KWXY Presents ● An Interview with Gordon Lightfoot
Gordon Lightfoot / Station Photo - author unknown / IVOX MEDIA collection
Gordon Lightfoot is a Canadian singer, songwriter and guitarist who specializes in folk, folk-rock, folk-pop and country. Mostly active throughout the 1960s and 1970s, his biographer, Nicholas Jennings described him as “unquestionably Canada’s greatest songwriter.” Active since 1958, his body of hits includes “If You Could Read My Mind” in 1970, “Sundown” and “Carefree Highway” in 1974, “Rainy Day People” in 1975 and “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald” in 1976. All topped the Hot 100 and/or Adult Contemporary charts.
He was born Gordon Meredith Lightfoot, Jr. on November 17, 1938 in Orillia, Ontario to Gordon Sr. and Jessie Lightfoot. With the help of music schooling from his mother, Lightfoot soon became a child performer. His voice at the time was that of a boy soprano; his church choirmaster helped to shape his talent. As he grew, he taught himself drums and percussion and learned piano. He excelled both as a performer and athlete in high school, setting records in track-and-field and being the starting nose tackle on the school’s championship football team.
This led to scholarships at both McGill University and the University of Toronto. In 1958, Lightfoot moved to California to study at the Westlake College of Music and to perform as both a background singer and as a producer, writer and arranger of commercial jingles. He returned to Toronto in 1960 to stay, and he continues to work in the US under an H-1B visa.
Success began in 1962 when Lightfoot recorded two singles at the RCA Nashville studios, “(Remember Me) I’m the One” and “Negotiations”/”It’s Too Late, He Wins.” Produced by country star Chet Atkins, the songs became local hits on both CHUM Toronto and CKGM Montreal and enjoyed airplay in other parts of Canada. From 1963 to 1964, he lived in the United Kingdom and hosted The Country and Western Show for BBC-TV.
Lightfoot signed with United Artists in 1965, releasing his debut self-titled album in 1966. Although well-received, no subsequent album produced any hit singles. It wasn’t until Lightfoot signed on with Warner Bros./Reprise in 1970 that he hit with his first gold record, “If You Could Read My Mind.” Eight albums and a string of hits followed between 1971 and 1978.
Despite a 1972 bout with Bell’s palsy, the hits continued, although the condition curtailed his touring for a brief time. 1975 brought with it “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald,” inspired by an article in Newsweek about the sinking of the Great Lakes freighter, SS Edmund Fitzgerald on November 10, 1975 with all hands lost. It reached number two in the US and number one in Canada; Lightfoot maintains a personal relationship with the families of the crew members.
Six more albums and a compilation followed in the 1980s and 1990s as well as a performance at the opening of the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary.
Gordon Lightfoot ● Gord’s Gold
Gord's Gold is Gordon Lightfoot’s 1975 compilation double album released in November 1975 by Reprise Records. This album was the first Lightfoot compilation to feature music from his 1970s Reprise Records albums. Gord's Gold also includes re-recorded versions of several songs from his 1960s United Artists output.
After major health scares with a ruptured aortal aneurysm in 2002 in Orillia and a minor stroke during a 2006 performance which left him temporarily unable to use the middle and ring fingers of his right hand, Gordon Lightfoot continues to perform.
He is a member of The Order of Ontario and was made a Companion of the Order of Canada in 2003. He is a five-time Grammy nominee, the recipient of sixteen Juno Awards and is a four-time ASCAP songwriter award winner.
KWXY Presents a Classic Interview with Gordon Lightfoot today at 1pm on KWXY Music Radio 92.3FM ● 1340AM ● streaming at kwxy.com and ivoxradio.com