How Gordon Lightfoot Captivated RADIO With THIS Tragic & Haunting 70s Epic | Professor of Rock
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- Опубліковано 16 лют 2022
- The haunting 70s saga of the 29 members who lost their lives, the crew of the Edmund Fitzgerald. How Gordon Lightfoot wrote a masterpiece that brought peace to the family members. This story behind the song and the crew from the 1976 rock epic the Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald lyric by lyric.
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Of the hundreds of songs Canada’s National treasure, Gordon Lightfoot has written through the decades, he is perhaps most proud of his classic work, “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.” And it's easy to understand why. The song tells in dramatic fashion the true story of the bulk freighter, the SS Edmund Fitzgerald, which sank on Lake Superior on November 10, 1975. The wreck claimed the lives of all 29 crew members and has been a source of speculation and mystery throughout the years.
The idea for the song began while Lightfoot was busy working on his album Summertime Dream. One night he happened to catch a report on the 11 o’clock news about the sinking of the Fitzgerald in a fierce storm. Lightfoot remembered the night well. The wind was even howling where he was in Toronto. Wondering what it must have been like on Lake Superior, it wasn’t long before he had a melody, which was something like the drone of an old Irish chantey.
Later as Lightfoot contemplated crafting the lyrics he discovered a Newsweek article called “The Cruelest Month.” Upon reading the opening line, he was quickly captivated. “According to the legend of the Chippewa tribe, the lake they once called Gitche Gumee ‘never gives up her dead.’” Lightfoot, who had been fascinated by ships his entire life and was also a sailor himself, immersed himself in research to learn all he could about the Fitzgerald’s fate. There was just something mystical about a ship sinking that touched him deeply.
Lightfoot’s musical memorial is truly one of the most haunting songs of the 1970s. To honor both Gordon Lightfoot and the crew of the Edmund Fitzgerald, let’s take a closer look at lyrics of this incredible song and the story behind them… The first verse opens up with the aforementioned Chippewa legend about Lake Superior, which they called “Gitche Gumee,” never giving up her dead.
Lightfoot then paints a brief picture of the Edmund Fitzgerald, noting that it was carrying “a load of iron ore” weighing 26,000 tons. This load was actually taconite pellets, which are chunks of iron mixed with other ores. Though the load was technically over the ship’s official limit, this wasn’t the first time the Mighty Fitz had exceeded its capacity. The $7 million vessel was one of the largest ships on the Great Lakes, and had proven itself capable of weathering even the worst of storms.
The Fitzgerald departed at 2:20 pm on November 9, 1975 without concern. It was a sunny Sunday afternoon. Within 20 minutes, however, the National Weather Service issued a gale warning for the region. The storm was predicted to stay mostly landlocked and pass to the south of the Fitzgerald's route. - Розваги
What are some songs that chill you to the bone? Haunting songs that move you? Please share below.
Sunday Bloody Sunday, U2
Beds are Burning, Midnight Oil
Not a haunting song but a good storyline in its lyrics that was controversial due to its subject matter….Bobby Goldsboro - Summer ( the first time )
Fear of Ghosts by the Cure
Ghost by Indigo Girls (maybe just me)
My Beloved by VNV Nation
....nothing as deep as Mr.Lightfoot penned
Strange Way by firefall, one of the most beautiful and haunting songs of all time
Richard Cory by Simon and Garfunkel. It was played by Paul McCartney and wings during the 1976 wings over America tour which came in a new audience
After Gordon Lightfoot's death the Mariners Church rang their bell 30 times, 29 times for the crew of the Edmund Fitzgerald and once for Gordon Lightfoot, it was a beautiful tribute
Very touching.
I didn't know that. Beautiful
Gives me goosebumps. Very touching.
I just read that.
Awesome tribute. I'm in tears. I don't really know why. Maybe it's the connection after all this time to something I can't name. RIP 29 sailors + Mr. Lightfoot
Thank you for sharing that. It is a fitting tribute to Gordon Lightfoot.
Important to mention that Gordon donated all the proceeds of this song to the families which I’m sure would have been more than little. That’s integrity.
@Aberration When you consider that the song has a 48 year track record, overtime the royalties from radio, documentaries, etc. have probably met or possibly exceeded the payout from the E Fitzgerald's owning company. IF NOT, it'd have to be getting close after all these years.
I did not know that. Thank you for pointing that out.
Yes I have heard that. Gordon had a huge heart.
That is a wonderful bit of information. Thank you.
He didn’t donate his royalties from this song. He donated $10k to a scholarship fund after a concert he played in Michigan in 1976.
On the passing of Gordon Lightfoot, the church in Detroit held a service and church bell was rung 29 times for the crew and one more for Gordon. What a fitting tribute.
One of my favorites!
Absolutely!
Sleep sweet, Mr. Lightfoot. Can only imagine what you will write after your great Wake up! call.
Rest well.
And now….the “30th sailor” has passed on. I hope Captain McSorley was there to greet him. 🙏❤️💥
That's beautiful. 😭😭😭😭
I'm sure that the entire crew of the Edmund Fitzgerald greeted Gordon when he'd went to the afterlife and thanked him for keeping their memory alive
@@karlsmith2570 Indeed! 💥🙏💥
Most people outside of the MidWest, who have not seen the Great Lakes up close have no idea how incredibly massive they are. These are not lakes. The Great Lakes are fresh water Inland Seas. They are not a joke🌊🌊
This is true. I once visited Duluth, Minnesota in November. It was a rainy, windy day and Lake Superior was serving up waves that were just as big as any I'd seen in my native New England. I had a hard time believing a fresh water 'lake' could be so violent.
You've definitely got that right! I was one of the uninformed until I flew over them on the way from Vancouver to NYC. I couldn't figure out how the pilot had managed to end up over an ocean!
Lake Winnipeg would be one of them were she further East. Its huge things and it shapes the land.
You got that right! I live on Lake Ontario and I'm only an hour away from Lake Erie. Even Lake Erie, being the smallest and shallowest of the Great Lakes(like you said, really massive inland seas), has taken so many lives. The rip tides that come in from Erie in summer along it's Canadian northern shoreline and beaches has taken many lives and lulled many a swimmer because of of it's shallow beaches to think they can't be that powerful. IT IS and have had a few friends have some near misses there. One minute you're about 100 feet from shore up to your lower chest, you let a wave take you and all of a sudden your 60-80' further out and nothing beneath your feet and feel the next wave pulling you out further. No joke! And Superior being the deepest, stays so cold, even at the height of the hottest summer, if you fell in off a boat, you'd be suffering from hypothermia inside of 5 minutes, and not likely to survive an hour in the water as the cold starts to shut down your organs.
I saw a documentary on TV, about shipwrecks in the Great Lakes, years ago. It was a profound documentary. So many shipwrecks happened in the Great Lakes.
"Does anyone know where the love of God goes when the waves turn the minutes to hours?"
That is one of the most profound lines ever written. Absolutely chilling.
You’re so right! Great comment!
I agree 100%.
Yes, agreed.
If I may also add...
"The searchers all say, they'd have made whitefish Bay if they'd put 15 more miles behind her"
An absolutely beautifully written song by Gordon, one of my favorites of all time.
Wow , so applicable to life’s hard stretches.
You missed the REASON he decided to write the song - and WHY he did all that research. All the news reports at the time were very shoddily done - misspelling the men's names, omitting some of them altogether, not mentioning or respecting the seamen's widows or children.
So he wrote the song - and all the royalties and profits from the sales of that song over the years - were directed to a fund he created for the widows and children of the 29 - who he continued to keep in touch with through the years.
On Tuesday, 02 May, 2023 - at 3:00pm - the bells of the Detroit Mariners' Cathedral were rung 30 times. 29 times for the seamen who perished - and an additional peal for our Gordon. 21:26 21:26
Thank you for this. I live in the Detroit area, yet hadn't heard about the bells. Wish I could have been there to honor those lost. There was a law office in Lincoln Park I often visited with a large picture memorializing the Edmund Fitzgerald. I worked on Zug Island for National Steel for a few weeks in my youth. This song hits me very close to home, as does the loss of this legendary artist.
That’s all great but I’m from Michigan and the song came out just six months later and it got constant radio play. Many of the families complained because it just kept ripping them up every time they heard it.
@@sigsin1 I know what you mean! I often wonder how it must have felt if you were a relative of George Floyd or Trayvon Martin? Or a Sandy Hook victim… With all the constant news reports bringing up their deaths. Or for that matter, if you lost a loved one in 9/11?! The constant news coverage must have been so triggering. I guess it would be less so if your relative died in Vietnam or WW2 but they equally get a lot of coverage. I feel for the victims and their families. We should just not recall or write about tragedy.
Thank you, I didn't know that. Wow, 30 times so as to include Gordon. Amazing, he deserved that for sure. Thank you again, Wanda, for telling us that.
Correct. Thank you for including. Just a short article on a back page, and this within the Great Lakes region. It incensed him.
Possibly the greatest Canadian song of all time and arguably the greatest guitar riff too.
Cheers to Gordon Lightfoot. He was the pride of the Canadian 🇨🇦 side.
Yes, and for a three-way tie I also include "Early Morning Rain" and Ian and Sylvia Tyson's "Four Strong Winds". One night, a week after turning 18, I packed a gym bag and the following morning I began hitchhiking from southern Ontario heading north and then westerly across Canada.
I didn't end up "on runway number 9 with a dollar in my shoe" but I did end up at the corner of Highway No. 1 and Centre Street in Calgary, Alberta, climbing down from the passenger seat of an 18-wheeler out of Toronto and headed for Vancouver.
That trip was the first time I had seen the greatness of Lake Superior and what seemed like the unending flatness of the Canadian prairie. I don't know why I chose the route and the final destination that I did but I'd like to think the entire journey had been inspired by Gordon and Ian and Sylvia. I never doubted that this was what I was supposed to do.
As for that "dollar in my shoe"😂 I arrived in Calgary without a single red cent. The truck driver gave me 20 dimes ($2.00) and wished me luck. Why dimes? Because at that time it only cost one dime to make a call from a payphone. Either he thought I'd phone home right away and ask my parents to buy me a bus ticket home or that I would start calling around to homeless shelters and prospective employers.
"Saint Gordon" was looking out for me because within two days I was starting my first shift as a security guard and I had room and board at a nice home! 47 years later and I'm still in Alberta. I'm sad we recently lost Gordon and Ian. Ian will be on his horse riding in heaven's ranch and Gordon will be sailing his boat on heaven's gentle waves - maybe having a beer with the crew of the Edmund Fitzgerald.
@@donskuse2194 ... beautiful story.
Well said! 👍👍👍
The only memory I have of this song was when I was with my dad in his F100 truck. We were joking around as we went down the road, but when this song came on, my dad stopped talking, and his eyes teared up. The song ended, and he just said to me, "So many lose their lives on the water." We didn't talk for the next 20 minutes or so. He then said, "Son, I'm glad I lived long enough to know you." I was only 10 at the time and had no idea what he meant, but I said that I was glad too.
My dad served in the Navy during WW2, and he saw many friends die during the Battle of the Coral Sea.
Having served in the Marines myself during Desert Storm and now, some 40+ years later, I understand what he meant.
Dad died in 1985, and every time I hear "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald," I miss my him dearly.
“... glad I lived long enough to know you”. He had a good way with words. Perhaps that’s why the song stung him. Knowing there were fathers on that ship that missed that opportunity. Thankfully, it sounds the two of you had that pleasure. Having that sort of empathy indicates how much he treasured being a father.
Thank you both, your Dad posthumously of course, for your service. My husband and I, our Dads and my Mom all served, along with various other family members. One Marine on Corregidor didn’t make it home.
Wow. I am really appreciative of you sharing this story. My father loved this song too. He spent WW2 in the navy. And I remember as a kid the talk going silent whenever this song came on. And, yes…..it was in his F100 (1966). He went on to serve in the Army in both Corp Of Engineers and as a Green Beret. Thank you for sharing that story. An thank you for your service.
@Jay Browne
Wow, some people.
Thanks for sharing that. I grew up without a dad and that is really touching.
I served with Wpns Co. 1/5 during Sheild and Storm. Semper Fi, Brother...
I'm a sailor. I served 26 years active duty in the US Navy, spent many a day deployed. This song is the one that when it comes on the radio, my family knows to cease conversation and simply listen. I listen to the song, hanging on every single word, often with a tear in my eye at the conclusion. I can vividly see in my mind's eye the chaos that was happening all over the ship, either topside, below decks or up on the bridge where the Captain and his team at the helm would ultimately realize their fate was sealed, as well as my heart feels the terror and dread each sailor felt as their ship slipped below the raging waters. Yes, this song touches my heart and soul like no other. BZ Professor for a heartfelt tribute to not only the song and the artist, but to the crew of the Edmund Fitzgerald, resting on their final deployment.
"Eternal Father, strong to save,
Whose arm hath bound the restless wave,
Who bid'st the mighty ocean deep
Its own appointed limits keep;
O hear us when we cry to Thee,
For those in peril on the sea."
👍🏻🏴
Amen
I think that kind of background gives you & I a deeper perspective on this song than someone who hasn't experienced life on a vessel. I'm actually a Marine, but served 2 deployments on a US Navy ship.
Years later when I was on Lake Michigan, I was up on deck, the pitching motion was there, exhaust smelled the same, the water spray felt about right, what was missing? There was no salt tinge to the water spray! Seemed odd to me at the time.
For your service & kind words of solace, I thank you, sir!
Thank you for your service!
Well said. Well Said. I served aboard the USS Robert K Huntington and in the winter of 1967, we were crossing the North Atlantic and I can attest fighting the seas for minutes can seem like hours. We were approaching an oiler for refueling when we got hit by a wave and laid us on our side. I was under the port bridge wing and wound up under water trying to figure out had we rolled over and if we did, which way was up. It wasn't long but another wave hit us upright. I can tell you, that was the longest minutes of my life.
“Does anyone know where the love of God goes when the waves turn the minutes to hours”. Brilliant and chilling at the same time.
Since the day my father played this song for me back in the 70s, I hear it in my head every time I look out over the lake. Gordon managed to record Her voice., so now we all recognize her when she speaks. She truly is haunted… haunting… occasionally I can spend an hour or two with her either in silence or laughter, but it always comes back to this. The soulful haunting sound of her voice immortally captured by Gordon Lightfoot. Rest in Peace Fitz, Rest in Peace brave Crew, Rest in Peace Gordon Lightfoot…
Her voice? The lake?
This legend passed today and I know there were 29 sailors waiting for him on the other side. May he rest in peace and his legend live on. Thank you PoR for keeping these memories and musicians alive for all the generations to enjoy. Telling THIER stories in an honorable and respectful manner. Your father would be so proud of you! ❤
The Maritime Cathedral in Detroit rang its bell 30 times. One for each crew member and a final time for Gordon Lightfoot.
@@CheeseheadMedia I saw this and it was such a fitting tribute.
@@CheeseheadMedia thank you for sharing, I didn't know that. This is such a beautiful song and haunting because it's true.
That was a beautiful sentiment. And I agree.
@@CheeseheadMedia Thank you for telling us this. Much appreciated. Rest In Peace Gordon Lightfoot. A master of his craft. A National Treasure of Canada. Well done Gordon. Well done, Sir.
I'm a Torontonian who eventually moved to Muskoka. I knew Gordon from listening to the radio as a child of the 70's, but I later came to know him personally in the mid 90's. He was a genuinely good human, and because I don't "fangirl" and I met him through being friends with his neighbor in his Rosedale enclave, it was a very real connection based upon budding trees in Spring and architecture. I soon was invited into his "music room" and he played songs I knew and he let me sing my own harmonies and phrasing, without even a criticism. He was sincerely tied to Canada and the land and it's history and people and to his story telling through music. He didn't want fame or fortune. That's not what drove him. I had the honour of being one of only 5 people at Massey Hall in 2005 in what was his first concert since his abdominal aneurysm and he amazed me in his talent, despite what he'd been through, including a trach. and near death. I wrote a long tribute on my FB page because as you know, he slipped the surly bonds last night, and if there is an afterlife, I'm sure he's already written a song about it. I'm not sure if you knew, but this is a very important part of the story, which in his humility HE didn't tell me, someone else did. All of he proceeds of the sale of that song in the US and Canada went entirely to the families of the 29 men, and that was because Gordon made it so. You won't ever hear him talk about it. Sitting near him and listening to him sing the song many times over the years, and listening to the one online with the lyrics and his singing still brings chills and introspection. I agree. It's not one you "sing" along with. You just absorb it. Every time. He had over 300 different artists cover his music, 221 songs in all. He even knew Harry Belafonte, whom we lost last week. He was one of a kind and left a lasting legacy to all he's touched. Greetings from Canada.
Lovely tribute. Thanks for sharing.
Sincere sorrow for your personal loss, and thank you for sharing this. For what it's worth, not sure of the validity, but I heard that they rang the bell at the church again today, but it rang 30 times. A fitting tribute.
Such a lovely sharing - thank you so much.
Thank you for this. It was beautiful.
Thanks for the tribute all the way from Jamaica but loved his songs nevertheless as Canada influenced my early life when I lived there
This is one of those songs that whenever it comes on the radio, no one is allowed to talk over it. Just be quiet and listen.
I didn't have a relative on the Fitz - as it was called, but I have a grandfather who was on board the Arthur M Anderson when the Fitz went down. He knew the Fitz's crew well. I think Gordon's tribute to them is extremely chilling, but appropriate in honoring the 29 who were lost. I've talked many times with my grandfather about the Fitz going down. He lost 29 friends that night.
And the Arthur M Anderson still sails on. And I saw videos on YT and on the comments, some people say that the Anderson's horn still blows for the Fitzgerald...
@@kristoffermangila I think it's incredible that the Maritime Sailor's Cathedral in Detroit had a service to honor the memory of Gordon Lightfoot and they rang the bell 30x for Gordon and the crew. What an amazing tribute to one of the greatest singer / songwriters of all time.
*Mariner's Church. Lightfoot did take some artistic liberties with the song, including the 'Maritime Sailor's Cathedral'; that being said, he managed to stay true to the story and evoke very powerful emotions for many people.
The bell of the Mariners Memorial Cathedral in Detroit rang not 29 but 30 times Monday May 1st 2023 adding Gordon Lightfoots name to the crew manifest of the Edmond Fitzgerald in honor of this song making sure that we never forget the story of the mighty Fitz and why we must always remember the power of Mother Nature. R.I.P. Gordon Lightfoot, thank you for your passion.
That made me tear up a little. Just a simple tribute like that is so beautiful. I hope if there is an afterlife that the crew was able to greet him.
What a great tribute
Thank u Mariner's !!!!!!!!!!!😅😅😅😅😊😊😅😅😊😅😊😊😊
Thank you, Professor. My wife of 30 years great uncle; Ralph Walton was one of the 29 crew members who perished. My father in law's dad was also a captain of Great Lake freighters for the same company. He even worked on the Fitzgerald as a steward over summer break from college. Gordon Lightfoot will be missed for his incredible songbook and his honesty.
Mr. Walton's grave marker is in the same cemetery as my mom's!
I live in Michigan on lake Huron . I was 8 years old .All the lakes got hit by that storm . Hurricane winds sound supernatural on the great lakes .
The next day I was in the car with my parents and there were trees blown over , things on top of the roofs. , and a picnic table stuck in the wall of a Dairy Queen .
The water on the lakes can trough in winds like that .
Driving anything on the water to the lake bottom . Then miles of water , tons of pressure comes crashing on top .
Even in the summer the lakes are scary in a storm . In the fall in winter they're as I said Supernatural .
People forget the Great Lakes are inland fresh water seas .
Great show btw .
Thanks .
My family was assigned to an airbase in the UP and I fell in love with Michigan and Superior. Closest I got to Huron was Mackinac Island.
Very accurate appraisal. I was in the navy. I went to Whitefish Bay later in life and came to the same conclusion. They are truly inland seas.
I saw an interview online with the drummer on this track. He said that he asked Gordon when he should come in, and Gordon said, “When I nod to you.” And so it was. He said the released track was not only the first take, but the first time any of the musicians had ever played the song!!
Yes , I saw that drummer interview…
Drummer is Barry Keane. Incredible that this song was a first take.
You are so correct. I asked Barry about that once and he told me how it all came about, how Gordon nodded his head when it was time to bring the drum fill in.
It gave me chills when he told me about that 😢
I became friends with all the band in 1993 and even went to Toronto to visit. I can’t even begin to describe how amazing that was to befriend them and ask about whatever I wanted (but I had to keep all of it secret) but it was and still is so amazingly special to me! I adore Rick, Barry and Mike. And rest in peace Terry. You were the best!
No one sings along with this song. Those men get the respect of silence, thought, and sadness. The heart drops, the tears fall, and all because of Gordon's amazing description. Amazing song. 👍
So true
…exactly right.
you are right! I've never thought of this. I don't sing the song while listening; only repeat lines after listening.
Yes, it gives me chills and tears yes, no sound just tears; one of the most haunting videos was the tribute to the Edmund Fitzgerald and her crew of 29 Seamen who lost their lives by the Arthur M Anderson and her crew a couple of years ago on the anniversary of the disaster especially poignant because the weather was similar to that on the day of the tragedy.
It has always felt like a hymn to me
One of the few songs that can make a grown man teary eyed.
You nailed it. Chilling.
Every time.
Oh so true
RIP-Gordon 🙏🏼❤️ 🚢
@@vefisher Yep, sad news indeed.
The day after his death, the church tolled its bell again, twenty-nine times, and then once more for Gord.
thats correct, the Detroit mariners cathedral did indeed ring the bell 30 times, so they could include gordon's passing
@@mikekroft86 Good for them!!!
For the 40th anniversary, the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum at Whitefish Point held a memorial. Lightfoot went -- but he intentionally went the day before, to talk to the families, so as not to upstage them on the day itself.
What a person, eh?
I woke to the news this morning that Lightfoot had passed.I listened to this song along with "If you could read my mind",and I'm not ashamed to admit that it brought a tear to my eye.An amazing fact is that the recording of "The wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" was recorded in one take ,on the first time the band ever played it.
My memory: I was working when this song came on. I was transfixed. Stuck motionless listening. My boss came by to ask why I wasn't working. He heard what was playing and asked if I had heard it before. I told him no. He told me he understood and to sit here and pay attention then get back to work when it was done. He seemed to understand how important it was that a younger generation hear it.
Being from northern Michigan, having camped on Gitchee Gumee, she is a beast not to be trifled with. And she can also be the calmest piece of mirrored glass, you have ever seen. RIP Kurt Buffington, he lost j his is life swimming in Superior. RIP Gordon and thank you for this iconic everlasting piece of audible art.
SHE IS A WHIRL WIND, HUH😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😅😅😅😅😅😊😊😊
I've seen Superior both ways and you are so right. When it's calm it can be the most beautiful sight, but when the wind has control you don't even want to get near the shoreline. It just looks menacing.
I go by Superior on the Canadian side on my way to a yearly fishing camp, and I have only seen it with rough waves. Maybe next time it will be calm like glass!
@@Bradferd333 from a michigander, i guess one can hope that it would be calm at least once.
My ex-wife's father was a merchant Marine in the Great lakes in the 60s and '70s and knew many of the people on board of the Fitzgerald. They lived in Bay village, Ohio. Three or four of the people that went down with her were from Bay Village. He had been assigned to the Fitzgerald . But due to the birth of a child he had been relieved. The song will haunt me to the day I die.
My father was also a Merchant Marine on these ships in the 1960’s. From Elyria Ohio. He loved this song. His uncle Newman Larsen was a captain of the Edmund Fitzgerald before the captain who was serving during the wreck of the Fitzgerald.
About fifteen years ago, I was fortunate to be able to see Gordon Lightfoot in concert. Nothing flashy, just him talking about his hits then singing them. Finally, after a little chat with his audience, he said, "Well, I guess it's time to sing about the boat!". The audience applauded loudly, then those haunting notes began. I will never forget it!
This man is a Legend. ❤ He tours still today at 83 years of age and sells out venues. How is it that if Joni Mitchell and the Guthries and Bob Dylan and Carol King have been so honored that Gordon Lightfoot is yet to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? Not only does he write his own unforgettable lyrics and music but his voice is unmistakable. I urge everyone who cares about exceptional talent should request consideration for him to be a recipient of such recognition. Don't wait too long, world. By the way, the church bells still this day chime 29 times each and every year at the Maritime Sailors Cathedral in Detroit. Haunting
Lightfoot is an under rated legend. How's that for an oxymoron? Check out who all has covered him. He's probably not in the hall because his music is mostly folk and he's not flashy. First song of his I ever heard was Go-Go Round. Check out his version of Bobbie McGee.
@@easternwoods4378 Thank you for your response. Agreed. However I would not consider James Taylor and many other of the inductees as being Rock and Roll per se. He may not be flashy but genius need not be. I have been a Lighthead since the 60's when he played in coffee houses in Toronto and neither of us (he nor I) realized yet that he was THE Gordon Lightfoot. His music will outlive us all. And rightly so.
Even Bob Dylan has declared (PP) himself unable "to stop listening to a Gordon Lightfoot song".
Gordon Lightfoot is the whole package. Singer, songwriter, player and in touch enough with his creative body to consistently practice his art.
The rock ‘n roll Hall of Fame… Like a lot of institutions, sadly… Is infected with liberalism.
@@easternwoods4378 Speaking of which, what has happened to "French Girl"? I've looked for it on Amazon and it seems to have disappeared.
After Gordon Lightfoot passed away this May, the Mariner Sailers Cathedral in Detroit rang its bell 30 times. 29 of those times were for the sailers lost on the Edmund Fitzgerald; and the final one was for Gordon Lightfoot. A final farewell and thank you for the man who brought so much awareness to the lives lost so long ago.
Whenever this song came on the radio all conversation immediately ceased.
I was 12 when The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald was released. Gordon was the first artist to make me cry over a song. The first time I heard this song, I cried for the lost men and the surviving families. Still to this day, at 59, I still tear up when I hear the opening notes, just like now.
My Dad was a Merchant Marine on the Great Lakes (I still live here). He knew the men and the Captain very well. He was actually going to sail with them on that trip but, his appendix had ruptured a month before and he didn't want to take the risk of complications. He always felt a little guilty over that for some reason. Thanks for the story of the song. You are one of my regular watches every day.
By your dad a $20 Canadian coin of the SS Edmund Fitzgerald.
@@abrahammorrison6374 My Dad is dead.
Survivors guilt is tough to deal with
So your dad knew the “crew and the captain well seasoned”?
@@literallyshaking8019 Yes
Lightfoot was a master of his craft. A true legend. A Canadian treasure. I'm sure everyone has been touched by one of his songs.
A true poet & visionary!❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
This song still brings tears to my eyes, every time I hear it. Truly, it is Gordon Lightfoot's masterpiece.
Me too. It always struck me as such a tragedy because this was THE MODERN ERA. Like of course it was dangerous 150 years ago, but that it it happened in our time is a testament to the power of nature and makes the loss more haunting.
Me, too.
Oh, brother, you got me on this one. I was 8 when this song came out. I'm a Michigander and a Coast Guard vet, this song hit home. What I always loved about it is his choice of words/phrasing is from a sailor's pov. Great song to strum on the guitar, however, to this day, when I get to the lyric, "the churchbell chimes..." I get choked up and can't continue singing the line. Coming of age in the 80's, we always heard "the music of the 70's sucked." I'm sure this was coming from a Rush fan referring to bubble gum music. Man, we don't know just how good we had it, right?
No Rush fan I know would have said that. My Gordon Lightfoot Sundown album sat right next to my Rush 2112 album.
@@michaelgeisdorf6641 yep!
What are you talking about? Rush started in the 70s, dude. One of their greatest albums - *2112* - came-out the very year that Gordon Lightfoot put-out this song.
Geddy Lee and Alex Lideson were heavily featured in the 2020 Gordon Lightfoot documentary. They have very much mutual respect.
The working man and woman is and has been an unsung hero that sometimes doesn't come home. Thank you Gordon Lightfoot.
My ex wife found a foot locker from the Fitz. She would have been 11 years old. They lived along the St. Mary's River in Sault STE. Marie, ON at the time. This is the River that connects Lake Superior to Lake Huron. The U.S. and Canadian locks are upstream. She gave it to a neighbour - well, she was 11.
I first heard Gordon Lightfoot when he came out with "If You Could Read My Mind" at Christmas time in 1970. IMO "Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" is his best song.
I grew up on the shores of Lake Erie, listening to Gordon Lightfoot, thanks to my mum. Years later, I worked a couple of seasons on a lake freighter kind of like the Fitz, (except that there was *NO* lake freighter like the Fitz, she was a true legend!), to pay my way through school. I never experienced a Fitzgerald level storm, but I can tell you that the Great Lakes have no mercy in the fall, and they will throw pure hell straight at you. The waves can indeed turn the minutes to hours. I've been to the Old Mariners' Church in Detroit more than once on Nov. 10th, with a tear in my eye. This song tells it like it really is.
To take on a song or concept like this is exceptional. Gordan Lightfoot did a phenomenal job of trying to recreate what happened and humbly give tribute to those lost.
As someone who frequents Duluth and the north shore of the greatest of all lakes, (superior) I listen to this song while staring out at the lake. Nothing but tears.
In my humble opinion, this song is the world's most perfectly written song. EVER. The poetic lyrics and the mood of the music came together so beautifully. The sense of tragedy, respect for those that lost their lives, remembering the families who lost loved ones.....kudos, Gordon. RIP, brother.
It's so haunting
No other song has ever evoked such a strong emotion from me.
I have to disagree. My favourite of his songs (and probably my favourite of all time) is Pussywillows, Cattails. Unlike The Wreck of tbe Edmund Fitzgerald it is a peaceful song.
It's a living song, not just a moment in time.
Well said.
Like Bob Dylan once commented the only bad thing about a Gordon Lightfoot song is that it ends. I cannot improve on that thought.
So right.
With a load of iron ore, 26,000 tons, more than the Edmund Fitzgerald weighed empty.
That line gets me every time.
It's details like that that tell you you're listening to more than a song, you're listening to oral history.
As a graduate of the US Naval Academy, class of 1980, I was attending there when Gordon's song was still huge. I listened to it, awestruck, every time I heard it. Even now if gives me chills. Mariners are heros that are rarely celebrated. Thank you for paying tribute to "the good captain and crew" of the Edmund Fitzgerald. Love what you do Adam, and the way that you do it.
The fact he gave all proceeds pf this song to the families of the deceased of the wreck is also a tribute of Gordon's humility.
I know I listened to this song 1000 times in my lifetime and I can listen to it another 1000 times. It never gets old.
That’s timeless music.
RIP Gordon.
Being from Michigan, I remember when this happed. Later I owned property close to Whitefish Point. The point the Fitz was trying to get to or around because it would then be in calmer waters. It’s resting point is 17 miles NE of Whitefish Point. But, I’ve talked to many old timers in the area about the wreck. Almost all of them believed it broke in half on the surface. The thought was, the nose came out of a huge wave, and for a split second was unsupported by water under it, and the front half simply snapped off.
Excellent Video and your attribute to Gordon, the song, and the history!
The thing I remember about this song is, even though I was just a 14 year old kid when it came out, I somehow understood the gravity and seriousness of the song and felt the sadness. It's a tribute to Gordon Lightfoot's song writing ability and musical genius that the song brought out those emotions in me, and still do to this day. And I am not the only one, I know.
I am right there with you!
I too was 14 when this happened.
So sad 😭
I was 17 when the song came out, yet somehow didn't ever know until years later that it was a song about a real tragedy.
I consider this song’s lyrics written by Lightfoot as one of the greatest ever put to paper. A masterpiece! Finally got to see him a few years ago at Massey Hall & he didn’t disappoint. Bucket list for me!
An absolutely haunting and beautiful song.
Only a master songwriter could create such a work of art.
Amazing.👍🥃
@@BillMcGirr Thank God the self professed professor enlightened us all with this thunder stealing video.
I agree. A phenomenal lyricist. In my mind, I can see this happening as he sings it.
would you rather be stranded on a deserted island with 10 men or 10 women?
me: 10 women, they would be easier to kill and eat.
@@commentfreely5443 yes but they can be devious and ruthless and you have to sleep sometime... Maybe consider deep water preservation
Gordon Lightfoot was just a straight-up badass. I cannot think of another musician, another guitar player at that, who made you want him to NOT plug in an electric guitar because the energy he generated with the acoustic was otherworldly.
Not to mention having a voice like the finest aged whiskey, matched only by his deity like ability to write exceptional lyrics that put him squarely in the cool-as fuk rock zone.
Legend.
Definitely straight-up badass. Love that--I would not have thought him like that but he had that undergirded steeliness. Probably how he survived an aortic aneurism and 15 month coma and operations, and stroke; and as he pointed out, professionally the 1960-1963 folk era, which was no joke.
@@lizbyrne7356 The lyrics and vibe to "Sundown" are so good, I knew at 5 years old how great it was.
THAT is a badass songwriter.
Gordon was such a skilled wordsmith! And he had an unmistakable voice!
Rest in Peace Gordon. Enjoy that Carefree Highway!
And the Seven Island Suite…
Former bass player for Ian Tyson here: Well done, well done. Lightfoot is like family and this respectful coverage of him as a story teller and the crew that lost their lives as well as the experience of the studio session performance that nailed it, instills great respect for you and your thorough coverage and interviews on this channel. Keep it coming, much success. cheers brother.
Was intrigued to look up Ian Tyson. Apparently he passed just today 12-29-22. I’m so sorry for your loss.
Who is Ian tyson?
@@ChrisLascari Ian and Sylvia was a Canadian folk duo that was very successful in the 60s. Ian continued on as a county musician in Alberta
I was a big Ian and Sylvia fan. Had every album. And, of course, at age 73, Gordon’s marvelous music is part of my life soundtrack. It feels like I’ve lost a friend.
Tyson wrote Four Strong Winds,Someday Soon,Summer Wages…he was a treasure
Great video! Our little city in Ontario is in mourning at the loss of one of our greatest sons. R.I.P. Mr Lightfoot. You are a treasure and will be fondly remembered.
This is the first time I've heard this song. You're right about not feeling the same way afterwards. It is a very well made tribute. The sea shanty style just drives the tragedy home. If he sang it any other way it wouldn't have that gut punching feeling behind it. I feel like I just left a service for the fallen sailors.
He was one of those song writers that can tell a story in their music. He paints a picture in your mind, the wreck of the Fitz, it's just incredible, very emotional to this day for those still around no doubt.
Lightfoot had already penned Dark Day In July, about the race riots in Detroit in July 1967, so his ability to paint a detailed picure of events was already weill known,even if so many right-wing US radio stations absolutely refused to touch the song. It was much like they did when fellow Canadian rocker Neil Young wrote 'Ohio" which chronicled the murder of several students by US national guardsmen at Ohio State University..
This is one of those songs where the music actually tells part of the story. It fits so well, it literally puts our minds on that ship on lake Superior that night. 😯
An absolute master Storyteller. RIP Gordon.
My father grew up with Gordon Lightfoot in Orillia ON and he always had the greatest of words for his good friend. RIP GORD YOU KNOW WE ALL LOVED YOU AND YOUR MUSIC.
I’m 63 years old. I have no connection to the crew other than watching along with others as the news reported the loss. This song and Gordon’s impeccable vocals and story weaving captured me from day one. I also can’t sing along. Today, all these years later, this tribute touched my heart snd by the end, when the names appeared, I paused the show snd read each name as tears rolled down my face. What an amazing tribute and I could just imagine that church bell as it rang 30 times last May to honor this legend. Thank you.
Gordon Lightfoot is of course, a Canadian legend. His annual concert at Massey Hall in Toronto has been a premiere event for decades and he’s still actively performing at age 83! The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald was one of his best, for sure!
Gord gave the last performance at Massey in the summer of 2018 before a three and a half year renovation. Then he was there to open the great concert hall when it reopened in November of 2021. Amazing. I've been privileged to see Gord at Massry many times over the years. He was always fantastic.
My buddy from Old East York goes to Massey Hall as often as possible. He's caught Gord there several times.
He passed away yesterday (May 1, 2023), age 84
Been hearing this for almost 50 years. When he sings, "the wind in the wires made a tattle-tale sound", I know what that sound is. The amount of force to make a 1/2" steel braided cable make that sound is incredible. A metallic whip cracking sound. My mournful line is, "In a musty old hall in Detroit they prayed
In the Maritime Sailors' Cathedral. The church bell chimed 'til it rang 29 times
For each man on the Edmund Fitzgerald." Great song.
Cats in the Cradle also has a haunting forlorn sound and message. Both songs emote a deep sense of loss and require deep contemplation upon hearing.
@@randallnielson6726 Agreed. My dad was like that, so I made sure that when I raised my son, I was there and active with him. It paid off.
On the Tuesday May 2nd 2023, the day after Gordon Lightfoot's passing, the bells of the Mariner's Cathedral were rung 30 times, once for each crewman on the Fitz and one extra time for Gordon Lightfoot.
I sang this song at a karaoke bar in Kewanee, Illinois around 15 or so years ago. Soon after I finished a man came up to me and shook my hand to thank me for singing the song. I can't remember his name but he said his Uncle was Third Mate on the ship the night it went down. He said he appreciated me singing it and said goodbye. It's one of the coolest things to ever happen to me. Rest in Peace Mr. Lightfoot your music is timeless forever.
Professor, thank you for ending with a tribute to the crew. That turned this episode into something special.
I came looking for a comment like this. I also wanted to thank Adam for the tribute at the end. And yes, I did read all the names- these were real people.
@@jeffk8019 @Terry Lewis I also wanted to make the same comment. I really appreciated being able to read the list of names and positions. Somehow, seeing the positions made those men and the loss borne by the "wives and the sons and the daughters" even more real to me. Thank you, Professor, for closing with this list.
WOW..I just came by some of Gordon's songs and caught the listing of all the lost sailors names.
AWESOME, thanks ❤
I was in the US Navy when the Fitzgerald was lost. When we heard the news it was surreal. Not a word was spoken, total silence. The lost crew was considered by us as our own shipmates. RIP to all the sailors, of all the navies, of all countries and all time that left us this way.
I remember being so amazed in adulthood that this song was about a 1975 wreck. The entire feel of the song paints a timeless picture of nautical disaster, and as a child I always thought it was 100 years ago.
Had an acquaintance in college back in the mid 70's, whose Uncle served on the Edmund Fitzgerald. He retired, just a week before the ship went down.
Yes he took a few liberties with the details, yet he completed a haunting, beautiful and respectful song to honor the ship and her crew. The song also helped those families and friends missing their loved ones. Truly a Canadian Treasure. The bell tolled 29 times, haunting.
It still does every year, I believe.
As someone who has spent 60 years around the water, this song captures the feeling of respect and awe that all of us mariners have for “Mother Nature”. I have unfortunately known too many people who have ignored that and allowed schedule to override common sense. Back in the day of the Edmond Fitzgerald, weather forecasts were very poor. Too often, plans were made that were based on faulty information only to have unfortunate results. The crew of the Edmond Fitzgerald were professionals who did their job and unfortunately ended up a few miles short of being safe. That’s the way of the water. This song always takes me to a place that helps ensure that I maintain the proper respect for the sea. Gordon Lightfoot did a masterful job with this song. May he rest in peace and become God’s latest troubadour. God bless the crew of the Edmond Fitzgerald.
Remember, she was overloaded. The crew did not do that. There are reasons for limits. Whatever happened to the ship, weight made a difference.
I was in the Submarine force back in 1979. During Naval Maneuvers, our main engine seized up. We wallowed on the surface for days awaiting a tow. Standing lookout in the middle of a storm, the guitar interlude was going through my head as the waves were crashing over the bridge of our Submarine
I found this video just a few days after the passing of Gordon Lightfoot. I was just out of high school and not paying any attention to the news of the day when the Edmund Fitzgerald sank. Though the song always mesmerized me, I didn’t realize until years later it was about an actual event. Gordon Lightfoot will be missed by many.
As a Canadian, I'm proud of Gordon Lightfoot. He's a brilliant song writer and has many amazing songs. This is such a perfect lyric but he also has a song called the Canadian Railway Trilogy that is honestly like listening to a documentary about building the railroad in Canada.
He is a very special artist and thanks for showcasing his talents
Agreed!
RIP Gordo
And many are the dead men
Too silent to be real
@@derelict8715 well done!!!
Gordon Lightfoot is a national treasure in my native Canada and his songs paint such vivid pictures of historical and romantic imagery
I’ve seen an Aussie and a Brit reacting to the song and they’re blown away as well. Music of that era is timeless…
I'm 51, and have heard this song so many times. I love it so much. As someone with no sailing, marine knowledge in my history, I never would have thought that the line about the main hatchway caving in was saying someone was not doing their duty. I just thought of it as caused by the storm.
This song is a lyrical master class, but remove the lyrics and just the music makes you picture a stormy sea. Its a perfect song.
Check out the traditional song, "Back home in Derry." It's very similar and fits the song, but Lightfoot really made it even more haunting.
Gordon Lightfoot stikes a nerve with this masterpiece, been listening for over 50 years. Still feels like a kick in the gut.
I used to live in northern lower Michigan. This song gets played a lot up there on the radio stations. Practically ever day in the summer and fall months. When you spend all four seasons up in northern Michigan, you know about how the crazy wild storms that come off the lakes are. Everyone in northern Michigan knows this story and this song. Thank you.
Nothing like this song has been made in a long time. It's not just epic. It paints a haunting and vivid picture of the ill-fated voyage and the great lakes. It's expressive, soulful and cathartic. It's a legendary memorial from a world class song smith who has passed on. RIP Gord.
I heard this story on Casey Kasem’s count down. I didn’t realize it was a true story until Casey talked about the story of the Edmond Fitzgerald.
I paid more attention to the words Gordon Lightfoot sang. Lightfoot described the details of the Fitzgerald so brilliantly that I sometimes feel like I’m one of the seaman lost with this ship.
Great video Professor.
We lost some good seamen that day!
I was in the US Coast Guard. For years I was a rescue swimmer. I have over 50 saves to my credit and of course, many losses as well. This song, since I was 8 years old has always hit me hard. Ever since I could understand what the song was actually about and especially after visiting the Sailers Memorial in Cleveland this song brings tears to my eyes. As a matter of fact, I am seeing through tears as I listen to your video and type this. God bless the men, the families, and the crew of the Anderson that had to deal with all of this as it happened and the aftermath. Thank you for doing this one. Now I will take my leave to find my tissues....
Greg 'Flying Master Chef' Swagler
Adam, thank you for this dramatic yet sensitive tribute to the crewmen of the ship and to the composer. You put a more human face and emotion to this story. I remember when the Fitzgerald sank. I was 19 and could not begin to imagine what the captain and crew went through when faced with this kind of danger, and then to realize their deaths were imminent. It is still hard to imagine. But between Gordon Lightfoot and you, this true story was placed in proper perspective where I felt the drama unfold from verse to verse. Thanks again, Adam! Well done!
Michigan native here. I was eleven when this happened. My uncle knew the guy from St. Joseph, MI.
Professor, I never thought you'd feature this beloved song, and I'm so glad you did, because you always do justice to the song and legend in every video. I'm from Michigan and I was in high school when the tragedy occurred. We know what a great lakes storm is capable of. The pain was felt across the state. Thank you.
It was mid October 1977. My father, 2 brothers and I were traveling south back to Toronto in his 1967 Ford Meteor wagon after spending a week at our cottage on Manitoulin Island. It was around 9 pm. We were a little south of Sudbury, near Britt, on hwy 69. The Wreck came on the radio. It was our first time hearing this powerful, stirring, haunting ballad. We were, in the words of AC/DC...
THUNDERSTRUCK. Literally left speechless. All four of us suddenly knew and understood that we had just been exposed to a jaw-dropping, iconic song which was turning a page in musical history.
This month of May 2023, Canada has lost a national treasure. Gordon Lightfoot was, in my opinion, the absolute greatest singer-songwriter of all time. His legacy of powerful, unforgettable songs will live on in the hearts and minds of all REAL Canadians forever.
Rest in peace dear friend. Your body has expired but our love for you shall never expire.
Gordon Lightfoot
1938 - 2023
Great song by a great Canadian storyteller who never forgot his roots. May he RIP.
Absolutely stellar history and breakdown. Very very respectful to the lost sailors. YOU are Stand Up. Thank you. Canada is in mourning. PO2 RCN Navy Retired.
Gordon Lightfoot was one of the last concerts I went to before COVID. Sure his voice ain't what it used to be, but honestly, we the audience didn't care. It was a fantastic show! The start of this song, as soon as those chords are strummed, we all started clapping and cheering.
I saw him this past January and yes is voice is gone but he still sings his story and tells it well. He is a class act and still enjoys doing it for all to hear.
I'm Canadian, so I've heard about this since I was a kid back in the 70s. I've watched many documentaries about the wreck. I think it broke in half. I have a personal reason from my interest, since my Grandfather was a cook on the lakers. My Grandfather worked on the Carol Lake and you had to be a good cook on the boats. Imagine a bunch of hungry men and you give them a bad meal. They wouldn't stand for a bad cook. Because on the boats, you only worked, slept and ate. Meals were important for moral. It was a dangerous life and all the sailors knew it. I live near the Welland Canal, so I'm always seeing the massive ships pass through the locks.
Brian Burns did a nice cover on his album Heavy Weather...and ended it by reciting each crew member's name followed by the ringing a ship's bell.
I heard him interviewed once and he said that the song wrote itself, it just flowed!
Watched this a year ago and watching it again today 😢
RIP Gordon Lightfoot
The discrepancies in the song could be that the research options Gordon had were limited due to his research being done during the non-internet period, and facts were harder to come by then. Great song, great lyrics, great vocals, and great song construction. I see the song as it actually being a dirge. Thanks, Adam, great program.
It is truly a haunting song, and Gordon Lightfoot's voice accounts for some of it. The sound, the timbre is mesmerizing.
Plus at the time all the information we have today simply didn't exist.
HERE! HERE! very good abservation!🙂🙂👍
Even after all these decades, this song still gives me goosebumps every single time I hear it. RIP to the 29 sailors, and Mr. Lightfoot... 🌹
Your presentation here is above excellent. Apparently, you did your homework and research, which unfortunately many do not. Also, your in-depth analogy and explanation is well thought out. Thank you for a fine video. I just found this and had to comment as this song, and the WTTW PBS video you refer to when I first viewed it in Chicago in 1979 prompted me, an unexperienced musically person, to buy my first cheap guitar and learn several of Gordon Lightfoot's ballads. Better guitars came and I dove into a college course music theory helped by a co-worker and learned the craft of songwriting to some extent, all thanks to Gordon Lightfoot and his wonderful music. During this time I had the good fortune to meet Gordon and his band members after a concert in Merrillville, Indiana. Being a machinist, I was making accurate miniature guitars, making one in the fashion of a Sunburst Gibson B-45, and presented it to him that night thanks to pedal steel player, Pee Wee Charles (Ed Ringwald) who invited us backstage. Such a down to earth group of musicians even sharing a few beers with us! In conclusion, one of my better efforts in songwriting is a ballad I titled "Where Have All the Songmen Gone?" The first verse asks: "What's become of Jim, and his old friend LeRoy Brown? Has anyone seen Harry's cab? It's so sad he's not around. Then young Steve, he went away. He left Arlo on the train. So, Gordon won't you write a song like Early Morning Rain?" With Gordon Lightfoot's passing on May 1, I thought about changing the lyric, but to me he lives on. Thank you again for this poignant video.
This song and Roger Whittaker's River Lady have been large in my life, if indirectly.
My father, a math teacher, when finished with his day, would sit on the porch and play his guitar. Edmund Fitzgerald and River Lady were always my favorite. Dad would play and sing and I would sing along with him.
He's 81 now and I'm 49. He still plays these songs. And I still sing along.
Thanks, Adam. Great video.
This song was not even a rock song but every station in the world was playing it in those days. It was so huge even the Professor of Rock couldn't ignore it. I was 11 years old when I first heard it and I have listened to this song hundreds of times and I have never got tired of it. The pedal steel guitar, the electric guitar, and the drums work together so perfectly to produce the sound that you can feel the spray of the waves in you face. The pedal steel seems to "cry" behind the words "Does anyone know where the love of GOD goes when the waves turn the minutes to hours?" CHILLS!
I remember back in 1975 as a teen hearing this song for the first time, it was at night and it felt like I was watching a movie, lake Huron rolls superior sings in the rooms of her ice water mansion, that phrase gives me chills even Now. What a great song writer from such a great Era, RIP Gordon
I was touched and moved when Gordon passed recently, and the maritime church in Detroit rang the bell for the crew, and once more for Gordon himself. Gordon was loved by the families of the crew.