Singer-songwriter Gordon Lightfoot dies at 84

• Canadian folk legend Gordon Lightfoot dies.
• The singer-songwriter died at the age of 84 in a Toronto hospital.
• He had canceled several concerts in April.

Singer-songwriter Gordon Lightfoot, one Canada’s folk legends, died at the age of 84 in a Toronto hospital, according to his publicist. The news has devastated fans around the world, reported Lopez Doriga and the EFE agency.

In April, Lightfoot canceled concerts he had planned for this year due to health problems, although he did not provide details about his situation. Artists like Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Barbra Streisand, Eric Clapton, Olivia Newton-John and Jerry Lee Lewis have performed some of the more than 500 songs he wrote.

GORDON LIGHTFOOT’S LEGACY

In Canada, Lightfoot is considered to embody the essence of that country in his songs — from its climate to its landscape, to its residents. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tweeted that Canada «has lost one of its 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,” Trudeau added.

MANY STARS PERFORMED HIS SONGS

Lightfoot released his first album, Lightfoot!, in 1966 after building a reputation as a songwriter in the US and UK. The album, which earned him recognition in both Canada and the United States, contains some of his most popular songs, including For Lovin’ Me and Early Morning Rain, which was covered by Elvis Presley and Bob Dylan, among others.

Dylan, who has been a friend of the Canadian artist for nearly 60 years, went so far as to say of Lightfoot: «Every time I hear a song by him, it’s like I wish it would last forever.» Social media was flooded with tributes to the late singer.

GORDON LIGHTFOOT TOURED THE WORLD

After the release of his first album, Lightfoot toured Canada, the United States and Australia while recording new albums with very diverse themes, including his eighth album, Don Quixote (1972), in reference to writer Miguel de Cervantes’s character

In the 1980s, after years of alcohol abuse, and after being convicted of drunk driving, Lightfoot changed his lifestyle and revitalized his career with the album Salute (1983). His last album, his twenty-first, was Beginnings released in 2021.

GORDON LIGHTFOOT DIES

Stars such as musician Eric Alper commented on social media: “Canadian music icon Gordon Lightfoot died at the age of 84. He is one of the greatest singer-songwriters to ever exist as “If You Could Read My Mind”, “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald”, “Sundown” and over 100 more are stone cold classics, and he will be missed.”

Writer Stephen King also posted Lightfoot’s death: “Gordon Lightfoot is dead. He was a great composer and a wonderful performer. Sundown, you better watch out/If I catch you crawling up my back stairs.»