Gordon Lightfoot opened up about alcoholism to USA Today in 2020, noting that the situation got serious and Lightfoot saw it when he watched his performance in the 1982 film "Harry Tracy, Desperado." In the documentary "Gordon Lightfoot: If You Could Read My Mind," he said: "I was at the height of my drinking and I [looked] terrible. It was time to pack it in." Lightfoot added, "I don't know how I made it through." But he did make it through and went on to what became a lifelong career.

Lightfoot was married three times, according to the National Post, and he had six children, so he certainly had a full life that included family and performance. At 80, Lightfoot spoke with Rolling Stone about touring even in old age. "I've always been out on the road. I did about 80 shows last year," he said. Fittingly, his tour was called "80 Years Strong," so he certainly knew how to make the most of his talent.

Lightfoot spoke to USA Today about touring as an 80-year-old, saying, "I notice I'm slowing down. But we've got lots of toe-tappers in our show, and I've got a really great orchestra and we love to play. Because we're good at it."

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