Gordon Lightfoot, Canadian singersongwriter, dies aged 84
The Canadian singer-songwriter Gordon Lightfoot, best known for folkpop hits such as If You Could Read My Mind and The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald, has died at the age of 84, his family has announced.
His longtime publicist Victoria Lord said Lightfoot died at a Toronto hospital on Monday evening.
Once called a “rare talent” by Bob Dylan, dozens of artists have covered Lightfoot’s work, including Elvis Presley, Barbra Streisand, Harry Belafonte, Johnny Cash, Anne Murray, Jane’s Addiction and Sarah McLachlan.
Most of his songs were deeply autobiographical. His 1975 song The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald chronicled the demise of a Great Lakes ore freighter, and 1966’s Canadian Railroad Trilogy depicted the construction of the railway.
“I simply write the songs about where I am and where I’m from,” he said. “I take situations and write poems about them.”
Often described as a poetic storyteller, Lightfoot remained keenly aware of his cultural influence. It was a role he took seriously.
“I just like to stay there and be a part of the totem pole and look after the responsibilities I’ve acquired over the years,” he said in a 2001 interview.
Lightfoot started off singing in his church choir and dreamed of becoming a jazz musician. At age 13, he won a talent contest at the Kiwanis music festival, held at Toronto’s Massey Hall.
“I remember the thrill of being in front of the crowd,” Lightfoot said in a 2018 interview. “It was a stepping stone for me.”
He strummed his first guitar in 1956 and began to dabble in songwriting in the months that followed.
At 18, he headed to the US to study music for a year. But life in Hollywood wasn’t a good fit and it wasn’t long before Lightfoot returned to Canada. He pledged to move to Toronto to pursue his musical ambitions, taking any job available, including a position at a bank.
His first gig was at Fran’s Restaurant, a downtown family-owned diner that suited his folk sensibilities.
By 1964, he was garnering positive word-of-mouth around town and audiences were starting to gather in growing numbers. By the next year, Lightfoot’s song I’m Not Sayin’ was a hit in Canada, which helped spread his name in the US.
As the folk music boom came to an end in the late 1960s, Lightfoot was already making his transition to pop. In 1971, he made his first appearance on the Billboard chart with If You Could Read My Mind. It reached No 5 and has spawned a number of covers.
Lightfoot’s popularity peaked in the mid-1970s when both his single and album Sundown topped the Billboard charts, his first and only time doing so.
Lightfoot received five Grammy nominations over the years and won 17 Juno awards, Canada’s equivalent.
Lightfoot suffered several health problems during his career, including Bell’s palsy, alcoholism, and a ruptured artery in his stomach that put him in a coma for six weeks in 2002.
In 1986, he was inducted into the Canadian Recording Industry Hall of Fame, now the Canadian Music Hall of Fame. He received the governor general’s award in 1997 and was ushered into the Canadian Country Music Hall Of Fame in 2001.
Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report
to “turn on the money hose” if she could produce some hits but was unimpressed by Joy brushing off the disastrous Kalispitron movie. She further got his back up by raising concerns about the rightwards lurch of ATN, which jarred with Hollywood’s liberal values. When she hinted that Roman was a nepo-baby (“I’m sure you are where you are for a reason”), toys flew out of prams and he fired her. “Hooray for Fuckywood” indeed.
General counsel Gerri (J Smith Cameron) was furious he’d left them open to litigation, calling him “a weak monarch in a dangerous interregnum”. Roman demanded respect. She needed to believe he was Logan’s equal. “Say it or believe it?” asked Gerri. When he denied “minding shop”, she rumbled what he was up to. “You can’t win against the money,” she warned. “Your dad knew it. Tech is coming. We are over.” With the petulance of a spurned lover, Roman promptly fired Ger-bear too. Notable how both sackings were older women who’d challenged his fragile ego.
Already regretful, Roman was surprised to find Kendall backing him, hailing it as “a baller move”. Both brothers were desperately trying to imitate Logan’s volatile style. Yep, they were tribute bands.
Shiv, laugh, love
In a meeting room for “an appointment I can’t reschedule”, we saw Shiv in tears. Had it been a medical consultation and she’d lost her baby? Interrupted by estranged husband Tom Wambsgans (Matthew Macfadyen), she claimed it was “scheduled grief”. A comfort hug turned into a kiss. Well, it beats earlobe-flicking.
Later at a party, the pair reverted to love-hate negging. When Tom apologised for breaking her heart, Shiv insisted he’d barely scratched the surface, although her face told a different story. They played a game of “Bitey” – in full view of fellow guests – which turned out to be bizarre but effective foreplay. They promptly slept together. Sex with your ex was deemed “nice, very nice”. I was delighted by this rekindling.
Pillow talk saw Shiv confess about her conspiratorial relationship with “the striking Viking”. Tom wanted her back full-time and admitted he’d betrayed her for money, trying to secure his future. Shallow, sure, but would she throw out all her riches to live together in a trailer park? Uncharacteristically romantic Shiv replied: “I’d follow you anywhere for love.” They laughed it off but it was an air-punch moment. Tom sat in on her next Matsson call, feet on the desk. The power couple were back. Could they keep it strictly business at work? “I can’t help it if I find strategy sexy,” said Tom. Shiv smirked. Aww, you guys.
‘Weirdest double act ever’
Investor Day was rapidly unravelling for snake oil salesman Kendall. He wasn’t happy with the stage props, while Shiv and CFO Karl (David Rasche) were worried by the falsely inflated numbers. Realising he’d be implicated, Roman backed out of “co-piloting” in matching flight jackets. Crestfallen Kendall looked set for a tailspin to rival his 40th birthday bash or aborted comedy show appearance.
We watched through our fingers as he walked on stage to the strains of Public Enemy’s Harder Than You Think. A bit Brent-meets-Partridge. After some bizarre banter with virtual Logan from beyond the grave, he got into his stride. Sure, Living+ was mainly meaningless buzzwords, but it played well. When Kendall linked “life extension therapies” back to his dead father, dampeyed as he said “an extra year with my dad would be priceless”, it was a hit.
Matsson tried to hijack the launch with an incendiary tweet (“Doderick macht frei”, tastelessly connecting the studio’s cartoon dog with Auschwitz). Asked about it in a tricky Q&A, Kendall acquitted himself well. On Shiv’s advice, Matsson deleted the tweet. As Kendall got a hero’s welcome from the Waystar sycophants, the share price soared. Had the siblings snatched victory from the jaws of defeat again?
We left with Roman repeatedly pressing play on a prank deepfake of Logan – he hadn’t “pre-grieved” at all, had he? – while Kendall took a dip in the Pacific. Water is often an ominous motif (see the car crash and Tuscany pool) but as he scratched “1” in the sand and floated on his back, this felt more buoyant.
The heir apparent
Shiv still has Matsson on side, but
Kendall overtook her. Living+, we have lift-off.
Line of the week
“Big shoes, big hat, big nervous breakdown” – Roman’s running commentary as Kendall’s speech got off to a shaky start. Narrowly beats his “If I cringe any harder, I might become a fossil.”
Notes and observations
No sign of Connor and Willa this week. Hope they’re not still stuck at the funeral parlour, arguing about sporrans with Marcia.
This episode was directed by Lorene Scafaria, who also made a knowing voice cameo as the director of Logan’s promo vid.
Kendall’s Upper East Side penthouse is for sale, if you’ve got a spare $29m. More affordable is Waystar RoyCo-branded “swag” at HBO’s webstore. Just the thing for your next corporate retreat.
A tense episode of corporate brinkmanship, recalling last season’s “pissmad” shareholder meeting. Rejoin us here next Monday. In the meantime, pitchbots, please proffer your thoughts and theories below.