Ottawa, May 2 (IANS): Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau issued a statement honouring legendary folk singer-songwriter Gordon Lightfoot, who died on Monday (U.S. Time) at the age of 84, reports 'Variety'.

In his statement, Trudeau recalls meeting Lightfoot as a child, when his father Pierre was prime minister in the 1970s and '80s. "I was deeply saddened to hear of the passing yesterday of Gordon Lightfoot, one of Canada's greatest singer-songwriters," Trudeau said, according to 'Variety'.

"Mr Lightfoot gave us so many special moments over the years," Trudeau added. "With a career that spanned over half a century, Mr Lightfoot's music told stories that captured the Canadian spirit, none more so than his iconic 'Canadian Railroad Trilogy', which will forever be a part of our country's musical heritage."

A legend in his home country, notes 'Variety', Lightfoot's biggest U.S. successes came in the 1970s. He topped the Billboard Hot 100 in 1974 with 'Sundown' and also had top five songs with 'If You Could Read My Mind' and 'The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald'.

All three songs reached No. 1 on the adult contemporary chart, as did 'Carefree Highway' and 'Rainy Day People', during his mid-'70s chart heyday.

With a career that spanned seven decades, 'Variety' adds, Lightfoot rose to prominence in the mid-1960s, penning such folk standards as 'Early Morning Rain' (a major hit for the Canadian folk duo Ian and Sylvia Tyson), 'For Loving Me' and 'Ribbon of Darkness', as well as the ambitious 'Canadian Railroad Trilogy', a Northern equivalent to Mickey Newbury's 'American Trilogy'.