Editing Gordon Lightfoot (section)

===Beginnings===
To support himself while in California, Lightfoot sang on demonstration records and wrote, arranged, and produced commercial [[jingle]]s. Among his influences was the folk music of [[Pete Seeger]], [[Bob Gibson (musician)|Bob Gibson]], [[Ian & Sylvia|Ian & Sylvia Tyson]], and [[The Weavers]].<ref>{{cite book | chapter = Gordon Lightfoot| title=Wilson Biographies| publisher= H.W. Wilson Co.| year= 1978}}</ref> Homesick for Toronto, he returned there in 1960<ref>{{cite web |title= Gordon Lightfoot article: "Portrait of a Painter" |url= http://www.larrywayneclark.com/lightfoot.html |website= Larrywayneclark.com |access-date=March 26, 2010 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100702050944/http://www.larrywayneclark.com/lightfoot.html |archive-date=July 2, 2010 |url-status= dead}}</ref> and lived in Canada thereafter, though some of his recording, and much of his touring, would be done in the United States.<ref>{{cite web |title= Gordon Lightfoot article: "If you could read his mind" |url= http://www.connectsavannah.com/news/article/101861/ |website= Connectsavannah.com |access-date=March 26, 2010}}</ref>

After his return to Canada, Lightfoot performed with the Singin' Swingin' Eight, a group featured on the [[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation|CBC]]'s ''[[Country Hoedown]]'' TV series, and with the Gino Silvi Singers. He soon became known at Toronto folk-oriented coffee houses.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nicholasjennings.com/before-the-gold-rush|title=Before the Gold Rush - Flashbacks to the Dawn of the Canadian Sound| website= Nicholasjennings.com|date=August 16, 2009 |access-date=September 26, 2021}}</ref><ref>McPherson, David. "Bernie Finkelstein's Golden Mountain". Words and Music. Fall 2012</ref> In 1961, Lightfoot released two singles, both recorded at RCA in Nashville and produced by Louis Innis and Art Snider,<ref name="songnote">Chateau Records label C-1108</ref> that were local hits in Toronto and received some airplay elsewhere in Canada and the northeastern United States. {{nowrap|"(Remember}} Me) I'm the One" reached No.&nbsp;3 on [[CHUM (AM)|CHUM]] radio in Toronto in July 1962 and was a top 20 hit on Montreal's [[CKGM]], then a very influential Canadian Top 40 station.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.las-solanas.com/arsa/surveys_item.php?svid=2043 |title= CKGM (AM) |website= Las-solanas.com |access-date= March 26, 2010 |archive-date= December 7, 2008 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20081207064529/http://www.las-solanas.com/arsa/surveys_item.php?svid=2043 |url-status= dead }}</ref> The follow-up single was "Negotiations"/"It's Too Late, He Wins"; it reached No.&nbsp;27 on CHUM in December. He sang with Terry Whelan in a duo called the Two-Tones/Two-Timers. They recorded a live album, released in 1962, ''Two-Tones at the Village Corner'' (1962, Chateau CLP-1012).<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.lightfoot.ca/tonelist.htm |title= Gordon Lightfoot Albums |work= lightfoot.ca |year= 2004 |access-date= November 10, 2011 |archive-date= August 6, 2011 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110806024711/http://www.lightfoot.ca/tonelist.htm |url-status= dead }}</ref>

In 1963, Lightfoot travelled in Europe and for one year in the UK he hosted the BBC's ''Country and Western Show'' TV series<ref name="BBC">{{cite web |last= Rutherford |first= Nichola |url= https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-65455240 |title= Singer-songwriter Gordon Lightfoot dies aged 84 |publisher= [[BBC]] |date= May 2, 2023 |access-date= May 3, 2023}}</ref> before returning to Canada in 1964. He appeared at the [[Mariposa Folk Festival]] and started to develop his reputation as a songwriter. [[Ian and Sylvia|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 covering one or both of these songs included [[Elvis Presley]], [[Bob Dylan]], [[Chad & Jeremy]], [[George Hamilton IV]], [[the Clancy Brothers]], and the [[Johnny Mann|Johnny Mann Singers]]. Established recording artists such as [[Marty Robbins]] ("[[Ribbon of Darkness]]"),<ref name="Rio2009">{{cite book |author=Diamond Rio |title=Beautiful Mess: The Story of Diamond Rio (NelsonFree) |year=2009 |publisher=Thomas Nelson |isbn=978-1-4185-8588-4 |page=49 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=16bcVApyxe4C&pg=PA49}}</ref> [[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 Lightfoot's material.