Photo: Arnielee / CC BY-SA 3.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)

Gordon Lightfoot

ゴードン・ライトフット　/　ごーどん・らいとふっと

Singer-songwriter from Canada

November 17, 1938 – May 1, 2023　・　Orillia, Ontario, Canada

Ontario
singer-songwriter
poet
actor

My Take

Gordon Lightfoot occupies a rare category for me: a songwriter whose work feels less like pop music and more like national geography set to melody. The 1970s produced many confessional singer-songwriters, but few wrote with his reportorial patience — lakes, railroads, ordinary labor, all rendered without a wasted syllable. The honors Canada heaped on him, from the Order of Canada to multiple halls of fame, were really a country admitting that he had written its diary. What moves me most is how durable the songs are; artists keep covering them because the bones are perfect. He died in 2023, but I suspect his catalog will outlive most of what charted alongside it.

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.

Summary adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

1. Profile

Name (English): Gordon Lightfoot
Name (Japanese): ゴードン・ライトフット
Reading: ごーどん・らいとふっと
Born: November 17, 1938 – May 1, 2023
Zodiac / Chinese zodiac: Scorpio / Tiger
Origin: Orillia, Ontario, Canada
Blood type: Private
Height: Private
Agency: Private
Occupation: singer-songwriter / poet / actor / guitarist / singer

2. Background

Elementary school: Private
Junior high: Private
High school: Private
University: Private

Awards & achievements

2012 Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal
Songwriters Hall of Fame
Companion of the Order of Canada
Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame
1998 Canada's Walk of Fame
Order of Ontario
Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame
1970 Juno Award for Folk Artist of the Year

3. Relationships

Spouse: Private
Children: Private
Parents: Private
Siblings: Private

4. Personality

Motto

Private

6. Links

Official sitehttps://gordonlightfoot.com/
Xhttps://x.com/lightfoot365
Wikipedia (Japanese)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gordon%20Lightfoot

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