{"id":1925404,"date":"2023-05-06T00:25:23","date_gmt":"2023-05-06T04:25:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-story-behind-gordon-lightfoots-hit-song-the-wreck-of-the-edmund-fitzgerald\/"},"modified":"2023-05-06T00:32:39","modified_gmt":"2023-05-06T04:32:39","slug":"the-story-behind-gordon-lightfoots-hit-song-the-wreck-of-the-edmund-fitzgerald","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-story-behind-gordon-lightfoots-hit-song-the-wreck-of-the-edmund-fitzgerald\/","title":{"rendered":"Gordon Lightfoot&#8217;s &#8216;The Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald&#8217;: The Story."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fthe-story-behind-gordon-lightfoots-hit-song-the-wreck-of-the-edmund-fitzgerald%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1925404&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><h2>Gordon Lightfoot: Remembering the Iconic Folk Singer<\/h2>\n<p>The world lost a legend on Monday as Gordon Lightfoot, the iconic folk singer who made waves in the 1970s, passed away at the age of 84. An internationally acclaimed singer-songwriter and incredible storyteller, Lightfoot won prestigious awards and was inducted into the Songwriter\u2019s Hall of Fame, Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame, and the Canadian Music Hall of Fame.<\/p>\n<h3>The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald<\/h3>\n<p>He captivated listeners with hits like \u201cSundown,\u201d \u201cEarly Morning Rain,\u201d and \u201cIf You Could Read My Mind.\u201d But none tell a story quite like his hit song \u201cThe Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.\u201d Based on a real shipwreck in Lake Superior, this song caught the attention of millions and is the most well-known wreck in the history of Great Lake shipwrecks.<\/p>\n<p>Shortly after the S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald sank, Newsweek published an article titled \u201cThe Cruelest Month\u201d that described the dangers of Lake Superior and the sinking of the ship. It explains that the Fitzgerald and the 29 men onboard \u201cvanished without a trace in a nighttime torrent of slashing winds and waves\u201d on the lake. The article was reportedly the inspiration Gordon Lightfoot needed to write the song that would reach the top of numerous charts in the United States and Canada.<\/p>\n<p>There are many theories as to why the freighter sank, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-story-behind-gordon-lightfoots-hit-song-the-wreck-of-the-edmund-fitzgerald\/\" title=\"Gordon Lightfoot's 'The Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald': The Story.\">including poor structural integrity<\/a>, being overloaded, rogue waves, and even UFOs. And there isn\u2019t really a definitive answer to what happened to the ship because there were no survivors to tell the story.<\/p>\n<p>The Fitzgerald\u2019s first voyage was in 1958, and the ship weighed 13,632 tons and measured 729 feet long \u2013 the largest in the Great Lakes until 1971. Owned by Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance, it was named after the former president and chairman of the company\u2019s board, Edmund Fitzgerald.<\/p>\n<p>On November 9, 1975, the Fitzgerald was loaded with over 26,000 tons of iron pellets and departed Superior, Wisconsin, en route to Detroit, Michigan. At this point, the storm system that the Fitzgerald would find itself in was over Kansas. Hours after departing Wisconsin, a gale warning for Lake Superior was issued by the National Weather Service. That was updated to a storm warning early the next morning, with waves expected to approach up to 15 feet and winds of up to 50 knots, according to MLive. After leaving Wisconsin, the Fitzgerald was joined by the S.S. Arthur M. Anderson, which departed from Two Harbors, Minnesota. With the Fitzgerald in the lead by roughly 10 to 15 miles at any given time, the ships were in regular radio contact, the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum notes.<\/p>\n<p>The captain of the Fitzgerald, Ernest M. McSorley, was an experienced captain and had led ships through rough seas before. McSorley and Captain Bernie Cooper of the Anderson coordinated and talked about the safest course to take, agreeing on a northerly pass where highlands on the Canadian shore could protect them, the shipwreck museum reported. According to Cooper, based on radar from the Anderson, the Fitzgerald got too close for comfort to the Six Fathom Shoal, which is a shallow section near Caribou Island in the eastern part of the lake. Around this time, the Anderson, roughly 16 miles behind, lost sight of the Fitzgerald \u2013 the last time the Fitzgerald was seen afloat.<\/p>\n<p>According to MLive, the Coast Guard warned ships to find a place to anchor because the Soo Locks had closed. \u201cAnderson, this is the Fitzgerald. I have a fence rail down, two vents lost or damaged, and a list. I\u2019m checking down. Will you stay by me till I get to Whitefish [Point]?\u201d Captain McSorley asked Captain Cooper as he planned to reduce speed to allow the Anderson to catch up. Both of the Fitzgerald\u2019s radars had failed. McSorley then conveyed to Cooper that the Fitzgerald \u201csustained some topside damage,\u201d with a \u201cfence rail laid down\u201d and \u201ctwo vents lost or damaged.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Later that evening, just before 7 p.m., the Anderson felt a \u201cbump,\u201d and a massive wave crashed over the ship, which drove the bow into the lake, according to the shipwreck museum. \u201cThen the Anderson just raised up and shook herself off of all that water \u2013 barrooff \u2013 just like a big dog,\u201d Cooper later recalled. \u201cAnother wave just like the first one or bigger hit us again. I watched those two waves head down the lake towards the Fitzgerald, and I think those were the two that sent her under.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>At 7:10 p.m., the last radio correspondence between the Anderson and the Fitzgerald took place as the Anderson relayed navigational instructions. The Anderson asked the Fitzgerald how the ship was doing with its issues, to which the Fitzgerald replied, \u201cWe are holding our own.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOkay, fine. I\u2019ll be talking to you later,\u201d the Anderson concluded.<\/p>\n<p>At roughly 7:15 p.m., after sporadically disappearing and reappearing from the Anderson\u2019s radar, the Edmund Fitzgerald disappeared from the radar one final time. Shortly after this, the Anderson attempted radio contact but received no answer. According to the shipwreck museum, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/cancellation-plagued-southwest-has-raked-in-billions-from-taxpayers-for-upkeep\/\" title=\"The Cancellation-Plagued Southwest has Raked in Billions from Taxpayers for Maintenance\">weather began<\/a> to improve, but the Anderson still could not see the lights of the Fitzgerald, worrying Cooper who requested the Coast Guard begin a search. During the search, in which the Anderson played a major role, only two lifeboats and other miscellaneous debris were found \u2013 but no survivors. The National Weather Service reports that the lifeboats were found \u201cbadly damaged,\u201d which led to the determination that they were never deployed but \u201csmashed while still secured to the ship.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/matthew-mcconaughey-wears-a-mask-in-the-middle-of-nowhere\/\" title=\"Matthew McConaughey Wears A Mask In The Middle Of Nowhere\">massive storm<\/a> the Fitzgerald found itself in had waves reported at 20 to 25 feet and winds averaging 60 to 65 miles per hour.<\/p>\n<p>Four days after the ship sank, a U.S. Navy plane discovered wreckage of the Fitzgerald using an anomaly detector. The \u201cMighty Fitz\u201d was 535 feet deep, roughly 17 miles northwest of Whitefish Point. The tragic story of the Fitzgerald has caught the attention of many, and its mysterious sinking has left a void ripe for theories. According to the Coast Guard, the three most likely scenarios that led to the sinking include the way it sat in the water, allowing large quantities of water to flood the ship; loose hatch covers; or damage to the hull from shallow waters near Caribou Island. They concluded that the ship, already having lost buoyancy, likely plunged to the lakebed in seconds after it \u201cnose dived\u201d into a large wave.<\/p>\n<p>Gordon Lightfoot\u2019s recollection of the mysterious wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald earned him international acclaim. \u201cIf it wasn\u2019t for him, and it wasn\u2019t for his song, the awareness of the Fitzgerald wouldn\u2019t be what it is now,\u201d Bruce Lynn, the executive director of the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum, told The Detroit Free Press. To this day, the Edmund Fitzgerald is the largest ship to have ever sunk in the Great Lakes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Gordon Lightfoot, the iconic folk singer who made waves in the 1970s, died on Monday at the age of 84. An internationally acclaimed singer-songwriter and incredible storyteller, Lightfoot won prestigious awards and was inducted into the Songwriter\u2019s Hall of Fame, Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame, and the Canadian Music Hall of Fame. He captivated<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1530,"featured_media":1925405,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[541],"tags":[6962,25970,25971,8096,5637,4178,17473],"class_list":["post-1925404","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-daily-wire","tag-the","tag-edmund","tag-fitzgerald","tag-gordon","tag-lightfoots","tag-story","tag-wreck"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1925404","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1530"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1925404"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1925404\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1925405"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1925404"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1925404"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1925404"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}