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With his 1974 song, "If You Could Read My Mind," singer-songwriter Gordon Lightfoot became a household name in the United States, something he'd become in his native Canada many years prior. The song reached number five on the American charts and has been recorded by performers of all stripes (think Elivis Presley AND Olivia Newton-John AND Sarah McLachlan.)
Lightfoot's music straddles several genres, folk, rock, pop and country, all of which he seems to feel at home in. He's had time to get comfortable; he's been performing for fifty years and has sold ten million records. About his earliest performances, he told the Canandian Broadcasting Corporation, "I came into demand as a wedding singer of eleven or twelve. Then, in high school, I was singing with a dance band." He wrote his first song, he said, at 18 and was signed as a songwriter by BMI two years later.
Over his multi-decade career, Lightfoot's achievements have been recognized in the music industry and in his native Canada. He has five Grammy nominations and 17 Juno Awards (the Canadian equivalent) and in 1997, received the Governor General's award, the highest official Canadian honor. This remarkable performer and writer, still vibrant at 71, makes a stop at Ridgefield Playhouse on his tour of the states. As he told the CBC, "I live in two worlds. I live on the road and I have my life with my family." Catch him as his tour of the lower 48 lands in Ridgefield on June 20 with an 8 p.m. performance. Tickets are $90. For information and tickets, visit Ridgefield Playhouse's website.
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