Canadian songwriter and folk icon Gordon Lightfoot dies, aged 84

Gordon Lightfoot – the Canadian singer-songwriter behind hits like If You Can Read My Mind and Sundown – has passed away, aged 84 according to a statement on his official Facebook page.

“It is with profound sadness that we confirm that Gordon Meredith Lightfoot has passed away,” reads the post. “Gordon died peacefully on Monday, May 1, 2023 at 7.30 PM at Sunnybrook Hospital in Toronto. He died of natural causes. He was 84 years old. 

“He is survived by his wife Kim Hasse, six children – Fred, Ingrid, Eric, Galen, Miles and Meredith, as well as several grandchildren.”

Lightfoot was born in 1938 in Ontario in Canada and developed a passion for music at an early age, learning piano and acoustic guitar. His first performances and band roles focused on his vocal talents – he won a vocal competition aged 13 and later performed in several barbershop quartets. 

However, he was a keen songwriter and, going solo, found himself caught up in the burgeoning folk scene of the early ’60s, alongside Canadian contemporaries like Leonard Cohen, Neil Young and Joni Mitchell.

By the mid-’60s, Lightfoot had become an established presence on Toronto’s folk circuit and his reputation had spread far enough to attract the attention of Albert Grossman – best known as the manager of Bob Dylan.

Another Grossman act, Peter, Paul and Mary, soon recorded two of Lightfoot’s compositions: Early Mornin' Rain and For Lovin' Me – the latter breaking into the Billboard top 30. In later years, both Dylan and Elvis Presley would record versions of Early Mornin’ Rain.

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Grossman subsequently signed Lightfoot for a five-album run, but it wasn’t until 1970 that the songwriter became a household name outside of his native Canada. That year saw the expiration of his deal with Grossman and the release of his album If You Could Read My Mind. That record was initially called Sit Down Young Stranger, but was renamed after its debut single hit number five on the Billboard chart.

The collection melded string arrangements around Lightfoot’s bare bones acoustic and piano-led numbers and featured appearances from the Lovin’ Spoonful guitarist John Sebastian and Ry Cooder.

If You Could Read My Mind remained his greatest commercial success, but he would have a string of further hits under his own name through the 1970s, including Sundown, Minstrel Of The Dawn, The Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald and Rainy Day People.

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In the early 2000s, Lightfoot was beset with health issues and faced a difficult recovery following an abdominal aortic aneurysm that left him in a coma for six weeks. Nonetheless, the songwriter returned with his 20th solo album Harmony in 2004 and continued to tour and perform. 

In early April, he announced he would be canceling his 2023 Canadian tour dates due to health issues. 

Everyone from Brian Wilson to author Stephen King and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau have paid tribute to the departed songwriter. 

“We have lost one of our greatest singer-songwriters,” wrote Trudeau. “Gordon Lightfoot captured our country’s spirit in his music – and in doing so, he helped shape Canada’s soundscape. May his music continue to inspire future generations, and may his legacy live on forever. To his family, friends, and many fans across the country and around the world: I’m keeping you in my thoughts at this difficult time.”

You can view a selection of the artists and celebrity tributes below.