I am deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Canadian folk music legend Gordon Lightfoot. He died in a Toronto hospital tonight at the age of 84.
No cause of death was given. However, Lightfoot had cancelled his 2023 concert schedule less than three weeks ago due to health issues. In the grand scheme of things, it is remarkable that he lived as long as he did. In 2002, he survived a ruptured aortic aneurysm.
I also remember the death hoax from 2010 in which Lightfoot had to call a Toronto radio station to assure everyone he was alive and well. I was hoping for another hoax, but it was not to be.
As with many Canadians, Lightfoot and his music held a special place in my heart. I had the privilege of seeing him in concert four times - at the National Arts Center in Ottawa in 1993, at the Orpheum Theatre in Boston in 2005, at the Shubert Theatre in Boston in 2013 and at The Town Hall in New York City in 2019 with my Dad. You can read my review of the New York concert here.
My favorite Gordon Lightfoot album is Sit Down Young Stranger (which was subsequently retitled If You Could Read My Mind). Our family had a copy of the album with its original title which I saved and is somewhere in my Dad's apartment in NYC. My favorite song that album is "Minstrel of the Dawn" which was the song which revived him from his coma after his 2002 near death experience. Sadly, the dawn did not rise tonight. R.I.P.
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