Gordon Lightfoot dead at 84
 

The Canadian singer and songwriter died yesterday.

Spent many hours listening to him in my youth. One of the greatest lyricists ever.

Gordon Lightfoot Canadian folk singer dies at 84

Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald one of my favorite songs.

He had a wonderful voice, and he was a great musician/story teller.

So sad.

Two neighbors went to see him in concert here in Florida. They had to drive a distance. They did say his voice was not what it had been.

R.I.P.

I had one of his albums in the 70s. And then heard the song "Beautiful" on the villages radio and fell in love with his songs again. A great talent and person you can tell through his songs.

A national treasure in Canada and one of my favorites. RIP to magnificent balladeer.

Nooooo - it feels like the end of an era to me. “Sundown” is my favorite.

Ditto, many hours and still listen to his CD's (yes, I LIKE not having my only music "in the cloud". Wonderful lyrics. Later as a married adult saw him in concert 4-5 times. Drew on a lot of personal stories and experiences for his lyrics to a great extent, in many ways similar to Bob Seger's story telling lyric writing style. Had searched Florida and Georgia on this latest tour hoping to see him perform one more time before he retired from all touring. Then, the tour was abruptly cancelled when he became ill and was hospitalized. What a loss, what a talent.

YES YES YES... she was the pride of the American side !

& a guy who was involved with the most interesting groupie of the rock era, Cathy Smith. She was the inspiration for Sundown and Rainy Day People and was the person who injected John Belushi with the speedball that killed him.

One of the best lines from one of the best songs: “Does anyone know where the love of God goes…?”

When I was working in NYC in 2018/2019 just happened to walk past the "Town Hall" auditorium near Times Square and saw he was there. Walked in, bought a ticket and got to experience him. His voice was not what it used to be, but great to see him before he passed.

All of the above and more. I don't think I ever heard a bad song by Gordon Lightfoot.

Maybe just my imagination--or maybe because I grew up so close to the Canadian border--but Canada seems to produce and export more real talent than does America, in just about every area. Gordon Lightfoot is just one; another would be Stan Rogers, who unfortunately died far too young but whose music, impeccably written and performed, will live for decades more. Plus many actors past and present who we possibly just assume are American are, in fact, Canadian: people like Keanu Reaves, William Shatner, Lorne Greene, Amanda Tapping (Canadian by way of England), Michael J. Fox, John Candy, Hayden Christiansen, many others.

Plus the TV series produced in Canada seem uniformly well produced and acted. Stargate SG-1, Vikings, The Tudors, MacGyver, Hell on Wheels, Frontier (Jason Momoa as Declan Harp was unforgettable), etc. Canadian documentaries seem uniformly excellent as well.

Just my perception, for what it's worth...

Alex Trebek, Leonard Cohen, KD Lang, Celine Dion, Jim Carrey, Ryan Gosling, Justin Bieber, Seth Rogan, Michael Buble, Shania Twain, David Foster,…………

Stan Rogers was great. He was eleven years younger than Gordon Lightfoot and he died in 1983.

A lot of singers don't live that long.

Buddy Holly was born in 1936 but died in 1959.
Ritchie Valens was born in 1941 and died in 1959.
Harry Chapin was born in 1942 and died in 1981.
Jim Croce was born in 1943 and died in 1973.

Gordon was born in 1938 and died in 2023. We had him a long time!

True.

Jim Croce was a favorite of mine. I wonder just how much more he would have contributed, had he not died so young.

:icon_wink:...Shannon Tweed... :)

He died the same night as the Battle of the Sexes with Bobby Riggs against Billie Jean King. I was watching the match in the college dorm that evening. The next morning I woke up to hear that Croce had died in a plane crash.

And let’s not forget “The Voice,” Paul Rodgers. Lead singer for Bad Company, Free, and Queen (yep, THAT Queen). Probably the best Rock and Roll voice of the 60s and 70s.

Twiggy? Elle McPherson? I have no idea WTH we are doing, I just was feeling a bit left out.

Perhaps you can clear something up. Why was he so protective about his back stairs? Was there some kind of secret meaning? I know about the Smith lady (one who gave Belushi the deadly hit), but the backstair line I can not figure out. Maybe it just rhymed?

Famous Canadian actors and singers. Or Playboy model turned actor (sort of) as in Ms. Tweed's case.

One of my least favorite Lightfoot songs - but it was his only single to reach #1 on the Hot 100.

I always thought the line was a bit ambiguous. I could never tell if Sundown was the man or the woman. However, Lightfoot gave an interview in the Wall Street Journal and he said “Sundown, you better take care / If I find you been creepin’ ’round my back stairs”—was aimed at the imaginary guy she met. If you’re gonna pick up my girl, don’t show up at my house, please.

Smith died in 2020. After her death, Lightfoot said “Cathy was a great lady … Men were drawn to her, and she used to make me jealous. But I don’t have a bad thing to say about her.”

me too. R.i.p.

RIP. He will be greatly missed. I have every album he ever made. Growing up he was one of my favorites. He wrote such beautiful songs.

You can't jump a jet plane like you can a freight train...

Bachman from BTO dies this past week too I believe.

I see. Thank You. Tweed married Gene Simmons (I think).

Thank You.

Mr Lightfoot
 

Along with poutine another awesome gift from Canada. Loved this man and his music.

If you could read my mind

RUSH, LOVERBOY, APRIL WINE, TRIUMPH, BTO, NICKELBACK, BARENAKED LADIES, HONEYMOON SUITE, CRASH TEST DUMMIES, Anne Murray, Avril Lavigne, Bryan Adams, Sarah McLachlan, Corey Hart, Rufus Wainwright.

Let's not forget Gordon Sinclair - I remember hearing his speech playing on WJR and CKLW.

Got to see him at a private party in late 90s. He had been sick with a “stomach bag” but still gave us a wonderful private concert in Toronto. He loved to perform and still did it while unwell. RIP Gordon, you did good!