After taking the class again, he graduated in 1957.īy then, Lightfoot had already penned his first serious composition - “The Hula Hoop Song,” inspired by the toy that was sweeping the culture. Perhaps distracted by his taste for music, he flunked algebra the first time. He strummed his first guitar in 1956 and began to dabble in songwriting in the months that followed. The appeal of those early days stuck and in high school, his barbershop quartet, The Collegiate Four, won a CBC talent competition. “I remember the thrill of being in front of the crowd,” Lightfoot said in a 2018 interview. At age 13, the soprano won a talent contest at the Kiwanis Music Festival, held at Toronto’s Massey Hall. He began singing in his church choir and dreamed of becoming a jazz musician. While Lightfoot’s parents recognized his musical talents early, he didn’t set out to become a renowned balladeer.

“The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald,” for instance, is a haunting tribute to the 29 men who died in the 1975 sinking of the ship in Lake Superior during a storm. “It’s not country, not folk, not rock,” he said in a 2000 interview.

Lightfoot’s music had a style all its own. “I take situations and write poems about them.” “I simply write the songs about where I am and where I’m from,” he once said. “Canadian Railroad Trilogy” depicted the construction of the railway.

Most of his songs are deeply autobiographical with lyrics that probe his own experiences in a frank manner and explore issues surrounding the Canadian national identity. Once called a “rare talent” by Bob Dylan, Lightfoot has been covered by dozens of artists, including Elvis Presley, Barbra Streisand, Harry Belafonte, Johnny Cash, Anne Murray, Jane’s Addiction and Sarah McLachlan. May his music continue to inspire future generations, and may his legacy live on forever.” “Gordon Lightfoot captured our country’s spirit in his music – and in doing so, he helped shape Canada’s soundscape.

“We have lost one of our greatest singer-songwriters,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tweeted. and Canadian shows, citing health issues. Just last month he canceled upcoming U.S. He performed in well over 1,500 concerts and recorded 500 songs. In the 1970s, Lightfoot garnered five Grammy nominations, three platinum records and nine gold records for albums and singles. One of the most renowned voices to emerge from Toronto’s Yorkville folk club scene in the 1960s, Lightfoot recorded 20 studio albums and penned hundreds of songs, including “Carefree Highway,' “Early Morning Rain” and “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.'

Song of the forever rains series