Gordon Lightfoot, a legendary folk singer from Canada, passed away on Monday at the age of 84.
Lightfoot wrote and sang songs for over 45 years. He started singing when he was a preteen. Over four decades, the Canadian singer recorded 20 studio albums and performed over 1,500 concerts.
One of his top hits is a track that hits close to home for many Michiganders. “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald” was released in 1976 and took a prominent spot on Lightfoot’s album “Summertime Dream,” being the final track. The song is 5:30 long and portrays what the singer envisions what happened on the S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald when it sank in Lake Superior on Nov. 10, 1975.
The Fitzgerald carried ore between mills in Minnesota and iron works in Detroit, Toledo, and Cleveland. It had a capacity of 26,000 tons. On that November day, the ship encountered a rough storm, and there were no survivors or witnesses to the shipwreck. There was a crew of 29 aboard when the ship sank. The wreckage was found the following year on May 20, about 535 feet below the lake’s surface.
---> Devin Scillian: Why Gordon Lightfoot meant so much to me
Read -- 🔒 The storm that sank the Edmund Fitzgerald
The Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum posted on social media on Monday when news broke out about the folk singer’s passing. They wrote in memory that the song “Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald” was more than a song to them.
“Gordon truly cared about the families of that tragedy. That was proven in 2015 when he came to Whitefish Point for the 40th anniversary of the sinking… but he came a day early, on November 9th, to meet and talk with the family members,” the museum wrote.
You can view the social media post from Facebook below:
Many are mourning with the Michigan museum and wrote how Lightfoot’s compassion also touched their lives.
- “He funded a scholarship that I received at the Great Lakes Maritime Academy. A good man,” wrote Mark Nitchman in a comment.
- “My son fell in love with that beautiful song at age 7, and his love of the sing grew into a fascination with the ship and freighters. We were lucky enough to see him in concert several years ago, and also lucky enough to see the Arthur M Anderson in Duluth,” wrote Katy Milketic.
- “Gordon Lightfoot is the reason my wife and I made the long long drive to the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum - my love for his tribute to the Edmund Fitzgerald. It was very much worth the journey. Got to see him live a few years ago and it was an amazing and emotional night. Rest in Peace,” wrote Mike Browne.
Local 4′s Devin Scillian honored the marking of the 47th anniversary of when the Fitzgerald went down in one of Michigan’s Great Lakes. You can watch his cover of “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald” below:
Related -- 🔒 47 years ago: S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald sinks in Lake Superior