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Gordon Meredith Lightfoot Jr., CC , O.Ont , LL.D (hon.) (born November 17 , 1938 ) is a Canadian Folk singer, Composer , Lyricist and Poet . LIFE Lightfoot was born November 17, 1938 to Gordon Meredith Lightfoot Sr. and Jessica Lightfoot in Orillia , Ontario , Canada . As a youth, he sang in the choir of St. Paul's United Church under the direction of choir-master Ray Williams. During this time as a "boy soprano" Lightfoot made several appearances on local radio and local operetta and oratorios as well as Kiwanis music festivals. Lightfoot remarked in 2005 that it was choir master Williams who "taught him how to sing with emotion and how to have confidence in his voice". As a teenager, Lightfoot studied piano and taught himself drums and percussion instruments. Lightfoot moved to TV's "Country and Western Show". By 1964 he was back in Canada and that year he appeared at the Mariposa Folk Festival . Lightfoot was gaining some recognition by this time as a songwriter and two of his songs (''For Lovin' Me'' and ''Early Mornin' Rain'') were covered by Ian And Sylvia Tyson . ''For Lovin' Me'' was covered again a year later in 1965 by Peter, Paul And Mary who had a hit with it. That song was again covered by Chad And Jeremy as well as the Johnny Mann Singers . During this time other artists such as Marty Robbins (''Ribbon of Darkness''), Leroy Van Dyke (''I'm Not Saying''), Judy Collins , Richie Havens , The Kingston Trio and Harry Belefonte were racking up hits with Lightfoot's songs. In 1966, his debut album '' Lightfoot! '' was released and it brought him recognition as a singer as well as a songwriter. It featured many now-famous songs including ''For Lovin' Me'', ''Early Mornin' Rain'', ''Steel Rail Blues'' and ''Ribbon of Darkness''. On the strength of this album, which mixed Canadian and universal themes, Lightfoot became one of the first Canadian singers to achieve real stardom in his own country without moving to the United States . The album was released internationally and was also well-received. It was followed by numerous other albums through the late 1960s. But he remained better known as a songwriter than as a singer, with cover versions of his songs recorded by artists such as Bob Dylan , Johnny Cash and Elvis Presley . Lightfoot embarked on his first Canadian national tour in 1967, a tour which included a foray into the U.S.A. and performances in New York City. Between 1967 and 1971, Lightfoot toured internationally through Europe as well as two well received tours of Australia. He curtailed his touring schedule in 1972 after contracting Bell's Palsy , a condition which left his face partially paralyzed for a time. It was not until 1971 that his own version of " If You Could Read My Mind " became a Top Ten hit. The song was originally featured on his 1970 album "Sit Down Young Stranger" which had not been selling that well. After the success of the song, the album on which it was originally featured was re-released under the new title "If You Could Read My Mind" to capitalize on the success of the song. It was also in 1971 that on a bus bound for Calgary, Gordon met a lonely teenage girl named Grace on her way home from Toronto, and in 1972, the song "Alberta Bound" found its debut on the ''Don Quixote'' album. In 1974, his classic single, " Sundown ", went to No.1 on the American charts. Two years later, Lightfoot had an unexpected hit with a song with the unlikeliest of subject matter. In late November, 1975, Lightfoot read a '' Newsweek '' magazine article about the Great Lakes ore carrier ''SS Edmund Fitzgerald '' sinking during a severe storm. Tragically, all of her 29 crew members died. His song, " Wreck Of The ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' ", most of the lyrics of which were taken from the article, reached #2 on the U.S. '' Billboard '' charts. ''Sundown'' and ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' continue to receive heavy airplay on many classic rock stations. By the 1990s he was mostly touring, giving just fifty concerts a year by 1998, mainly in North America, while he released two albums in the period. In the fall of 2002, he was in Orillia when he suffered a near-fatal Abdominal Hemorrhage that left him in a Comatose state for a short period of time. He recovered and later returned to the music business with the album ''Harmony'' and an appearance on '' Canadian Idol ''. In 2005, he made a low-key tour called, with characteristically droll humour, the "Better Late Than Never Tour". HONOURS Lightfoot has received 15 Juno Award s and been nominated for 5 Grammy Award s. He was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall Of Fame in 1986 and the Canadian Country Music Hall Of Fame in 2001. In May 2003 was made a Companion of the Order Of Canada , the country's highest civilian honour. Lightfoot is also a member of the Order Of Ontario , the highest honour in the Province of Ontario . TRIVIA "If You Could Read My Mind" was once featured on the British comedy sketch show Trigger Happy TV starring Dom Joly where it was used as a backing for Joly pretending to be a street artist sketching fake caricatures of naive tourists. However, according to Dom Joly 's audio commentary on the DVD release of Trigger Happy TV , permission to use the track on the DVD release of the show was denied by Gordon's record label. Not wanting to give up, Dom Joly forwarded a tape of the show to Gordon himself, in the hope that Gordon would veto the record labels decision. Dom Joly received a response saying that Gordon did not find the show funny, and that permission to use the track was still denied. Because of this, the track, which accompanied the 'Portrait Artist' sketch in the show, was replaced with Placebo - My Sweet Prince. BEST-SELLING SONGS
TRIBUTE AND COVERS In 1968, Canadian rockers " The Guess Who " wrote a tune about Lightfoot entitled " Lightfoot ", which includes references to Lightfoot's songs. Bob Dylan covered " Early Morning Rain " on his 1970 album Self Portrait and has been known to perform " I'm Not Supposed To Care " in live performances. ". Anne Murray had a big Country hit with her version of " Cotton Jenny ", which went #11 Country and #71 Pop. Country artist Glen Campbell recorded a version of " If You Could Read My Mind ". Australian singer Olivia Newton-John recorded a version of " If You Could Read My Mind " on one of her early country-flavored albums. The same song was also covered by Barbra Streisand on her 1971 album '' Stoney End ''. Netherlands-based singer Viola Wills released a disco version of "If You Could Read My Mind" in 1980, an attempt that was repeated by Amber (with techno-dance group " Stars On 54 ") in 2000. Elwood made a rap version of Sundown which is the first track on the 2000 album " The Parlance Of Our Time ." In 2003, a tribute album '' Beautiful '' was released featuring cover versions of Lightfoot songs by various artists including The Tragically Hip , Cowboy Junkies , Ron Sexsmith , Jesse Winchester and Aengus Finnan . Fotheringay - a band featuring Sandy Denny of Fairport Convention - covered "The Way I Feel". DISCOGRAPHY Original Albums
Compilations
Other
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