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The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald

Updated: 12/10/2025, 5:57:30 PM Wikipedia source

"The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" is a 1976 folk rock ballad written, composed, and performed by the Canadian singer-songwriter Gordon Lightfoot to memorialize the sinking of the bulk carrier SS Edmund Fitzgerald in Lake Superior on November 10, 1975. Appearing originally on his 1976 album Summertime Dream, Lightfoot re-recorded the song in 1988 for the compilation album Gord's Gold, Vol. 2. "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" was a hit for Lightfoot, reaching number 1 in his native Canada in the RPM chart. In the US, it peaked at number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and reached number one on the Cashbox Top 100. Following Lightfoot's death, the song had a new peak in popularity that same year, reaching number twenty on the Billboard magazine's Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart in May 2023. In commemoration of Lightfoot's writing of the lyrics to the ballad, the Great Lakes Maritime Academy now follows the commemoration bell count of: "29 for the lives lost that day back in 1975 on Lake Superior, once for all lives lost at sea, and once for singer Gordon Lightfoot, who wrote the ballad of the ship’s sinking".

Infobox

B-side
"The House You Live In"
Released
August 1976
Recorded
December 1975
Studio
Eastern Sound Studios, Toronto
Genre
Folk rocksoft rockprogressive folk
Length
6:30 (album version) 5:57 (single edit)
Label
Reprise
Songwriter
Gordon Lightfoot
Producers
Lenny Waronker Gordon Lightfoot

Tables

Weekly chart performance for "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" · Chart success › Weekly charts
Australian KMR
Australian KMR
Chart (1976–1977)
Australian KMR
Peakposition
46
Canadian RPM Top Singles
Canadian RPM Top Singles
Chart (1976–1977)
Canadian RPM Top Singles
Peakposition
1
Canadian RPM Adult Contemporary Tracks
Canadian RPM Adult Contemporary Tracks
Chart (1976–1977)
Canadian RPM Adult Contemporary Tracks
Peakposition
1
Canadian RPM Country Tracks
Canadian RPM Country Tracks
Chart (1976–1977)
Canadian RPM Country Tracks
Peakposition
1
US Billboard Hot 100
US Billboard Hot 100
Chart (1976–1977)
US Billboard Hot 100
Peakposition
2
US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)
US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)
Chart (1976–1977)
US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)
Peakposition
9
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)
Chart (1976–1977)
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)
Peakposition
50
US Cash Box Top 100
US Cash Box Top 100
Chart (1976–1977)
US Cash Box Top 100
Peakposition
1
Chart (1976–1977)
Peakposition
Australian KMR
46
Canadian RPM Top Singles
1
Canadian RPM Adult Contemporary Tracks
1
Canadian RPM Country Tracks
1
US Billboard Hot 100
2
US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)
9
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)
50
US Cash Box Top 100
1
2023–2025 weekly chart performance for "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" · Chart success › Weekly charts
US Hot Rock & Alternative Songs (Billboard)
US Hot Rock & Alternative Songs (Billboard)
Chart (2023–2025)
US Hot Rock & Alternative Songs (Billboard)
Peakposition
15
Chart (2023–2025)
Peakposition
US Hot Rock & Alternative Songs (Billboard)
15
Year-end chart performance for "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" · Chart success › Year-end charts
Canada RPM Top Singles
Canada RPM Top Singles
Chart (1976)
Canada RPM Top Singles
Rank
12
US (Joel Whitburn's Pop Annual)
US (Joel Whitburn's Pop Annual)
Chart (1976)
US (Joel Whitburn's Pop Annual)
Rank
36
US Cash Box
US Cash Box
Chart (1976)
US Cash Box
Rank
22
Chart (1976)
Rank
Canada RPM Top Singles
12
US (Joel Whitburn's Pop Annual)
36
US Cash Box
22

References

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  2. 910News.com
    https://web.archive.org/web/20240817101655/https://www.9and10news.com/2023/11/10/edmund-fitzgerald-memorialized-with-31-rings-of-its-bell-at-great-lakes-maritime-academy/
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    https://web.archive.org/web/20100328152915/https://torontosun.com/entertainment/music/2010/03/25/13357711.html
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    http://www.hourdetroit.com/Hour-Detroit/November-2010/Mariners-rsquo-Church-of-Detroit/
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  12. Heather Sparling, Disaster Songs as Intangible Memorials in Atlantic Canada , New York, Taylor & Francis, 2023, ISBN 97
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  17. https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/music/no-chorus-no-problem-the-improbable-story-behind-gordon-lightfoots-beloved-h
    https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/music/no-chorus-no-problem-the-improbable-story-behind-gordon-lightfoots-beloved-hit-the-wreck-of/article_99885686-2a9d-4d04-b9c0-4f3e1ce437ac.html
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    https://www.freep.com/story/entertainment/music/brian-mccollum/2025/11/09/wreck-edmund-fitzgerald-gordon-lightfoot-anniversary/87125454007/
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  23. Library and Archives Canada
    https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/films-videos-sound-recordings/rpm/Pages/image.aspx?Image=nlc008388.5116&URLjpg=http%3a%2f%2fwww.collectionscanada.gc.ca%2fobj%2f028020%2ff4%2fnlc008388.5116.gif&Ecopy=nlc008388.5116
  24. "Gordon Lightfoot Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved November 6, 2024.
    https://www.billboard.com/artist/Gordon-Lightfoot/chart-history/HSI
  25. "Gordon Lightfoot Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard. Retrieved November 6, 2024.
    https://www.billboard.com/artist/Gordon-Lightfoot/chart-history/ASI
  26. "Gordon Lightfoot Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved November 6, 2024.
    https://www.billboard.com/artist/Gordon-Lightfoot/chart-history/CSI
  27. Tropicalglen.com
    https://web.archive.org/web/20160304070100/http://tropicalglen.com/Archives/70s_files/1976.html
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  30. Pop Annual
  31. "The CASH BOX Year-End Charts: 1976; TOP 100 POP SINGLES (As published in the December 25, 1976, issue)"
    https://web.archive.org/web/20120825143147/http://cashboxmagazine.com/archives/70s_files/1976YESP.html
  32. Rheostatics . Cover for "The Wreck of Edmund Fitzgerald". 1991. [1]
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ozdEiFkCiLo&list=RDozdEiFkCiLo&start_radio=1
  33. Simon Bar Sinister. Cover for "The Wreck of Edmund Fitzgerald". 1999. Sage Records. [2]
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mDmt-A2GFuk
  34. Cantus (vocal ensemble). Cover for "The Wreck of Edmund Fitzgerald". 2006. [3]
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0GxKDbFQcZ8&list=RD0GxKDbFQcZ8&start_radio=1
  35. University of Michigan Men's Glee Club. Cover for "The Wreck of Edmund Fitzgerald". 2018. [4]
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJSgHFt6iCw
  36. Headstones (band). Cover for "The Wreck of Edmund Fitzgerald". 2019. [5]
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8LBkYjniTU&list=RDY8LBkYjniTU&start_radio=1
  37. "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald." Punch Brothers. 2022. Boston, Mass. [6]
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8JLU9wXu-4M&list=RD8JLU9wXu-4M&start_radio=1
  38. "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald". The Longest Johns. February 2023. [7]
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BuW3FKYOCDs
  39. "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald". Home Free. October 2025. [8]
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Um1PCCkyYHE&list=RDUm1PCCkyYHE&start_radio=1
  40. Billy Strings. "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald". August 2025
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=frQ1sVYqGbA&list=RDfrQ1sVYqGbA&start_radio=1
  41. Edmund Fitzgerald
    https://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2006-11-13-edmund-fitzgerald_x.htm
  42. Edmund Fitzgerald
    https://web.archive.org/web/20101106211335/http://www.hourdetroit.com/Hour-Detroit/November-2010/Mariners-rsquo-Church-of-Detroit/
  43. The Detroit News
    https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/michigan/2023/05/02/great-lakes-shipwreck-historical-society-pays-tribute-to-gordon-lightfoot/70173740007/
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