| Artist: | Gordon Lightfoot |
| Studio: | 20 |
| Live: | 3 |
| Compilation: | 19 |
| Video: | 5 |
| Tribute: | 3 |
| Singles: | 47 |
| B-Sides: | 3 |
The discography of Canadian folk and country music singer-songwriter Gordon Lightfoot consists of 20 studio albums, three live albums, 16 greatest hits albums and 46 singles. Lightfoot's songs, including "For Lovin' Me", "Early Morning Rain", "Steel Rail Blues", "Ribbon of Darkness"—a number one hit on the U.S. country chart[1] with Marty Robbins's cover in 1965—and "Black Day in July" about the 1967 Detroit riot, brought him wide recognition in the 1960s. Canadian chart success with his own recordings began in 1962 with the No. 3 hit Me) I'm the One", followed by recognition and charting abroad in the 1970s.
He topped the US Hot 100 and/or AC chart with the hits "If You Could Read My Mind" (1970), "Sundown" (1974); "Carefree Highway" (1974), "Rainy Day People" (1975), and "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" (1976), and had many other hits that appeared within the top 40.[2] Several of his albums achieved gold and multi-platinum status internationally.
| Title | Details | Peak positions |
|---|---|---|
| CAN | ||
| Lightfoot! |
| — |
| The Way I Feel |
| — |
| Did She Mention My Name? |
| 21 |
| Back Here on Earth |
| 21 |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | ||
| Title | Details | Peak chart positions | Certifications (sales threshold) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CAN | AUS | US [3] | US Country | UK [4] | |||
| Sit Down Young Stranger[A] |
| 12 | 20 | 12 | — | — | |
| Summer Side of Life |
| 3 | 40 | 38 | — | — | |
| Don Quixote |
| 1 | — | 42 | — | 44 | |
| Old Dan's Records |
| 1 | — | 95 | — | — | |
| Sundown |
| 1 | 13 | 1 | — | 45 |
|
| Cold on the Shoulder |
| 3 | 44 | 10 | — | — | |
| Summertime Dream |
| 1 | 63 | 12 | — | — |
|
| Endless Wire |
| 2 | 56 | 22 | 14 | — |
|
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | |||||||
| Title | Details | Peak chart positions | Certifications (sales threshold) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CAN | CAN Country | AUS | US | US Country | |||
| Dream Street Rose |
| 9 | 1 | 76 | 60 | 58 | |
| Shadows |
| 16 | — | — | 87 | — | |
| Salute |
| 59 | — | — | 175 | — | |
| East of Midnight |
| 37 | — | — | 165 | — |
|
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | |||||||
| Title | Details | Peak chart positions | |
|---|---|---|---|
| CAN | US Indie | ||
| Waiting for You |
| 24 | — |
| A Painter Passing Through |
| 92 | — |
| Harmony |
| 13 | 35 |
| Solo |
| — | — |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | |||
| Title | Details | Peak chart positions | |
|---|---|---|---|
| CAN | US | ||
| Two Tones at the Village Corner |
| — | — |
| Sunday Concert |
| 21 | 143 |
| Live at PBS Soundstage 1979 | Release date: September 8, 1979 | - | - |
| All Live |
| 16 | — |
| At Royal Albert Hall |
| — | — |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | |||
| Title | Details | Peak chart positions | Certifications (sales threshold) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CAN [6] | US | US Country | ||||
| Early Lightfoot |
| 69 | — | — | ||
| The Best of Gordon Lightfoot |
| — | — | — | ||
| Classic Lightfoot: The Best of Gordon Lightfoot, Vol. 2 |
| 41 | 178 | — | ||
| A Lightfoot Collection: The Best of Gordon Lightfoot, Vol. 3 |
| — | — | — | ||
| The Very Best of Gordon Lightfoot |
| — | 155 | — | ||
| The Very Best of Gordon Lightfoot, Vol. 2 |
| — | — | — | ||
| Gord's Gold |
| 6 | 34 | 15 |
| |
| Early Morning Rain |
| — | — | — | ||
| The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face |
| — | — | — | ||
| Songbook |
| — | — | — | ||
| Gord's Gold, Vol. 2 |
| — | — | — |
| |
| The Best of Gordon Lightfoot |
| — | — | — | ||
| If You Could Read My Mind |
| — | — | — | ||
| The Original Lightfoot |
| 58 | — | — | ||
| The United Artists Collection |
| — | — | — | ||
| Songbook |
| — | — | — | ||
| Complete Greatest Hits |
| 21 | 128 | — |
| |
| An Introduction to: Gordon Lightfoot |
| — | — | — | ||
| The Complete Singles 1970–1980 (2 CD) |
| — | — | — | ||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | ||||||
| Title | Artist | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Tony Rice Sings Gordon Lightfoot | Tony Rice |
|
| Mac Wiseman Sings Gordon Lightfoot | Mac Wiseman |
|
| [8] | Various Artists |
|
| The Long River: A Personal Tribute to Gordon Lightfoot[9] | J.P. Cormier |
|
| Ladies Sing Lightfoot | Various artists[D] |
|
| Year | Title | Peak chart positions | Album | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CAN CHUM RPM | CAN Country | ||||
| 1962 | "(Remember Me) I'm the One"[B][10] | 3 | — | ||
| "It's Too Late, He Wins" / "Negotiations"[B][11] | 27 | — | |||
| "Adios, Adios" | — | — | |||
| 1963 | "Day Before Yesterday" (UK release) | — | — | ||
| 1965 | "I'm Not Sayin'" | 12 | 2 | Lightfoot | |
| "Ribbon of Darkness" | — | — | |||
| "Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues" | 3 | — | |||
| 1966 | "Spin Spin" | 7 | — | ||
| "Go-Go Round" | 27 | — | The Way I Feel | ||
| 1967 | "The Way I Feel" | 36 | — | ||
| "Canadian Railroad Trilogy" | — | — | |||
| 1968 | "Black Day in July" | 68 | — | Did She Mention My Name? | |
| "Bitter Green" | 44 | — | Back Here on Earth | ||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | |||||
| Year | Title | Peak chart positions | Certifications (sales threshold) | Album | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CAN | CAN AC | CAN Country | US | US AC [12] | US Country | UK | AUS [13] | ||||
| 1970 | "Me and Bobby McGee" | 13 | — | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | Sit Down Young Stranger | |
| "Approaching Lavender" | — | 20 | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "If You Could Read My Mind" | 1 | 1 | — | 5 | 1 | — | 30 | 27 | |||
| 1971 | "This Is My Song" | 66 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Early Lightfoot | |
| "If I Could" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Back Here on Earth | ||
| "Talking in Your Sleep" | 19 | 2 | — | 64 | 11 | — | — | — | Summer Side of Life | ||
| "Summer Side of Life" | 21 | 4 | — | 98 | — | — | — | — | |||
| 1972 | "Beautiful" | 13 | 1 | — | 58 | 30 | — | — | — | Don Quixote | |
| "Alberta Bound" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "You Are What I Am" | 3 | 1 | 1 | — | 32 | — | — | 37 | Old Dan's Records | ||
| 1973 | "Can't Depend on Love" | 27 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1974 | "Sundown" | 1 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 13 | 33 | 4 |
| Sundown |
| "Carefree Highway" | 11 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 1 | 81 | — | 74 | |||
| 1975 | "Rainy Day People" | 10 | 1 | — | 26 | 1 | 47 | — | — | Cold on the Shoulder | |
| 1976 | "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 9 | 50 | 40 | 46 | Summertime Dream | |
| "Race Among the Ruins" | 30 | 11 | 14 | 65 | 13 | — | — | — | |||
| 1977 | "The Circle Is Small (I Can See It in Your Eyes)" | 6 | 1 | 9 | 33 | 3 | 92 | — | — | Endless Wire | |
| 1978 | "Daylight Katy" | 44 | 25 | — | — | 16 | — | 41 | — | ||
| "Dreamland" | — | 24 | — | — | — | 100 | — | — | |||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | |||||||||||
| Year | Title | Peak chart positions | Album | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CAN | CAN AC | CAN Country | US | US AC | US Country | |||
| 1980 | "Dream Street Rose" | — | 1 | 8 | — | 25 | 80 | Dream Street Rose |
| "If You Need Me" | — | 5 | 21 | — | — | — | ||
| 1982 | "Baby Step Back" | — | 6 | — | 50 | 17 | — | Shadows |
| "Blackberry Wine" | — | 15 | — | — | — | — | ||
| "In My Fashion" | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1983 | "Salute (A Lot More Livin' to Do)" | — | — | — | — | — | — | Salute |
| "Without You" | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1986 | "Anything for Love" | 39 | 14 | — | — | 13 | 71 | East of Midnight |
| "Stay Loose" | 86 | 10 | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1987 | "East of Midnight" | — | 11 | — | — | — | — | |
| "Ecstasy Made Easy" | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | ||||||||
| Year | Title | Peak positions | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| CAN AC | |||
| 1993 | "I'll Prove My Love" | — | Waiting for You |
| "Waiting for You" | — | ||
| 1998 | "A Painter Passing Through" | 47 | A Painter Passing Through |
| 2004 | "Inspiration Lady" | — | Harmony |
| 2016 | "Plans of My Own" | — | |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | |||
| Year | Title | Peak chart positions | Original A-side | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CAN | CAN AC | CAN Country | US | |||
| 1965 | "Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues" | 3 | 9 | — | — | "Ribbon of Darkness" |
| 1972 | "That Same Old Obsession" | 3 | 1 | — | 101 | "You Are What I Am" |
| 1973 | "It's Worth Believin'" | — | — | 12 | — | "Can't Depend on Love" |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | ||||||
| Year | Album | Video |
|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Harmony | "Inspiration Lady" |
| 1982 | Shadows | "Shadows" |
| "Baby Step Back" | ||
| "In My Fashion" | ||
| "Blackberry Wine" |
. David Kent (historian). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. illustrated. Australian Chart Book. St Ives, N.S.W.. 1993. 0-646-11917-6. 177.
