OTTAWA, ON, May 2, 2023 – Canadian music legend, folk-singer Gordon Lightfoot has died at 84 at Toronto’s Sunnybrook hospital on Monday night. Lightfoot died of natural causes, according to a statement released by Lightfoot’s family Monday night.
“It is with profound sadness that we confirm that Gordon Meredith Lightfoot has passed away. Gordon died peacefully on Monday, May 1, 2023 at 7:30 p.m. at Sunnybrook Hospital in Toronto. He died of natural causes. He was 84 years old.”
Emerging from Toronto’s Yorkville folk club scene in the 1960s, Orillia-born, Lightfoot was a prolific perfectionist, recording 20 studio albums and writing hundreds of songs, including including massive hits: “Sundown,” “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald,” “Carefree Highway,” and “If You Could Read My Mind.”
The Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, today issued the following statement on the death of Gordon Lightfoot:
“I was deeply saddened to hear of the passing yesterday of Gordon Lightfoot, one of Canada’s greatest singer-songwriters.
“Mr. Lightfoot gave us so many special moments over the years. With a career that spanned over half a century, Mr. Lightfoot’s music told stories that captured the Canadian spirit, none more so than his iconic Canadian Railroad Trilogy, which will forever be a part of our country’s musical heritage.
“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.
“Mr. Lightfoot received many Juno Awards and Grammy nominations, and was honoured as a member of Canada’s Walk of Fame, the Canadian Music Hall of Fame, the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame, the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame, and the Songwriters Hall of Fame. He received the Governor General’s Performing Arts Award in 1997, and was appointed Companion of the Order of Canada in 2003.
“On behalf of all Canadians, Sophie and I express our deepest sympathies to Gordon’s family, friends, and his many, many fans. His legacy will live on in the dynamic Canadian soundscape he helped to shape.”
Gordon Lightfoot is survived by his third wife Kim Hasse, six children – Fred, Ingrid, Eric, Galen, Miles and Meredithand – and seven grandchildren.
More Tributes to Canadian music legend, Gordon Lightfoot:
When we were younger, Burton Cummings and I went to a #GordonLightfoot concert. We sat there mesmerized the entire time at the way he sang and the stories his lyrics told. Poetry, folklore & music. Spellbound would be a good way to describe it. Love to his family and friends… pic.twitter.com/3yCVHsfk8E
— Randy Bachman (@RandysVinylTap) May 2, 2023
LISTEN: "I'd better go see him."@nicojennings wrote "Lightfoot," a biography of Gordon Lightfoot, who has died at age 84.
— 580 CFRA (@CFRAOttawa) May 2, 2023
Jennings recently headed overseas and visited Lightfoot before embarking on his trip.
He tells @ChrisHolski about their final meeting. pic.twitter.com/1aHaXwwMI9
We are deeply saddened by the passing of Gordon Lightfoot, Canada's most legendary singer-songwriter. We will fly our NAC flag at half mast in his memory. Gordon's music reflected the mood and spirit of a generation, and became the soundtrack of our country. pic.twitter.com/YxrkXHx7k2
— National Arts Centre (@CanadasNAC) May 2, 2023
I'm sitting here listening to "Gord's Gold" and thinking of the hundreds and hundreds of times I've listened to this, alone, laying in the backseat of my parents car heading to Georgian Bay, or with everyone on the tour bus rolling across the country.
— The Tragically Hip (@thehipofficial) May 2, 2023
📸 Rick Mcginnis
1/3 pic.twitter.com/qjwMpgnZvk
Seeing #GordonLightfoot perform live @CanadasNAC with my parents and sister was a joy – and the make-up of the crowd was a testament to how his music touched generations of Canadians by telling our shared stories. https://t.co/1kOmpwFmZv
— Chris Day (@CDayOttawa) May 2, 2023
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