Amid conflicting reports, friends close to the singer-songwriter confirm his death
Earlier today, Canwest news sources reported that Gordon Lightfoot died on Wednesday evening, but moments later those reports were taken down. Rumours that the iconic Canadian folksinger was dead were apparently confirmed through Ronnie Hawkins. “He died last night, I’ve had a couple of phone calls already,” he told the Ottawa Citizen on Thursday from his home in Peterborough, Ont. However, the Globe and Mail just dispelled the floating gossip with a quick call to Bernie Fielder, Gordon Lightfoot’s long-time friend, some-time publicist and road manager. Fielder confirmed that Lightfoot is “very much alive and in Toronto,” and claimed that the death report was “a prank” originating as “a Twitter coming out of Ottawa.”