Editing Gordon Lightfoot (section)

===1960s===
[[File:Gordon Lightfoot at Apex Records luncheon.jpg|thumb|Lightfoot, right, at a music industry function in Toronto in 1965]]
In 1965, Lightfoot signed a management contract with [[Albert Grossman]],<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Greene |first=Andy |date=May 2, 2023 |title=Gordon Lightfoot, Canadian Folk Rock Troubadour, Dead at 84 |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/gordon-lightfoot-dead-obituary-1234716529/ |url-access=limited |access-date=May 2, 2023 |magazine=Rolling Stone |language=en-US}}</ref> who also represented many prominent American folk performers, and signed a recording contract with [[United Artists Records|United Artists]] who released his version of "[[I'm Not Sayin']]" as a single. Appearances at the [[Newport Folk Festival]], ''[[The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson]]'', and New York's [[The Town Hall (New York City)|Town Hall]] increased his following and bolstered his reputation. 1966 marked the release of his debut album ''[[Lightfoot!]]'', which was made in New York, and brought him greater exposure as both a singer and a songwriter. The album featured many now-famous songs, including "For Lovin' Me", "Early Mornin' Rain", "Steel Rail Blues", and "Ribbon of Darkness". On the strength of the ''Lightfoot!'' album, blending Canadian and universal themes, Lightfoot became one of the first Canadian singers to achieve definitive home-grown stardom without having to move permanently to the United States to develop it. Lightfoot also recorded in [[Nashville]] at [[Bradley's Barn|Forest Hills Music Studio ("Bradley's Barn")]] run by [[Owen Bradley]] and his son [[Jerry Bradley (music executive)|Jerry]] during the 1960s.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.countrymusichalloffame.org/hall-of-fame/jerry-bradley |access-date=May 2, 2023 |title=Jerry Bradley |website=Country Music Hall of Fame |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220816221321/https://www.countrymusichalloffame.org/hall-of-fame/jerry-bradley |archive-date=August 16, 2022}}</ref>

To kick off Canada's [[Canadian Centennial|Centennial]] year, the [[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation|CBC]] commissioned Lightfoot to write the "[[Canadian Railroad Trilogy]]" for a special broadcast on January 1, 1967.  Between 1966 and 1969, Lightfoot recorded four additional albums at United Artists: ''[[The Way I Feel (Gordon Lightfoot album)|The Way I Feel]]'' (1967), ''[[Did She Mention My Name?]]'' (1968), ''[[Back Here on Earth]]'' (1968), and the live ''[[Sunday Concert]]'' (1969), and consistently placed singles in the Canadian top 40, including "Go-Go Round", "Spin, Spin", and "The Way I Feel". His biggest hit of the era was a cover of Bob Dylan's "[[Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues]]", which peaked at No.&nbsp;3 on the Canadian charts in December 1965. ''[[Did She Mention My Name?]]'' featured "Black Day in July" about the 1967 Detroit riot. Weeks later, upon the [[assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.]] on April 4, radio stations in thirty states pulled the song for "fanning the flames", even though the song was a plea for racial harmony.  Lightfoot stated at the time radio station owners cared more about playing songs "that make people happy" and not those "that make people think."  

Unhappy at a lack of support from United Artists, he defected to [[Warner Bros. Records]], scoring his first major international hit early in 1971 with "If You Could Read My Mind".  His albums prior to this were well received abroad but did not produce hit singles outside Canada.  Until 1971, he was better known in the US as a songwriter than a performer, but was to find commercial success there before being fully appreciated in his home country.<ref name="Edwardson2009">{{cite book |last1=Edwardson |first1=Ryan |title=Canuck Rock: A History of Canadian Popular Music |date=2009 |publisher=University of Toronto Press |isbn=978-0-8020-9989-1 |page=165 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cwc4o2qntH4C&pg=PA165}}</ref><ref name="Marsh1999">{{cite book |editor1-last=Marsh |editor1-first=James H. |title=The Canadian Encyclopedia |year=1999 |publisher=The Canadian Encyclopedia |isbn=978-0-7710-2099-5 |pages=1865–1866 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wR_-aSFyvuYC&pg=PA1865}}</ref>

His success as a live performer continued to grow throughout the late 1960s. He embarked on his first Canadian national tour in 1967 and went on to tour Europe in addition to his North American dates through the mid-70s.  He was also well-received on two tours of Australia.