Gordon Lightfoot wasn’t necessarily one of the biggest names in folk music and classic rock history. Still, the Canadian singer-songwriter left behind a significant legacy and a huge net worth when he died on May 1, 2023.
A fruitful decades-long career ended when Lightfoot died of natural causes at a Toronto hospital (per his verified Facebook page). He was 84.
Lightfoot found music as his muse in the late 1950s, started his recording career in the 1960s, and achieved his commercial peak in the 1970s. Yet he continued recording albums and playing live into the 2020s. He released the album Solo in 2020 and toured in 2022. However, Lightfoot canceled his 2023 tour.
The years of making and selling records, writing popular and heavily covered songs, and touring behind his music paid off. Lightfoot amassed a $40 million net worth at the time of his death, per Celebrity Net Worth.
Even if his songs weren’t all mainstream smash hits, Lightfoot’s work was well-known among other musicians. Interestingly, “Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald,” which might be his most famous song, wasn’t among his most-covered songs.
Led Zeppelin founder Jimmy Page recorded Nico’s cover of Lightfood’s “I’m Just Saying” in her pre-Velvet Underground days. Future Zep bandmate John Paul Jones played on the song.
Artists such as Johnny Cash, Glen Campbell, Perry Como, Don McLean, Neil Young, and Barbara Streisand were some of the dozens of artists who covered “If You Could Read My Mind.” The song reached No. 5 during its 15-week stay on the Billboard singles chart in late 1970 and early 1971.
Bob Dylan considered Lightfoot his mentor, and he covered “Early Mornin Rain” on his Self Portrait album. Peter, Paul and Mary, The Grateful Dead, Elvis Presley, and Paul Weller (of English punks The Jam) also recorded the song.
Calypso legend Harry Belafonte, Andy Williams, and Telly Savalas tackled “Last Time I Saw Her,” and Lightfoot’s song “Sundown,” which became a Billboard No. 1 in 1974, got a 1990s makeover by the artist Elwood.
Lightfoot’s songs caught the ears of other legendary artists, and he quietly put together a recording career.
Sundown (1974) and Summertime Dream (1976) achieved RIAA gold status within months and eventually went platinum. His mid-1970s greatest hits compilation, Gord’s Gold, eventually went double-platinum. The “Sundown” single went gold, as did four of his other releases.
In addition to “Sundown” and “If You Could Read My Mind,” he scored Billboard top-10 hits with “Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald” (No. 2 in 1976) and “Carefree Highway” (No. 10 in 1974). Lightfoot had another seven songs appear on the Billboard singles chart in his career.
Despite that success, Lightfoot did not earn a spot in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame during his lifetime.
A few of his songs became massive hits, other musicians covered several of his works, and he frequently performed live throughout his career. When you put it all together, it’s easy to see how Gordon Lightfoot’s net worth soared to $40 million before he died.
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