Established recording artists such as Marty Robbins (“Ribbon of Darkness”), Leroy Van Dyke (“I’m Not Saying”), Judy Collins (“Early Morning Rain”), Richie Havens and Spyder Turner (“I Can’t Make It Anymore”) and the Kingston Trio (“Early Morning Rain”) all achieved chart success with Lightfoot’s material.Īfter signing a recording contract with United Artists in 1965, Lightfoot released his version of “I’m Not Sayin'” as a single. Ian and Sylvia Tyson had success with “Early Mornin’ Rain” and “For Lovin’ Me,” as did Peter, Paul and Mary. Lightfoot’s songwriting prowess began to earn him cuts by other artists, with Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan, Chad & Jeremy, George Hamilton IV, the Clancy Brothers and the Johnny Mann Singers all cutting his songs. Lightfoot’s career began when two singles, both recorded at RCA in Nashville and produced by Chet Atkins, became local hits in Toronto-”(Remember Me) I’m the One” and “Negotiations / It’s Too Late, He Wins.” In 1963, Lightfoot travelled in Europe and hosted BBC TV’s Country and Western Show, returning to Canada in 1964. He eventually grew tired of LA and returned to Toronto in 1960, where he stayed until his death.

He learned piano and taught himself to play the drums as a teenager.Īfter graduating high school, he spent two years in California studying jazz composition and orchestration at Hollywood’s Westlake College of Music.

Paul’s United Church and performed periodically in public. As a child, Lightfoot sang in the choir at Orillia’s St. His mother schooled him to become a successful child performer. on Novemin Orillia, Ontario, Lightfoot exhibited musical promise as a child. With songs such as “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald,” “Sundown,” “If You Could Read My Mind,” “Early Morning Rain,” “For Lovin’ Me” and more, he is known to many as Canada’s greatest songwriter.īorn Gordon Meredith Lightfoot Jr. His legacy is his key involvement helping to define the folk-pop sound of the 1960s and 1970s. Lightfoot had success in success in folk, folk-rock and country music. Canadian folk singer-songwriter Gordon Lightfoot died on Monday (May 1) at the age of 84.

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