On this day in 1975 the SS Edmund Fitzgerald, an ore carrier and the largest ship in the Great Lakes, was lost with all 29 hands on board during a storm on Lake Superior.
The exact mechanism of the Fitz's sinking is still unknown. What is known is that both the Edmund Fitzgerald and the Arthur M. Anderson, another ore carrier in the vicinity, reported winds in excess of gale force and significant wave heights in excess of 30 feet. The Fitz was rolling heavily and additionally reported an improperly sealed loading hatch which was causing the vessel to take on water.
It was only a year later that Gordon Lightfoot, while recording his Summertime Dream album, penned the lyrics to his most commercially successful song, The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald. Most fans of the late Gord know that on recording day he played the song's basic chord progression for his band, which was followed by an improvisational run-through. That "second take" is what appears on the album.
The exact mechanism of the Fitz's sinking is still unknown. What is known is that both the Edmund Fitzgerald and the Arthur M. Anderson, another ore carrier in the vicinity, reported winds in excess of gale force and significant wave heights in excess of 30 feet. The Fitz was rolling heavily and additionally reported an improperly sealed loading hatch which was causing the vessel to take on water.
It was only a year later that Gordon Lightfoot, while recording his Summertime Dream album, penned the lyrics to his most commercially successful song, The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald. Most fans of the late Gord know that on recording day he played the song's basic chord progression for his band, which was followed by an improvisational run-through. That "second take" is what appears on the album.