Gordon Lightfoot (1938-2023) is dead. The Canadian folk musician died on May 1 at the age of 84 in a Toronto hospital, according to an official statement on his Facebook page. He died of natural causes, but the exact cause of death is not known.
Lightfoot is survived by his wife Kim, to whom he has been married since late 2014, their six children Fred, Eric, Ingrid, Miles, Galen and Meredith, and several grandchildren. His longtime publicist also confirmed the singer’s death to the Canadian broadcaster CBC.
Born in the town of Orillia, Ontario, Lightfoot first rose to fame in the 1960s and 1970s. The musician shaped folk music and was known for hits like “Sundown”, “Rainy Day People” or “If You Could Read My Mind”. Lightfoot was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2012 and into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 1986.
Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (51) published a statement on Lightfoot’s death, which he learned with great regret. “One of Canada’s greatest singer-songwriters” died with the singer. For decades, Lightfoot has made music that “told stories that captured the Canadian spirit.” In particular, his “Canadian Railroad Trilogy” will forever remain a part of the country’s musical heritage. The current Prime Minister met Lightfoot personally as a child and will always cherish the memory of the afternoon the musician spent with Trudeau’s family.
