Gordon+lightfoot

One of the leading singer/songwriters of the 1960s and '70s, Gordon Lightfoot was Canada's most successful contemporary folk artist, establishing himself as an important songwriter in the mid-'60s and going on to become a major international recording star in the following decade. Lightfoot's songs are literate but down to earth, and deal with personal matters as well as global issues in a manner that's poetic yet accessible, and his rich, strong voice is a superb vehicle for his material, though his songs are versatile enough that many artists have enjoyed success with his tunes.

One of the leading singer/songwriters of the 1960s and '70s, Gordon Lightfoot was Canada's most successful contemporary folk artist, establishing himself as an important songwriter in the mid-'60s and going on to become a major international recording star in the following decade. Lightfoot's songs are literate but down to earth, and deal with personal matters as well as global issues in a manner that's poetic yet accessible, and his rich, strong voice is a superb vehicle for his material, though his songs are versatile enough that many artists have enjoyed success with his tunes.

Gordon Lightfoot is a genre unto himself. Neither pop nor folk nor country nor rock, his music is unvarnished, direct, a statement from one heart to another (as Lightfoot has stated, “I like to keep things simple. I don’t like to make them complicated”). And this uncompromising stance has not only made him a legend (particularly in his native Canada, where he is a full-fledged icon), but also, somewhat paradoxically, brought him huge commercial success (which, ironically, has in turn caused some to discount his prodigious songwriting talent). For Gordon Lightfoot never set out to be a “popular” singer-songwriter. When he signed with Warner Bros. and began working with producer Lenny Waronker, Lightfoot thought of himself as an album artist, and, indeed, the Lightfoot-Waronker songwriter-producer partnership (with a brief period with Joe Wissert as producer) yielded nine charting albums—and that’s not even counting the compilations—highlighted by a #1 slot for 1974’s Sundown.

Gordon Lightfoot is a genre unto himself. Neither pop nor folk nor country nor rock, his music is unvarnished, direct, a statement from one heart to another (as Lightfoot has stated, “I like to keep things simple. I don’t like to make them complicated”). And this uncompromising stance has not only made him a legend (particularly in his native Canada, where he is a full-fledged icon), but also, somewhat paradoxically, brought him huge commercial success (which, ironically, has in turn caused some to discount his prodigious songwriting talent). For Gordon Lightfoot never set out to be a “popular” singer-songwriter. When he signed with Warner Bros. and began working with producer Lenny Waronker, Lightfoot thought of himself as an album artist, and, indeed, the Lightfoot-Waronker songwriter-producer partnership (with a brief period with Joe Wissert as producer) yielded nine charting albums—and that’s not even counting the compilations—highlighted by a #1 slot for 1974’s Sundown.

Two CD set. After 50 years of hit making and with international album sales well into the multi-millions, Gordon Lightfoot is widely acknowledged as one of the greatest singer-songwriters of all time. Inducted into the Songwriter's Hall of Fame in 2012, his songs have been recorded by Bob Dylan, Elvis Presley, Eric Clapton, and Barbara Streisand. His own recordings of "Early Morning Rain, " "If You Could Read My Mind, " "Carefree Highway", "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" and "Sundown" are still among the most performed songs on radio in North America. A lifetime spent performing live with his band, Gordon Lightfoot singled out London's Royal Albert Hall as one of his favourite venues to play, and recorded his seventh appearance there in concert on May 24, 2016. In the final weeks prior to his passing on May 1, 2023, Gordon Lightfoot insisted that this live album be released as soon as possible, approving the artwork and making it clear that no changes were to be made to the recording.

Two CD set. After 50 years of hit making and with international album sales well into the multi-millions, Gordon Lightfoot is widely acknowledged as one of the greatest singer-songwriters of all time. Inducted into the Songwriter's Hall of Fame in 2012, his songs have been recorded by Bob Dylan, Elvis Presley, Eric Clapton, and Barbara Streisand. His own recordings of "Early Morning Rain, " "If You Could Read My Mind, " "Carefree Highway", "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" and "Sundown" are still among the most performed songs on radio in North America. A lifetime spent performing live with his band, Gordon Lightfoot singled out London's Royal Albert Hall as one of his favourite venues to play, and recorded his seventh appearance there in concert on May 24, 2016. In the final weeks prior to his passing on May 1, 2023, Gordon Lightfoot insisted that this live album be released as soon as possible, approving the artwork and making it clear that no changes were to be made to the recording.

Gordon Lightfoot in one of his early US appearances, on 10/5/1968 at the Fillmore West in San Francisco. Lightfoot opened for Cold Blood & Canned Heat in this Bill Graham production, he was not well known outside of Canada at this time. Gordon Lightfoot had released his 4th studio album, Did She Mention My Name, earlier that year, and would release Back Here On Earth, a month later. Recorded and broadcast by KSAN 95 FM at a later date.

The most comprehensive single CD collection by this treasured troubadour. These 1965 1987 United Artists, Reprise and Warner Bros. tracks include his Top 10 hits Sundown; If You Could Read My Mind; The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald; Carefree Highway , and 14 more!

Canada's most successful contemporary Folk artist, GORDON LIGHTFOOT, is frequently referred to as that nation's greatest songwriter
However, once he'd finally 'made it' in the late 1960s, he immediately set about trying to distance himself from much of his early recording career.
Indeed, when a compilation LP titled Early Lightfoot - comprising his first solo recordings, from a pair of Spring 1962 Nashville sessions - appeared in 1971, he is rumoured to have bought up all known copies and destroyed them.

An institution north of the Canadian border, Gordon Lightfoot is practically the living embodiment of what many think of as the national character. Stoic, weathered, and hard-working, Lightfoot practices a husky brand of folk music that's as timeless as the Canadian landscape that seems to loom above his most memorable melodies. This overdue four-disc retrospective stretches all the way back to 1962, when the Ontario-born performer tried to make it in Nashville, up to 1998; 16 previously unreleased tracks and another 17 previously available only on vinyl add meat to its frame. Yes, the familiar tunes are here–"For Lovin' Me" (a hit for both Peter, Paul & Mary and Ian & Sylvia), "Early Morning Rain," "If You Could Read My Mind," "Sundown," "Carefree Highway," and the oft-parodied but truly evocative "Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald." But Songbook, like the artist it commemorates, isn't defined by radio staples. It's about the splendid expanse that is the decades-long career of a true musical workhorse. –Steven Stolder