Gordon Meredith Lightfoot, Jr., CC, O.Ont (born November 17, 1938) is a Canadian singer and songwriter who has achieved international success in folk, country, and popular music. As a singer-songwriter, he came to prominence in the 1960s, and entered the international music charts in the 1970s with songs such as "If You Could Read My Mind" (1970), "Sundown" (1974), "Carefree Highway" (1974), "Rainy Day People" (1975), and "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" (1976). His songs have been recorded by some of the world's most renowned recording artists, including Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Marty Robbins, George Hamilton IV, Jerry Lee Lewis, Bob Dylan, Judy Collins, Barbra Streisand, Johnny Mathis, Richie Havens, Harry Belafonte, Sandy Denny (with Fotheringay), Scott Walker and John Mellencamp. Fellow Canadian Robbie Robertson of The Band declared that Lightfoot was one of his "favourite Canadian songwriters and is absolutely a national treasure." Lightfoot was a featured musical performer at the opening ceremonies of the 1988 Winter Olympic Games in Calgary, Alberta.

Gordon Lightfoot, Jr., was born in Orillia, Ontario, about 135 km north of Toronto, Ontario. As a youth, he sang, under the direction of choirmaster Ray Williams, in the choir of Orillia's St. Paul's United Church. Williams, according to Lightfoot, taught him how to sing with emotion and how to have confidence in his voice. Lightfoot was a boy soprano; he appeared periodically on local radio in the Orillia area, performed in local operettas and oratorios, and gained exposure through various Kiwanis music festivals. He was twelve when he made his first appearance at Massey Hall in Toronto, after winning a competition for boys whose voices had not yet changed. As a teenager, Lightfoot learned piano and taught himself to play drums and percussion. In high school, Lightfoot performed extensively and eventually became largely self-taught in playing folk guitar. He was influenced during this time by 19th-century master American songwriter Stephen Foster. He was also an accomplished high school athlete and set school records in track and field during his time for shot put and pole vault.

Lightfoot moved to California in 1958. He studied jazz composition and orchestration for two years at Hollywood's Westlake College of Music, which had many Canadian students. To support himself, he sang on demonstration records and wrote, arranged, and produced commercial jingles. He became influenced by the folk music of Pete Seeger, Bob Gibson, Ian and Sylvia Tyson, and The Weavers.