By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
NewsunplugNewsunplugNewsunplug
  • Home
  • News
  • Politics
  • Metro
  • Entertainment
  • Sports
  • Lifestyle
  • Journal
Reading: Folk music and soft rock icon Gordon Lightfoot is dead
Share
Notification Show More
Font ResizerAa
Font ResizerAa
NewsunplugNewsunplug
  • Home
  • News
  • Politics
  • Metro
  • Entertainment
  • Sports
  • Lifestyle
  • Journal
Search
  • Home
  • News
  • Politics
  • Metro
  • Entertainment
  • Sports
  • Lifestyle
  • Journal
Have an existing account? Sign In
Follow US
Newsunplug > Blog > Entertainment > Folk music and soft rock icon Gordon Lightfoot is dead
Entertainment

Folk music and soft rock icon Gordon Lightfoot is dead

Godson
Last updated: May 2, 2023 6:30 am
Godson Published May 2, 2023
Share
SHARE

Veteran Canadian singer-songwriter Gordon Lightfoot has died. He died on Monday evening, May 1, at Sunnybrook Hospital in Toronto.

The 84-year-old folk music and soft rock icon rose to international fame as a folk music star in the 1960s and ’70s. Lightfoot’s death was confirmed by his longtime agent, Victoria Lord, but the immediate cause of death was not made public.

Lightfoot topped the Billboard Hot 100 in 1974 with ‘Sundown’ and also had top 5 songs with ‘If You Could Read My Mind’ and ‘The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.’ All three songs reached No. 1 on the adult contemporary chart, as did ‘Carefree Highway’ and ‘Rainy Day People,’ during his mid-’70s chart heyday.

Lightfoot rose to prominence in the mid-’60s, penning such folk standards as “Early Morning Rain” (a major hit for the Canadian folk duo Ian and Sylvia Tyson), “For Loving Me” and “Ribbon of Darkness,” as well as the ambitious “Canadian Railroad Trilogy,” a sort of Northern equivalent to Mickey Newbury’s “American Trilogy.”

His 1970 Reprise debut “Sit Down Young Stranger” contained the No. 5 US hit “If You Could Read My Mind,” a heavily orchestrated ballad; renamed after its hit, the LP rose to No. 12 in America.

Facial paralysis from Bell’s palsy sidelined Lightfoot in the early ’70s. A serious problem with alcohol led him to quit drinking in 1982 (“I was doing irrational things,” he told Rolling Stone), and he remained abstemious for more than 30 years. In 2002, a ruptured abdominal aneurysm led to a six-week coma, extended hospitalization and further surgery, but by 2004 he had completed a new album. A minor stroke in 2006 led him unable to play the guitar for the better part of a year, but he returned to the instrument on stage. After being diagnosed with emphysema in 2018, he quit smoking, informed.

Despite this multitude of health problems, the indomitable musician continued to tour into his 80s, and undertook long US and Canadian treks from 2017 to 2019. He is s survived by his third wife Kim Hasse, whom he wed in 2014; two children from his first marriage to Brita Olaisson; two children by his second wife Elizabeth Moon; and two children from relationships between his first two marriages.

 

You Might Also Like

Collaboration with Davido played huge role in my success – Ckay

Stay Away From Hungry Women, Daddy Freeze Warns Men

#BBNaija Reunion: How Eloswag betrayed our friendship – Pharmsavi

I was not fired from Honest Bunch Podcast – Nedu clarifies

Singer Taylor Swift makes history as she wins her fourth Best Album award at the Grammys

Quick Link

  • My Bookmark
  • Interests
  • Contact Us
  • Blog Index
Share This Article
Facebook Twitter Email Print
What do you think?
Love0
Sad0
Happy0
Sleepy0
Angry0
Dead0
Wink0
Leave a Comment

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recent Posts

  • Sokoto police confirm six k!lled in suspected Eid bomb blast
  • Women didn’t let me rest even when they knew I was married – Charly Boy
  • 12-year-old boy in court after car crash k!lled a 14-year-old young skateboarder
  • Man laments after a supermarket in Kwara state allegedly denied him access because of his baby’s physical appearance (video)
  • Barcelona’s Bold Transfer Plans: Major Player Swap in the Works

Recent Comments

No comments to show.

Categories

  • ES Money
  • U.K News
  • The Escapist
  • Insider
  • Science
  • Technology
  • LifeStyle
  • Marketing

About US

We influence 20 million users and is the number one business and technology news network on the planet.
Quick Link
  • My Bookmark
  • Interests
  • Contact Us
  • Blog Index
Top Categories
  • My Bookmark
  • Interests
  • Contact Us
  • Blog Index

Subscribe US

Subscribe to our newsletter to get our newest articles instantly!

[mc4wp_form]

Top Categories

  • Entertainment

Categories

  • ES Money
  • U.K News
  • The Escapist
  • Insider
  • Science
  • Technology
  • LifeStyle
  • Marketing

About US

We influence 20 million users and is the number one business and technology news network on the planet.
Quick Link
  • My Bookmark
  • Interests
  • Contact Us
  • Blog Index
Top Categories
  • My Bookmark
  • Interests
  • Contact Us
  • Blog Index

Subscribe US

Subscribe to our newsletter to get our newest articles instantly!

[mc4wp_form]
© 2023 Newsunplug | All Rights Reserved.
adbanner
AdBlock Detected
Our site is an advertising supported site. Please whitelist to support our site.
Okay, I'll Whitelist
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Username or Email Address
Password

Lost your password?