Canadian musician Gordon Lightfoot passed away on Monday at 84 years old..Lightfoot family spokesperson Victoria Lord said Lightfoot, who wrote and performed ballads such as Early Morning Rain and The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald, died of natural causes at Sunnybrook Hospital in Toronto on Monday evening..Lightfoot suffered from numerous serious health issues over the last decade..Lightfoot, from Orillia, ON, became famous in the early 1960s after he moved to Toronto and met other folk singers such as Ian and Sylvia Tyson..The Tyson’s became fans of his music and covered two of his songs themselves..When Lightfoot released his first album in 1965, “Lightfoot!” it marked the arrival of a fresh folk sound..Lightfoot transitioned into pop music and in 1971 he achieved his first appearance on the Billboard chart with the song If You Could Read My Mind..During the mid-1970s, Lightfoot reached the height of his popularity, as his single and album “Sundown” both reached the top of the Billboard charts, the only time in his career that Lightfoot had a number-one hit..Musicians around North America, including Canadian Bryan Adams, expressed their condolences to the Lightfoot family on social media..“Once in a blue moon, you get to work and hang out with one of the people you admired when you were growing up,” Adams wrote on Twitter..“I was lucky enough to say Gordon was my friend and I’m gutted to know he’s gone. The world is a lesser place without him.”.Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tweeted “We have lost one of our greatest singer-songwriters. 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.”.Astronaut Chris Hadfield tweeted “Your poetry and melodies are an eternal inspiration. Rest in peace now, Gordon Lightfoot.”.Fellow musician Randy Bachman tweeted “When we were younger, Burton Cummings and I went to a #GordonLightfoot concert. We sat there mesmerized the entire time at the way he sang and the stories his lyrics told. Poetry, folklore & music. Spellbound would be a good way to describe it. Love to his family and friends today at his passing. I knew him a long time, he was a wonderful person.”.Actor Kiefer Sutherland tweeted “The world lost one of its great storytellers yesterday. Canada lost part of itself. And I lost a hero. Gordon Lightfoot, may you rest in peace.”.American author Stephen King tweeted “Gordon Lightfoot has died. He was a great songwriter and a wonderful performer. Sundown, you better take care/If I catch you creepin' 'round my back stairs.”
Canadian musician Gordon Lightfoot passed away on Monday at 84 years old..Lightfoot family spokesperson Victoria Lord said Lightfoot, who wrote and performed ballads such as Early Morning Rain and The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald, died of natural causes at Sunnybrook Hospital in Toronto on Monday evening..Lightfoot suffered from numerous serious health issues over the last decade..Lightfoot, from Orillia, ON, became famous in the early 1960s after he moved to Toronto and met other folk singers such as Ian and Sylvia Tyson..The Tyson’s became fans of his music and covered two of his songs themselves..When Lightfoot released his first album in 1965, “Lightfoot!” it marked the arrival of a fresh folk sound..Lightfoot transitioned into pop music and in 1971 he achieved his first appearance on the Billboard chart with the song If You Could Read My Mind..During the mid-1970s, Lightfoot reached the height of his popularity, as his single and album “Sundown” both reached the top of the Billboard charts, the only time in his career that Lightfoot had a number-one hit..Musicians around North America, including Canadian Bryan Adams, expressed their condolences to the Lightfoot family on social media..“Once in a blue moon, you get to work and hang out with one of the people you admired when you were growing up,” Adams wrote on Twitter..“I was lucky enough to say Gordon was my friend and I’m gutted to know he’s gone. The world is a lesser place without him.”.Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tweeted “We have lost one of our greatest singer-songwriters. 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.”.Astronaut Chris Hadfield tweeted “Your poetry and melodies are an eternal inspiration. Rest in peace now, Gordon Lightfoot.”.Fellow musician Randy Bachman tweeted “When we were younger, Burton Cummings and I went to a #GordonLightfoot concert. We sat there mesmerized the entire time at the way he sang and the stories his lyrics told. Poetry, folklore & music. Spellbound would be a good way to describe it. Love to his family and friends today at his passing. I knew him a long time, he was a wonderful person.”.Actor Kiefer Sutherland tweeted “The world lost one of its great storytellers yesterday. Canada lost part of itself. And I lost a hero. Gordon Lightfoot, may you rest in peace.”.American author Stephen King tweeted “Gordon Lightfoot has died. He was a great songwriter and a wonderful performer. Sundown, you better take care/If I catch you creepin' 'round my back stairs.”
