Billy Joel Honors the Late Gordon Lightfoot with Touching Cover

Billy Joel paid tribute to the late Gordon Lightfoot on his social media pages with a touching rendition of the hit, “If You Could Read My Mind.”

“So sad to hear of the death of Gordon Lightfoot,” Joel wrote in the caption. “He was a lifelong musical hero of mine. His songs were the heart of Canada. R.I. P.”

Lightfoot, the folk singer-songwriter known for “If You Could Read My Mind” and “Sundown” and for songs that told tales of Canadian identity, died Monday. He was 84.

Representative Victoria Lord said the musician died at a Toronto hospital. His cause of death was not immediately available.

“If You Could Read My Mind” reached No. 5 and has since spawned scores of covers.

Lightfoot’s popularity peaked in the mid-1970s when both his single and album, “Sundown,” topped the Billboard charts, his first and only time to do so.

During his career, Lightfoot collected 12 Juno Awards, including one in 1970 when it was called the Gold Leaf.

In 1986, he was inducted into the Canadian Recording Industry Hall of Fame, now the Canadian Music Hall of Fame. He received the Governor General’s award in 1997 and was ushered into the Canadian Country Music Hall Of Fame in 2001.