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Gordon Meredith Lightfoot, Jr. (born November 17, 1938) is a Canadian singer-songwriter who achieved international success in folk, folk-rock, and country music, and has been credited for helping define the folk-pop sound of the 1960s and 1970s. He has been referred to as Canada's greatest songwriter and internationally as a folk-rock legend. Lightfoot's songs, including "For Lovin' Me", "Early Morning Rain", "Steel Rail Blues", "Ribbon of Darkness"—a number one hit on the U.S. country chart with Marty Robbins's cover in 1965— and the 1967 Detroit riot-generated "Black Day in July", brought him international recognition in the 1960s. He experienced chart success in Canada with his own recordings, beginning in 1962 with the No. 3 hit Me) I'm the One". Lightfoot's recordings then made an impact on the international music charts as well in the 1970s, with songs such as "If You Could Read My Mind" (1970) (No. 5 on the US chart), "Sundown" (1974), "Carefree Highway" (1974), "Rainy Day People" (1975), all reaching No. 1, and "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" (1976) (No. 2). Some of Lightfoot's albums have achieved gold and multi-platinum status internationally. His songs have been recorded by some of the world's most renowned recording artists, including Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Hank Williams Jr., The Kingston Trio, Marty Robbins, Jerry Lee Lewis, Neil Young, Bob Dylan, Judy Collins, Barbra Streisand, Johnny Mathis, Herb Alpert, Harry Belafonte, Scott Walker, Sarah McLachlan, Eric Clapton, John Mellencamp, Jack Jones, Bobby Vee, Roger Whittaker, Peter, Paul and Mary, Glen Campbell, The Irish Rovers, Nico, Olivia Newton-John and Paul Weller.〔http://www.lightfoot.ca/covartst.htm〕 Robbie Robertson of the Band described Lightfoot as "a national treasure". Bob Dylan, also a Lightfoot fan, called him one of his favourite songwriters and, in an often-quoted tribute, Dylan observed that when he heard a Lightfoot song he wished "it would last forever". Lightfoot was a featured musical performer at the opening ceremonies of the 1988 Winter Olympic Games in Calgary, Alberta. He received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree (arts) in 1979 and the Companion of the Order of Canada—Canada's highest civilian honour—in 2003. In November 1997, Lightfoot was awarded the Governor General's Performing Arts Award, Canada's highest honour in the performing arts.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://ggpaa.ca/award-recipients/1997/lightfoot-gordon.aspx )〕 On February 6, 2012, Lightfoot was presented with the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal by the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario. In June that year he was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. On June 6, 2015, Lightfoot received an honorary doctorate of music in his hometown of Orillia from Lakehead University. 〔http://www.lakeheadu.ca/current-students/graduation/or/sched/mr.-gordon-lightfoot〕 ==Early years== Lightfoot was born in Orillia, Ontario, to Gordon Lightfoot, Sr. and his wife Jessica. His mother recognized Lightfoot's musical talent and schooled him into a successful child performer. His first public performance was "Too Ra Loo Ra Loo Ral" (an Irish lullaby) in grade four, which was broadcast over his school's public address system on a parents' day event. As a youth, he sang, under the direction of choirmaster Ray Williams, in the choir of Orillia's St. Paul's United Church. According to Lightfoot, Williams taught him how to sing with emotion and how to have confidence in his voice.〔MacFarlane, David, Gordon Lightfoot feature in "People" column, ''The United Church Observer,'' January 2006.〕 Lightfoot was a boy soprano; he appeared periodically on local radio in the Orillia area, performed in local operettas and oratorios, and gained exposure through various Kiwanis music festivals. He was twelve when he made his first appearance at Massey Hall in Toronto, after winning a competition for boys whose voices had not yet changed. As a teenager, Lightfoot learned piano and taught himself to play drums and percussion. He held concerts in Muskoka, a resort area north of Orillia, singing "for a couple of beers."〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.corfid.com/gl/press/press26.htm )〕 In high school, at Orillia District Collegiate & Vocational Institute (ODCVI), Lightfoot performed extensively and taught himself to play folk guitar. He was influenced during this time by 19th-century master American songwriter Stephen Foster.〔Adria, Marco, "The Myth of Gordon Lightfoot," ''Music of Our Times: Eight Canadian Singer-Songwriters'' (Toronto: Lorimer, 1990), p. 15.〕 He was also an accomplished high school track-and-field competitor and set school records for shot put and pole vault, as well as being the starting nose tackle of his school's Georgian Bay championship winning football team. Lightfoot moved to California in 1958, where he studied jazz composition and orchestration for two years at Hollywood's Westlake College of Music, which had many Canadian students. To support himself, he sang on demonstration records and wrote, arranged, and produced commercial jingles. He was influenced by the folk music of Pete Seeger, Bob Gibson, Ian and Sylvia Tyson, and The Weavers.〔"Profile of Gordon Lightfoot" in ''Wilson Biographies''. H.W. Wilson Co., 1978.〕 He rented a place in Los Angeles for a time, but missed Toronto and moved back in 1960.〔(【引用サイトリンク】 url=http://www.larrywayneclark.com/lightfoot.html )〕 He has lived in Canada since then, though he has done much work in the United States, all under an H-1B visa.〔(【引用サイトリンク】 url=http://www.connectsavannah.com/news/article/101861/ )〕 After returning to Canada, Lightfoot performed with The Swinging Eight, a group featured on CBC TV's ''Country Hoedown,'' and with the Gino Silvi Singers. He soon became known in the Toronto coffee houses promoting folk music.〔McPherson, David, "Bernie Finkelstein's Golden Mountain", Words and Music, Fall 2012〕 In 1962, Lightfoot released two singles that were local hits in Toronto and received some airplay elsewhere in Canada. Me) I'm the One" reached No. 3 on CHUM radio in Toronto in July 1962 and was a top 20 hit on Montreal's CKGM, then a very influential Canadian Top 40 radio station.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title= CKGM (AM) )〕 The follow-up single was "Negotiations"/"It's Too Late, He Wins"; it reached No. 27 on CHUM in December. He sang with Terry Whelan in a duo called the Two-Tones. They recorded a live album that was released in 1962 called ''Two-Tones at the Village Corner'' (1962, Chateau CLP-1012). In 1963 Lightfoot travelled to Europe where, in the United Kingdom, he hosted, for one year, BBC TV's ''Country and Western Show''. In 1964, Lightfoot returned again to Canada, appearing at the Mariposa Folk Festival. During this time he began to develop a reputation as a songwriter. Ian and Sylvia Tyson recorded "Early Mornin' Rain" and "For Lovin' Me"; a year later both songs were recorded by Peter, Paul and Mary. Other performers recording one or both songs included Elvis Presley, Chad and Jeremy, George Hamilton IV, The Clancy Brothers, and the Johnny Mann Singers. Established recording artists such as Marty Robbins ("Ribbon of Darkness"), Leroy Van Dyke ("I'm Not Saying"), Judy Collins ("Early Morning Rain"), Richie Havens and Spyder Turner ("I Can't Make It Anymore"), and The Kingston Trio ("Early Morning Rain"), all achieved chart success with Gordon Lightfoot's material. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Gordon Lightfoot」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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