such as Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash and Elvis Presley. It was not until 1971 that his own version of “If You Could Read My Mind” became a Top Ten hit. The song was originally featured on his 1970 album “Sit Down Young Stranger” which had not been selling that well. After the success of the song, the album on which it was originally featured was re-released under the new title “If You Could Read My Mind” to capitalize on the success of the song. It was also in 1971 that on a bus bound for Calgary, Gordon met a lonely teenage girl named Grace on her way home from Toronto, and in 1972, the song “Alberta Bound” found its debut on the Don Quixote album. In 1974, his classic single, “Sundown”, went to No.1 on the American charts. Two years later, Lightfoot had an unexpected hit with a song with the unlikeliest of subject matter. In late November, 1975, Lightfoot read a Newsweek magazine article about the Great Lakes ore carrier SS Edmund Fitzgerald sinking during a severe storm. Tragically, all of her 29 crew members were killed. His song, “Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald”, most of the lyrics of which were taken from the article, reached #2 on the U.S. Billboard charts. Sundown and Edmund Fitzgerald continue to receive heavy airplay on many classic rock stations. By the 1990s he was mostly touring, giving fifty concerts a year by 1998, mainly in North America, while he released two albums in the period. In the fall of 2002, he was in Orillia when he suffered a near-fatal abdominal hemorrhage that left him in a comatose state for a short period. He recovered and later returned to the music business with the album Harmony and an appearance on Canadian Idol. In 2005, he made a low-key tour called, with characteristically droll humour, the “Better Late Than Never Tour”. See more [+]

If You Could Read My Mind |||||

If you could read my mind love What a tale my thoughts coul...

Sundown |||||

I can see her lyin' back in her satin dress In a room where ...

Early Morning Rain |||||

In the early morning rain With a dollar in my hand With an ...

The Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald |||||

The legend lives on from the chippewa on down Of the big lak...

Carefree Highway |||||

Pickin up the pieces of my sweet shattered dream, I wonder h...

Rainy Day People |||||

Rainy day people always seem to know when it's time to call....

14 Karat Gold |||||

If you see me smile, don't think I'm acting strange I got m...

Canadian Railroad Trilogy |||||

There was a time in this fair land when the railroads did no...

Dom quixote |||||

Through the woodland through the valley comes a horseman wil...

Wreck of the Edmound Fitzgerald |||||

The legend lives on from the chippewa on down of the Big lak...

Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald |||||

The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down Of the big lak...

10 Degrees And Getting Colder |||||

He was standing by the highway When he heard a driver comin...

Beautiful |||||

At times I just don't know How you could be anything but bea...

If I Could Read Your Mind |||||

If you could read my mind love, what a tale my thoughts coul...

I heard you talking in your sleep |||||

I heard you talking in your sleep, is there anything that I ...

Early mornin rain |||||

In the early mornin' rain, with a dollar in my hand, With an...

Affair on eighty avenue |||||

The perfume that she wore was from some little store on the ...

I Will Be Alright |||||

I'll be alright I'll be alright if I don't have to smile If ...

Its worth believin |||||

There's a warm breeze tonight, And the moon turns the tide ...

Lovin Me |||||

That's what you get for lovin' me That's what you get for lo...

Minstrel Of The Dawn |||||

The Minstrel of the Dawn is here, to make you laugh and bend...

Redwood Hill |||||

I climbed the Redwood Hill, 'twas on a rainy day To rise abo...

Ribbon Of Darkness |||||

Ribbon of darkness over me Since my true love walked out the...

Sit Down Stranger |||||

I'm standin' at the doorway, my head down in my hands Not kn...

Softly |||||

Softly she comes, whispers the breeze with her passing In se...

Ten Degrees And Getting Colder |||||

He was standing by the highway with a sign that just said mo...

Your Love Return |||||

Come to the door my pretty one Put on you rings and precious...

Why Not Give It a Try |||||

Would you like to go dancing, would you like to go home Woul...

Did She Mention My Name |||||

It s so nice to see an old friend, and pass the time of day ...

Ghosts Of Cape Horn |||||

All around old Cape Horn Ships of the line, ships of the mor...

Me And Bobby Mcgee |||||

: / / / / / / / / : (Twice) Busted flat in Baton Rouge, hea...

Pride Of Man |||||

Turn around and go back down, back the way you came Can't yo...

Ring Them Bells |||||

Ring them bells from the sanctuaries, 'cross the valleys and...

Summertime Dream |||||

Where the road run down by the butternut grove To old Bill S...

Thats What You Get For Loving Me |||||

That's what you get for lovin' me. That's what you get lovin...

The Circle Is Small |||||

It's all right for some but not all right for me When the on...

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