Gordon Lightfoot passed away at the age of 84 on Monday, May 1. The news was confirmed by Lightfoot's publicist Victoria Lord.

Lightfoot, who was referred to as the country's greatest songwriter was considered a rock-folk legend and recorded songs with some of the biggest names in music history including Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, The Grateful Dead, Jimmy Buffett, and Barbra Streisand to name a few. His records have achieved both gold and platinum status.

Some of his most well-known songs include  "For Lovin' Me", "Early Morning Rain", and "Steel Rail Blues". Lighftoot's Canadian chart success with his own recordings began in 1962 with the hit "(Remember Me) I'm the One". "If You Could Read My Mind" also topped the American charts (US Hot 100) in the 1970s. 

He was a featured performer at the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics and was made a Companion of the Order of Canada in May 2003. In 1997, he was bestowed Canada's highest honour in the performing arts when he received the Governor General's Performing Arts Award. In February 2012 was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal by the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario and in June of that year, he was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

Lightfoot was born in Orillia, Ontario on November 17, 1938.