Gordon Lightfoot died earlier this week at the age of 84. An amazing Canadian singer-songwriter with a 5+ decade career. The Order of Canada. Canadian Music Hall of Fame.
Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald might be your most favourite or least favourite Gordon Lightfoot song. Neither for me. Lightfoot had an amazing international career yet he kept Canada as his base. He also showed Canadian musicians that you could do both.
This won't be a typical obituary in the classic sense. Listen to the hits and pick out songs you may not have known, such as Cotton Jenny.or Canadian Railroad Trilogy.
Our tribute starts out with an offbeat look at Lightfoot as a prolific singer and songwriter. SCTV had this really funny skit where Lightfoot sings every song ever recorded. A very Canadian idea.
Remembering Gordon Lightfoot: Canadian folk music icon (The Current)
Remembering Gordon Lightfoot (Q from CBC Radio)
CBC Radio seemed like a good place to remember Gordon Lightfoot. The special Q episode devoted the entire show to the memory of Gordon Lightfoot, including an interview with Anne Murray. Murray McLauchlan and Tom Wilson were also guests on the program hosted by regular Q host Tom Power and Commotion's Elamin Abdelmahmoud.
Nicholas Jennings, who wrote Lightfoot the biography, was a guest on The Current with Matt Galloway.
He's been in my life as long as I can remember, first through his songs, then by writing about him through the decades. Proud to be his biographer.
— Nicholas Jennings (@nicojennings) May 2, 2023
R.I.P. Gordon. Condolences to his wife Kim, his children, grandchildren, bandmates and friends. @lightfoot365 #gordonlightfoot pic.twitter.com/Xv2nOKUeCc
Peter Mansbridge on his podcast The Bridge with Peter Mansbridge will also look back at the life and career of Gordon Lightfoot. You can hear that on SXM Canada or wherever you get your podcasts.
I saw Gordon Lightfoot a few years back in person. I wish it was in Massey Hall in Toronto, where Lightfoot might have the record for playing the most dates of any artist there. The theatre was intimate. Lightfoot physically wasn't at his best but still put on a really good show.
I loved how much the fans knew the songs I did not know. You forget all the really great songs he had. Hits a plenty but simple songs I had never heard and still enjoyed. One of the radio guests pointed out there were lots of unreleased songs because he was so meticulous to make sure they were where Lightfoot wanted them to be.
2019 WIFF Canadian films in review
2019 WIFF Canadian films in review: Documentaries
"A must for huge Lightfoot fans and a nice primer if you only know the major hits."
If you think you know a lot about Gordon Lightfoot, you will still learn a lot about him from the 2019 documentary Gordon Lightfoot: If You Could Read My Mind. Saw the film at the 2019 Windsor International Film Festival. I know we say we learn a lot from documentaries. I had no idea and was blown away.
CanadianCrossing.com music coverage
“I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Lightfoot as a child – he spent the afternoon in the Gatineau Hills with my family, and it is a memory I will always cherish." Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said this as part of his statement on the death of Gordon Lightfoot.
We tease about the prominent Canadians with the first name Gord or Gordon. We lost Gordon Pinsent earlier this year. We lost Gord Downie from The Tragically Hip in 2017. Gordie Howe passed away in 2016.
Ranger Gord (Peter Keleghan) was a part of The Red Green Show. Gord Miller is alive and a real person. There are 2 prominent Canadians named Gordon Sinclair.
Gordon Lightfoot might be the most significant of all the Gord and that is saying something in Canada.
The photo is of Gordon Lightfoot performing 100 Years Young, which was a CBC variety special celebrating Canada's centennial from 1967.
video credit: YouTube/westnyacktwins
photo credit: Roy Martin/CBC Still Photo Collection; @petermansbridge
Twitter capture: @nicojennings
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