Gordon Lightfoot

Beginning in the mid-1960s, singer-songwriter Gordon Lightfoot became one of Canada's most celebrated entertainers, as well as one of the most successful figures on its vast folk music scene. Blessed with a warm, distinctive baritone voice and a talent for lyrics that addressed both personal and global issues in memorably poetic terms, Lightfoot became a sensation in his native country before exploding on the U.S. charts with "If You Could Read My Mind" in 1970. He would enjoy exceptional chart success throughout North America throughout the decade with hits like "Sundown," "Rainy Day People" and "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" before his star began to fade in the United States. Lightfoot remained a national treasure in his native country, which he toured regularly into the new millennium despite several major health setbacks. He was also greatly revered by other artists, including Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, Harry Belafonte and John Mellencamp, all of who recorded his material on their own albums. Still active and recording new material in his seventh decade, Gordon Lightfoot was among Canada's greatest musical treasures, as well as a beloved songwriter around the globe.