Gordon Lightfoot, Canadian Singer/Songwriter, Dies at 84
Gordon Lightfoot, Canadian Singer/Songwriter, Dies at 84 Lightfoot's six-decade career began in the early 1960s on the Toronto folk circuit and went worldwide in the 1970s thanks to a string of influential hits.
Lightfoot brings back early childhood memories. My older sister bought his single “If You Could Read My Mind” and we played it over and over on a portable turntable in the basement of our Wisconsin home.
If memory serves “Poor Little Allison” was the B side… love that song. Maybe I’m mis-remembering… no doubt someone on this forum can confirm or refute my memories.
The Edmund Fitzgerald went down on my 16th birthday. One of the best songs ever written, imho.
___________________
Company, villainous company hath been the spoil of me.
May 02, 2023, 06:32 AM
P250UA5
Was just listening to him a couple weekends ago while working on the Midget. My dad had a CD in his shop stereo changer.
The Enemy's gate is down.
May 02, 2023, 06:49 AM
Sauer Kraut
I was discussing the context of “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald” with someone a few days ago. They didn’t know the story or the references in the song. Great song from a time that produced so much of the music I listen to.
May 02, 2023, 06:54 AM
h2oys
RIP and thanks for the memories Mr Lightfoot.
May 02, 2023, 07:14 AM
ChuckFinley
Saw him perform this winter live.
Sad.
_________________________ NRA Endowment Member _________________________ "Of all tyrannies, a tyranny exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end, for they do so with the approval of their own conscience." -- C.S. Lewis
May 02, 2023, 07:41 AM
oddball
Always loved Gordon Lightfoot, still have his songs on my current playlists. This is one of them, not as well known as some of his others. Rest in Peace.
"I’m not going to read Time Magazine, I’m not going to read Newsweek, I’m not going to read any of these magazines; I mean, because they have too much to lose by printing the truth"- Bob Dylan, 1965
May 02, 2023, 08:03 AM
joel9507
This hits home. Been a Lightfoot fan since the '60s.
Here's one of his less-well-known stories of ship tragedies, one of my favorites from way back when:
Thanks for all the tunes and tales over the decades, Mr. Lightfoot.
May 02, 2023, 08:12 AM
pulicords
So sad! I loved his music and attended a couple of his concerts back in the late 1970's. He had a way of evoking a level of intimacy with the audience even in a venue as large as the Hollywood Bowl. He'll be missed.
"I'm not fluent in the language of violence, but I know enough to get around in places where it's spoken."
May 02, 2023, 08:18 AM
sdy
I was a Gordon Lightfoot fan also.
Seems hard to find music like that now.
May 02, 2023, 08:34 AM
Calif Phil
Me and Mrs CP saw him twice, once in the mid 1990's and a few years ago, which sadly, he was passed his prime. Still great to see him. Always liked him and glad to have some good memories to reflect on. RIP Mr. Lightfoot
May 02, 2023, 08:35 AM
rat2306
I hate to hear this; the first concert I ever attended was to hear him. Fantastic show. I read an article and viewed the attached interview video last year; and he didn't look very well. RIP, storyteller and troubadour.
