Gordon Lightfoot
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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| - | "'''If You Could Read My Mind'''" is a [[song]] by [[Gordon Lightfoot]]. It was his first recording to appear on the [[United States|American]] music charts, reaching #5 on the ''[[Billboard magazine|Billboard]]'' chart in January 1971. Lightfoot has cited his [[divorce]] for inspiring the [[lyrics]]. | + | '''Gordon Meredith Lightfoot, Jr.''', [[Order of Canada|CC]], [[Order of Ontario|O.Ont]] (born [[November 17]], [[1938]]) is a [[Canada|Canadian]] singer and songwriter who achieved international success in folk, country, and popular music. As a singer-songwriter, he came to prominence in the 1960s, and broke through on the international music charts in the 1970s with songs such as "[[If You Could Read My Mind (song)|If You Could Read My Mind]]" (1970), "[[Sundown (Gordon Lightfoot song)|Sundown]]" (1974), "Carefree Highway" (1974), "Rainy Day People" (1975), and "[[The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald]]" (1976). His songs have been recorded by some of the world's most renowned recording artists, including [[Elvis Presley]], [[Johnny Cash]], [[Marty Robbins]], [[George Hamilton IV]], [[Jerry Lee Lewis]], [[Bob Dylan]], [[Judy Collins]], [[Barbra Streisand]], [[Johnny Mathis]], [[Richie Havens]], [[Harry Belafonte]], [[Sandy Denny]] (with [[Fotheringay]]), [[Scott Walker (singer)|Scott Walker]] and [[John Mellencamp]]. Fellow Canadian [[Robbie Robertson]] of [[The Band]] declared that Lightfoot was one of his "favourite Canadian songwriters and is absolutely a national treasure." |
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| - | This song first appeared on Lightfoot's 1970 album ''[[Sit Down Young Stranger]]''. The success of the single led Lightfoot's label, [[Reprise Records]], to retitle the album after the song. The song reached #1 on Billboard's Easy Listening charts. | + | |
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| - | == Other versions == | + | |
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| - | The song has been covered by many artists, including [[Johnny Cash]], [[Duane Steele]], [[Don McLean]], [[Kalan Porter]], [[Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass]], [[Olivia Newton-John]], [[Barbra Streisand]], [[Liza Minnelli]], [[Glen Campbell]], [[Gene Clark]], [[Viola Wills]], [[The Spotnicks]], [[Aurora (band)|Aurora]] featuring [[Marcella Detroit]], and the [[house music]] collective [[Stars on 54]]. | + | |
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| - | It has also been used in motion pictures and television shows, including: | + | |
| - | * ''[[Paperback Hero (1973 film)|Paperback Hero]]'' (1973), starring [[Keir Dullea]] and [[Elizabeth Ashley]] | + | |
| - | * ''[[Gremlins 2: The New Batch]]'' (1990) | + | |
| - | * ''[[54 (film)|54]]'' (1998) | + | |
| - | * ''[[Trigger Happy TV]]'' (2000) | + | |
| - | * ''[[Wonderland (film)|Wonderland]]'' (2003) | + | |
| - | * ''[[Cold Case]]'' episode '''Honor''' (2005) | + | |
| - | * ''[[We Are Marshall]]'' (2006) | + | |
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Revision as of 19:22, 8 May 2009
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Gordon Meredith Lightfoot, Jr., CC, O.Ont (born November 17, 1938) is a Canadian singer and songwriter who achieved international success in folk, country, and popular music. As a singer-songwriter, he came to prominence in the 1960s, and broke through on the international music charts in the 1970s with songs such as "If You Could Read My Mind" (1970), "Sundown" (1974), "Carefree Highway" (1974), "Rainy Day People" (1975), and "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" (1976). His songs have been recorded by some of the world's most renowned recording artists, including Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Marty Robbins, George Hamilton IV, Jerry Lee Lewis, Bob Dylan, Judy Collins, Barbra Streisand, Johnny Mathis, Richie Havens, Harry Belafonte, Sandy Denny (with Fotheringay), Scott Walker and John Mellencamp. Fellow Canadian Robbie Robertson of The Band declared that Lightfoot was one of his "favourite Canadian songwriters and is absolutely a national treasure."
