"The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" was released in 1976, less than a year after the ship sank in Lake Superior. Gordon Lightfoot’s song peaked at number two on the Billboard chart that same year.

TORONTO (AP) - Gordon Lightfoot, Canada's legendary folk singer-songwriter whose hits including "Early Morning Rain" and "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" told a tale of Canadian identity that was ...

An article about the Edmund Fitzgerald in Newsweek magazine and a wire service story are believed to have inspired Gordon Lightfoot to write his song. The song was released in August 1976 and had ...