His longtime press secretary, Victoria Lord, told the public broadcaster that he died around 7 p.m. without giving any further details.
At the beginning of April, we learned that the musician is canceling all shows on his tour for health reasons, without giving any information about the nature.
The folk legend should be on stage in Arizona, California and Florida, among other places.
In 2021 he had to postpone several concerts of his tour because of a broken wrist he sustained after a fall in his house. He had undergone emergency surgery at Sunnybrook Hospital in Toronto.
Canadian folk-rock icon Gordon Lightfoot offers one of his songs to spectators gathered on Parliament Hill in Ottawa July 1, 2017 during celebrations marking Canada’s 150th birthday.
Photo: The Canadian Press/Sean Kilpatrick
A career spanning six decades
A native of Orillia, Ontario, he was one of the most prominent voices on the Yorkville, Toronto folk club scene in the 1960s, recording no fewer than 20 studio albums featuring songs such as If You Could Read My Mind and Sundown.
One of our greatest singer-songwriters has left us, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau wrote on Twitter.
Gordon Lightfoot has captured the spirit of our country in his music, contributing to Canada’s soundscape. May his music inspire generations and his legacy live on, he added.
Described as a rare talent by Bob Dylan, Lightfoot’s compositions have been covered by dozens of artists, including Elvis Presley, Barbra Streisand and Sarah McLachlan.
Most of his songs are deeply autobiographical, with lyrics that explore issues of national identity while exploring personal conflicts.
Lightfoot made his radio debut in 1962 with the single (Remember Me) I’m the One.
He became a household name in 1965 when I’m Not Sayin’ climbed the charts in Canada and helped him become popular in the United States.
When the folk music boom ended in the late 1960s, Lightfoot turned to pop music.
In 1971, he made his Billboard chart debut with If You Could Read My Mind, a lyrical reflection on his failed marriage. This song peaked at number five and has since spawned numerous covers.
His 1975 song The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald chronicles the sinking of a freighter in the Great Lakes, and his 1966 Canadian Railroad Trilogy depicts the construction of the railroad.
Lightfoot’s popularity peaked in the mid-1970s when his single and album “Sundown” topped the Billboard charts for the first and only time.
He received 12 Juno Awards during his career, including one in 1970 when the award was called the Gold Leaf. He was nominated for four Grammys, made an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1970, and promoted to Companion of the Order of Canada in 2003.
In 1986 he was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame.