Gordon Lightfoot
BORN: November 17, 1938, Orillia, Ontario, Canada
Canadian Gordon Lightfoot first began to gain recognition in the mid-'60s
as a songwriter when his compositions "For Lovin' Me" and "Early Morning
Rain" became hits for Peter, Paul & Mary, and Marty Robbins topped the
country charts with "Ribbon of Darkness." Lightfoot's own style was understated,
his tasteful folk arrangements topped by a gentle burr of a voice. His albums
began to appear in 1966, but it was not until the start of the '70s that
he became a big success as a performer, scoring in 1970 with Sit Down Young
Stranger, which contained his hit "If You Could Read My Mind," a song with
a typically flowing melodic line and gently poetic lyrics.
Thereafter, the first half of the '70s were his. Lightfoot hit a peak in
1974 with Sundown, which went to number one, as did the title song when released
on a single. Though he had developed a timeless style, Lightfoot was caught
by the popular decline of folk-based music in the latter half of the 1970s,
and has performed and recorded less frequently since, sometimes trying to
conform to perceived commercial trends without success. But concert appearances
in the early '90s confirmed that he remains an engaging performer and that
his catalog of original songs is hard to match. A Painter Passing Through
followed in 1998. ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide