Profile via TMDB · Courtesy of TMDB
Gordon Lightfoot
Sign in to saveCanadian singer-songwriter (1938–2023)
OverviewAI-generated
Gordon Meredith Lightfoot Jr. (1938–2023) was a Canadian singer-songwriter, poet, actor, and guitarist. Born in Orillia, Ontario, he began his professional work in 1958 and was educated at The Royal Conservatory of Music. His musical output spanned folk, folk rock, country, and pop genres. He performed on guitar, piano, voice, and percussion instruments, and recorded for Reprise Records and United Artists Records.
Lightfoot’s notable works include *Summer side of life*, *The pony man*, and *Walter Beauchamp*. He received the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal, the Order of Ontario, and was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame and Canada's Walk of Fame. He spoke English and French. He died in Toronto in 2023.
Synthesized by Vinony from 42 facts across 6 sources: Wikidata, Open Library, MusicBrainz, Last.fm, TMDb, Vinony graph. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.
Person · Open Library
- Born
- 1939
- Works
- 9
Top works
- Summer side of life
- The pony man
- Walter Beauchamp
- Best of Gordon Lightfoot - Strum and Sing Guitar
- Best of Gordon Lightfoot
via Open Library + Wikidata
Film & TV
Orillia, Ontario, Canada
Gordon Meredith Lightfoot Jr. CC OOnt (November 17, 1938 – May 1, 2023) was a Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist who achieved international success in folk, folk-rock, and country music. He is credited with helping to define the folk-pop sound of the 1960s and 1970s. He has been referred to as Canada's greatest songwriter and his songs have been recorded by some of the world's most renowned…
Known for
- Anne Murray: Full Circle — Self2021
- Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story by Martin Scorsese — Self2019
- Gordon Lightfoot: If You Could Read My Mind — Self2019
- This Beat Goes On: Canadian Pop Music in the 1970s — Self2009
- Gordon Lightfoot: Live in Reno — Self2002
- Animal Charm: Golden Digest — Himself (archival footage)1996
- Tears Are Not Enough — Self1985
- Harry Tracy, Desperado — U.S. Marshal Morrie Nathan1982
- Gordon Lightfoot - Live From Soundstage '79 — Self - Musician1979
- Saturday Night Live — Self - Musical Guest1975
via TMDB
Music · MusicBrainz
- Type
- Person
- Gender
- Male
- Origin
- Canada
- Active from
- 1938
- Active to
- 2023
Discography
Member of
via MusicBrainz · CC0
Listeners · Last.fm
- Listeners
- 670,232
- Total plays
- 10,122,735
Tags
Gordon Meredith Lightfoot Jr. (November 17, 1938 – May 1, 2023) was a Canadian singer-songwriter who achieved international success and played a significant role in defining the singer-songwriter era of the 1970s. Considered one of Canada's most influential songwriters, he released numerous gold and platinum albums, and his songs have been covered by many prominent musical artists. Lightfoot's biographer Nicholas Jennings described him as being known for "timeless songs about trains and shipwrec
Key facts
- Born
- Gordon Meredith Lightfoot Jr. , ( 1938-11-17 ) November 17, 1938, Orillia, Ontario , Canada
- Died
- May 1, 2023 (2023-05-01) (aged 84), Toronto, Ontario , Canada
- Genres
- Folk soft rock country
- Occupations
- Singer-songwriter guitarist
- Instruments
- Vocals guitar piano percussion
- Years active
- 1958–2022
- Labels
- United Artists Reprise Warner Bros. Linus True North
- Formerly of
- The Two-Tones
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- human
- Given name
- Meredith
- Gender
- male
- Citizenship
- Canada
- Place of birth
- Orillia
- Occupation
- composer
- Educated at
- The Royal Conservatory of Music
- Languages spoken
- French
- Genre
- rock music
- Instrument
- piano
- Official website
- www.lightfoot.ca
- Image
- GordonLightfoot Interlochen.jpg
- Number of children
- 6
Show 11 more facts
- Commons category
- Gordon Lightfoot
- date of birth
- 1938-11-17
- birth name
- Gordon Meredith Lightfoot, Jr.
- start of work period
- 1958-00-00
- social media followers
- 249000
- date of death
- 2023-05-01
- end of work period
- 2023-00-00
- copyright representative
- Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada
- short name
- Gordon Lightfoot
- name in native language
- Gordon Lightfoot
- significant person
- Joan Baez
Sources (15)
via Wikidata · CC0
~34 min read
Encyclopedic overview
Gordon Meredith Lightfoot Jr. (November 17, 1938 – May 1, 2023) was a Canadian singer-songwriter who achieved worldwide success and helped define the singer-songwriter era of the 1970s. Widely considered one of Canada's greatest songwriters, he had numerous gold and platinum albums, and his songs have been covered by many of the world's most renowned musical artists. Lightfoot's biographer Nicholas Jennings wrote, "His name is synonymous with timeless songs about trains and shipwrecks, rivers and highways, lovers and loneliness."
Covers of Lightfoot's songs by other acts, including "For Lovin' Me", "Early Morning Rain", "Steel Rail Blues", "Home From The Forest", and "Ribbon of Darkness", a number one hit on the U.S. country chart for Marty Robbins, brought him recognition from the mid-1960s. Chart success with his own recordings began in Canada in 1962 with the No. 3 hit "(Remember Me) I'm the One" and led to a series of major hits at home and abroad throughout the 1970s. He topped the US Hot 100 or Adult Contemporary (AC) chart with "If You Could Read My Mind" (1970), "Sundown" (1974); "Carefree Highway" (1974), "Rainy Day People" (1975), and "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" (1976).
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Gordon Lightfoot” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.