Gordon Lightfoot

Gordon Lightfoot
Lightfoot performing at Interlochen, Michigan, in 2009
Background information
Birth name	Gordon Meredith Lightfoot Jr.
Born	(1938-11-17) November 17, 1938 (age 78) Orillia, Ontario, Canada
Genres	Folk, folk rock, country, pop
Occupation(s)	Musician, singer-songwriter
Instruments	Vocals Guitar Piano Drums
Years active	1958–present
Labels	United Artists Reprise Warner Bros. Linus, True North

Gordon Meredith Lightfoot Jr. CC OOnt (born November 17, 1938) is a Canadian singer-songwriter who achieved international success in folk, folk-rock, and country music, and has been credited for helping define the folk-pop sound of the 1960s and 1970s. He has been referred to as Canada's greatest songwriter and internationally as a folk-rock legend.

Lightfoot's songs, including "For Lovin' Me", "Early Morning Rain", "Steel Rail Blues", "Ribbon of Darkness"—a number one hit on the U.S. country chart with Marty Robbins's cover in 1965—and "Black Day in July" about the 1967 Detroit riot, brought him international recognition in the 1960s. He experienced chart success in Canada with his own recordings, beginning in 1962 with the No. 3 hit "(Remember Me) I'm the One". Lightfoot's recordings then made an impact on the international music charts as well in the 1970s, with songs such as "If You Could Read My Mind" (1970) his first U.S. top 10 hit reaching #5. "Sundown" (1974) a #1 hit, "Carefree Highway" (1974) which followed reaching #10, "Rainy Day People (1975) at #25, and "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" (1976) (No. 2, Hot 100).

Some of Lightfoot's albums have achieved gold and multi-platinum status internationally. His songs have been recorded by some of the world's most renowned recording artists, including Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Hank Williams Jr., The Kingston Trio, Marty Robbins, Jerry Lee Lewis, Neil Young, Bob Dylan, Judy Collins, Barbra Streisand, Johnny Mathis, Herb Alpert, Harry Belafonte, Scott Walker, Sarah McLachlan, Eric Clapton, John Mellencamp, Jack Jones, Bobby Vee, Roger Whittaker, Peter, Paul and Mary, Glen Campbell, The Irish Rovers, Nico, Olivia Newton-John, Paul Weller, and Ultra Naté.