Gordon Lightfoot | Artist

Gordon Lightfoot CC OOnt is a Canadian singer-songwriter guitarist born 1938 in Orillia, Ontario. Lightfoot achieved international success in folk, folk-rock, and country music and is credited with helping to define the folk-pop sound of the 1960s and 1970s. His musical ability was recognised early with his first public performance of the Irish lullaby "Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ral" in fourth grade broadcast over his school's public address system. Later, Lightfoot's athletic and scholarly aptitude earned him entrance bursaries at McGill University's Schulich School of Music and the University of Toronto Faculty of Music. Lightfoot moved to California in 1958 to study jazz composition and orchestration for two years at Hollywood's Westlake College of Music, singing on demonstration records and writing, arranging, and producing commercial jingles to support himself. His first recordings were on a split LP of folk songs issued by Canadian Talent Library in 1964. His excellent debut solo album Lightfoot! was released in 1966 on the United Artists label. The album featured many now-famous songs, including "For Lovin' Me," "Early Mornin' Rain," "Steel Rail Blues," and "Ribbon of Darkness". During the 70s and early 80s his popularity peaked with hit singles such as "Early Morning Rain", "Me and Bobby McGee", "If You Could Read my Mind" and "Sundown". His songs have been recorded by artists such as Bob Dylan, Gene Clark, Dan Fogelberg, Jimmy Buffett and Jim Croce. To-date he has released 22 studio albums, standouts include Lightfoot!, The Way I Feel, Sit Down Young Stranger (renamed If You Could Read my Mind), Don Quixote and Sundown. Lightfoot was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 1986 and the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame in 2001.

Artist Website: gordonlightfoot.com

Featured Albums: Gordon Lightfoot