“We have lost one of our greatest singer-songwriters.” Candian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Gordon Lightfoot’s death
The late, great Canadian singer-songwriter Gordon Lightfoot is respected for his contribution to the folk song tradition in his country. Also, he has influenced thousands of musicians and inspired them towards music for years.
In his long and lasting career, Lightfoot wrote and composed numerous songs, including “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald,” “Sundown,” and “If You Could Read My Mind.” Unfortunately, He passed away on Monday, May 1, at age 84, in a Toronto hospital.
Lightfoot, who was born in Ontario, had an extensive music career spread over six-decade. His journey began in the early 1960s on the Toronto folk circuit and became famous across the border in the 1970s.
Beginning with “If You Could Read My Mind,” which peaked at No. 5 in 1971, he gave four top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 during the 1970s. Next in the line were the singles “Sundown,” his solo No. 1, and “Carefree Highway,” his only other No. 10 single on the Billboard 200, both from his Sundown (1974).
He won 13 Juno Awards in his native Canada throughout the course of his musical career, which reached the summit in his 1986 induction into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame. In 2012, he ascended to the Songwriters’ Hall of Fame.
Justin Trudeau, the prime minister of Canada, led the tributes. He declares, “We have lost one of our greatest singer-songwriters.” In doing so, he contributed to the development of Canada’s musical landscape. Lightfoot “caught our country’s soul in his music. May his music inspire new generations to come, and may his legacy endure forever. I’m thinking of his family, friends, and a lot of his followers throughout the nation and around the world during this trying time.
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,…
— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) May 2, 2023
Another Canadian veteran singer-songwriter Bryan Adams tweeted–
This one is really hard to write. Once in a blue moon you get to work and hang out with one of the people you admired when you were growing up. 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. I know I speak… pic.twitter.com/GsFOwEGnrq
— Bryan Adams (@bryanadams) May 2, 2023
[…] Lightfoot reportedly asked for the release of the album as soon as possible in the weeks before his demise. He showered blessings on the cover art and made it vivid that the recording was not altered. […]