Born: November 17, 1938.
Place of Birth: Orillia, Ontario
Major Notes:
His parents gave Lightfoot encouragement to pursue his dreams in the field of music.
At the age of 13, Gordie Lightfoot entered and won a musical talent contest at Massey Hall, Toronto.
He studied at the Westlake College of Music in Hollywood, California.
When he returned to Toronto, he performed in local coffee houses and made demos of his often very poetic songs.
Once his songs began to be heard, they were chosen to be sung by popular singers of the day.
He was accepted to do concerts with Ian & Sylvia and Peter, Paul, and Mary who were major
singing groups in the 60's.
He signed a recording contract with United Artists to do five albums, one of them a live concert.
Commissioned by the CBC, Gordie Lightfoot wrote "Canadian Railroad Trilogy" to celebrate Canada's Centennial.
In the 70's, he made inroads to the United States and began to appear on hit parade charts in that country.
His music and songs throughout the 70's inspired Trent University to present Lightfoot an honorary law degree.
Throughout his career, Lightfoot has won numerous awards for best singer including 17 Juno awards; he has already been inducted
into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame.
To read the names of singers who have recorded Lightfoot songs is like reading the Hall of Fame for Music, every one from
Bob Dylan to Barbara Striesand.
Gordie Lightfoot's song writing skills have made him the master of Canadian folk and popular music for the past 40 years.
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