Gordon Lightfoot was an inspiration to many musicians.
Canadian singer-songwriter Gordon Lightfoot has died at the age of 84, CBC News said quoting his publicist Victoria Lord. Mr Lightfoot died at a hospital in Toronto on Monday evening. The cause of the death was not immediately known. Mr Lightfoot started his career at a very early age, writing his first piece, the 'Hula Hoop Song', in 1955, the outlet said. He was in high school at that time. The artist gained fame across Canada by performing on local radio and regional music festivals.
"We have lost one of our greatest singer-songwriters. Gordon Lightfoot captured our country's spirit in his music - and in doing so, he helped shape Canada's soundscape," Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in a tweet, paying tribute to the artist.
"To his family, friends, and many fans across the country and around the world: I'm keeping you in my thoughts at this difficult time," he further said.
The Guardian said that most of Mr Lightfoot's songs were autobiographical. 'The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald', released in 1975, chronicled the demise of a Great Lakes ore freighter, and 1966's Canadian Railroad Trilogy depicted the construction of the railway.
"I simply write the songs about where I am and where I'm from. I take situations and write poems about them," the outlet quoted him as saying in an old interview.
He strummed his first guitar in 1956 and began to dabble in song writing in the months that followed.
Mr Lightfoot went to the US at the age of 18 to study music. But he didn't like the life in Hollywood and returned to Canada. A few years later, he received international recognition and became inspiration to many musicians.