Gordon Lightfoot, the legendary folk singer whose silvery refrains told a tale of Canadian identity that was exported to listeners worldwide, has died at 84.
www.cp24.com
''Life in Hollywood wasn't a good fit, however, and it wasn't long before a homesick Lightfoot returned to Canada. He pledged to move to Toronto to pursue his musical ambitions, taking any job available, including a position at Royal Bank before landing a role as a square dancer on CBC's "Country Hoedown."
One of his first gigs was at Fran's Restaurant, a downtown family-owned diner that warmed to his folk sensibilities. It was there he met fellow musician Ronnie Hawkins, who urged him to take his music to more suitable places, such as nearby Steele's Tavern.
At that point, Lightfoot was living with a few buddies in a condemned building in Yorkville, then a bohemian area where future stars including Neil Young and Joni Mitchell would learn their trade at smoke-filled clubs. Around that time, he befriended local folk duo Ian and Sylvia who became great admirers of his work and later recorded two of his songs as his star first began to rise.
Lightfoot made his popular radio debut with the single "(Remember Me) I'm the One" in 1962, which led to a number of hit songs and partnerships with other local musicians. When he started playing the Mariposa Folk Festival in his hometown of Orillia, Ont., that same year, Lightfoot forged a relationship that made him the festival's most loyal returning performer.
By 1964, he was garnering positive word-of-mouth around town that attracted Bernie Fiedler, owner of Yorkville's Riverboat coffee house, who showed up at one of Lightfoot's Steele's performances with an offer to pay him double.
Audiences were starting to gather in growing numbers and by the next year, Lightfoot's song "I'm Not Sayin'" was a hit in Canada, which helped spread his name in the United States.''
