If You Could Read His Mind, You’d See Gordon Lightfoot Stepping Into Adler
After more than 50 active years of hit song making and international album sales well into the multi-millions, it’s safe to say that esteemed singer-songwriter and musician Gordon Lightfoot resides with some very exclusive company atop the list of all-time greats. His song catalog is incredibly vast and includes such immortals as “Early Morning Rain,” “If You Could Read My Mind,” “Carefree Highway,” “Sundown,” “(That’s What You Get) For Lovin Me,” “The Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald,” “Canadian Railroad Trilogy,” “Ribbon Of Darkness,” “Beautiful,” “Song For A Winter’s Night” and “Rainy Day People” to name a few.
Celebrating his 80th birthday, the legendary artist will bring his “GORDON LIGHTFOOT: 80 YEARS STRONG TOUR” to the Adler Theatre in Davenport on Monday, September 23 at 8:00 p.m. Tickets ($30, $45, $60, $75) will go on sale Friday, June 28 at 10:00 a.m. at the Adler Theatre Box Office (136 E. 3rd St.) and online at Ticketmaster.com. Ticket prices increase by $5 day of show.
Gordon Lightfoot has recorded 20 albums and has five Grammy nominations. His songs have been aired regularly for over 50 years, earning him Radio Singles Chart Positions in North America achieved by few others. Lightfoot’s radio hits in the USA have earned Five #1s, Five Top 10s and Thirteen Top 40 hits. In Canada he has earned Sixteen #1s, Eighteen Top 10s and Twenty One Top 40 hits.
Aside from his success in writing, singing and performing his own songs, Lightfoot has found fortune in having his songs recorded and performed by other great artists including: Bob Dylan, Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Hank Williams, Jr., Marty Robbins, Jerry Lee Lewis, Judy Collins, Johnny Mathis, Anne Murray, Olivia Newton-John, Sarah McLachlan, Barbra Streisand, Peter Paul & Mary, Harry Belafonte, Jane’s Addiction, Richie Havens, Glen Campbell, Toby Keith and George Hamilton IV.
In June of 2012, Lightfoot’s legacy was further enhanced when he was inducted into the Songwriters Hall Of Fame. Lightfoot was honored for his role in defining the folk-pop sound of the 1960s and ’70s. Other impressive inductees who make up the roster enshrined in the Songwriters Hall of Fame include Barry Mann, Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, HalDavid and Burt Bacharach, John Fogerty, Bob Dylan, Isaac Hayes, Carole King, Paul Simon, Billy Joel, Sir Elton John, Bernie Taupin, Brian Wilson, James Taylor, James Brown, Bruce Springsteen, Jim Croce, Phil Collins, Loretta Lynn, Jimmy Webb, Van Morrison, Kris Kristofferson, Dolly Parton, Diane Warren, Garth Brooks, Leon Russell and Leonard Cohen.
In his native Canada, Lightfoot has been decorated with the highest honors bestowed to a civilian including the Governor’s General Award and the Companion to the Order of Canada honor of merit. He has also won 17 Juno Awards – Canada’s equivalent to the Grammy Awards. Gordon is a member of Canada’s Walk of Fame and The Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame. In 2007, Canada Post honored him by issuing an official Gordon Lightfoot postage stamp. Lightfoot is also in the Canadian Music Hall of Fame and the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame. Gordon Lightfoot is an indelible part of the Canadian national spirit and regarded as perhaps the most prolific and greatest Canadian singer-songwriter of all time.
A number of notables have listed Lightfoot as an influence.
“Lightfoot became a mentor for a long time. I think he probably still is to this day. I can’t think of any Gordon Lightfoot song I don’t like. Every time I hear a song of his, I wish it would last forever. “- Bob Dylan
“Gordon Lightfoot has created some of the most beautiful and lasting music of our time. He is Bob Dylan’s favorite singer/songwriter – high praise from the best of us, applauded by the rest of us.” – Kris Kristofferson
“I’ve always been trying to write songs like Lightfoot. A song of mine like ‘Come Monday’ is a direct result of me trying to write a Gordon Lightfoot song. – Jimmy Buffett
For more information:
GordonLightfoot.com ǀ Facebook.com/
