Gordon Lightfoot, Canada's iconic folk singer-songwriter famed for songs like "If You Could Read My Mind" and "Sundown" as well as songs about Canadian identity, died on Monday. He was 84.
According to Representative Victoria Lord, the musician died at a Toronto hospital. His death cause was not immediately known.
Lightfoot was one of the most well-known voices to emerge from Toronto's Yorkville folk club scene in the 1960s.
Lightfoot went on to write hundreds of songs and record 20 studio albums, including "Carefree Highway," "Early Morning Rain," and "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald."
Lightfoot had five Grammy nominations, three platinum records, and nine gold records for albums and songs in the 1970s.
He has performed in over 1,500 shows and recorded 500 songs in the more than 60 years since he began his career.
He toured late in life. He recently cancelled future gigs in the United States and Canada, citing health concerns.
The majority of his songs are extremely autobiographical, with lyrics that frankly probe his own experiences and discuss topics surrounding Canadian national identity.
While his parents recognised his musical abilities early on, Lightfoot did not set out to become a famous balladeer.
He started singing in his church choir and aspired to be a jazz musician. At the age of 13, the soprano won a talent competition at Toronto's Massey Hall's Kiwanis Music Festival.
In a 2018 interview, Lightfoot stated that the excitement of performing in front of an audience was what inspired him to pursue a career as a singer.