He was an iconic Canadian and a legendary singer songwriter.  Gordon Lightfoot has died at the age of 84.

His longtime publicist says the Companion of the Order of Canada passed away last night of natural causes.

Considered one of the most renowned voices to emerge from Toronto’s Yorkville folk club scene in the 1960s, Lightfoot went on to record 20 studio albums and wrote hundreds of songs, including “Carefree Highway,” “If You Could Read My Mind,”  “Rainy Day People” and “Sundown.”

Lightfoot was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in a gala ceremony June 14th, 2012 in New York City.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tweeted late last night, “We have lost one of our greatest singer-songwriters.”

He said Lightfoot captured our country’s spirit in his music, and in doing so, helped shape Canada’s soundscape.

Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield said Lightfoot’s “poetry and melodies are an eternal inspiration.”

Gordon Meredith Lightfoot was born in Orillia, Ontario November 17, 1938.  He died at Toronto’s Sunnybrook Hospital, May 1, 2023 at the age of 84.