Is Gordon Lightfoot Dead or Alive? Hoax Runs Rampant

Gordon Lightfoot is very much alive, despite rumors of his death that have been circulating about on the internet this afternoon.

“I’m fine, everything is good. I don’t know where it comes from. It seems like a bit of a hoax or something,” Lightfoot said.

“I was quite surprised to hear (it) myself.”

He then joked, “I haven’t had so much airplay on my music now for weeks.”

The Canwest news service had run a report earlier today that claimed Lightfoot, 71, was dead. That story spread like wildfire around the ‘net.

One report even went so far as to have singer Ronnie Hawkins confirm Lightfoot’s death.

Hawkins heard the rumor through his managers in the U.S., which, in turn, claimed they had heard it over the telephone from someone claiming to be the grandson of the Canadian singer.

“I think they can trace that phone call, maybe, and see who did that,” Hawkins said.

“Oh what a dirty, sick joke that is, but I’m glad it was a sick joke and not the truth.”

According to Bernie Fiedler, Lightfoot’s publicist, the singer was visiting his dentist in Toronto when the story broke.

“We’ve been besieged by phone calls, it’s been a prank, somewhere over Twitter … as far as we can think,” Fiedler said, while preparing a press release.