NASHOTAH, Wis. (AP) — Without Gordon Lightfoot's song, the Edmund Fitzgerald could have faded from memory along with the names of the roughly 6,500 other ships that went down in the Great Lakes before it.
Lightfoot was inspired to write his ode to the Fitzgerald and the 29 men who died on board after reading the first Associated Press story about the wreck and a Nov. 24, 1975, article in Newsweek magazine. The song was released in August 1976, less than a year later.
Lightfoot's mournful storytelling propelled the tragedy into infamy. Affection for the song and interest in the wreck has sustained for half a century, though it wasn't even the deadliest recorded on the Great Lakes. The deadliest wreck on open waters was the Lady Elgin in 1860, which historians estimate killed nearly 400 people.
“The song has made this by far the most famous Great Lakes shipwreck,” said John U. Bacon, author of “The Gales of November,” a recently published book coinciding with the 50th anniversary of the wreck. He said the Edmund Fitzgerald trails only the Titanic and possibly the Lusitania as the most famous shipwreck in the world.
Rick Haynes, 80, played bass on the single and in Lightfoot’s band for 55 years. He said the first recorded take of the song was what they released on the album “Summertime Dream.”
“When you listen to the record Edmund Fitzgerald, it’s like he’s putting you right there, like he was right there,” Haynes said in a telephone interview from his home in Canada. “And that’s pretty hard to do with a tragedy like that, you know?”
Debbie Gomez-Felder was 17 when her father, Oliver “Buck” Champeau, died on the Fitzgerald. She couldn't bear to listen to the song at first.
“I put it on the record player and I thought, ‘Oh no, this music is eerie,’” she said. “I turned it off.”
But she came to love it.
“The part that says ‘All that remains are the faces and the names of the wives and the sons and the daughters,’ I thought there wasn’t a word he missed,” Gomez-Felder said. “There wasn’t anything he didn’t recognize.”
Lightfoot died in 2023. His widow, Kim Lightfoot, said in a statement to The Associated Press that “the Edmund Fitzgerald was always present in Gordon's mind.”
“Just as he eulogized the tragedy in song for the world, he also kept the memory alive in our home; Paintings, models and tributes adorned the walls and followed us from room to room as we went about our daily lives,” Kim Lightfoot said. “If Gordon were with us today, he would have been intent on helping keep the candle of memory lit.”
Lightfoot met regularly with family members and famously changed one of the lyrics at their request, removing a reference to a disproven theory that unsecured hatch covers caused the wreck. The exact cause remains a mystery.
That mystery and the song continue to draw people to the wreck, including a new generation encountering the story through TikTok and social media. Bruce Lynn, executive director of the Great Lake Shipwreck Museum, said children visit the museum wearing costumes of the Fitzgerald.
“There’s something about the Fitzgerald that really draws that attention,” he said.
Haynes estimated that he has played “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald” more than two thousand times without tiring of it. Lightfoot’s band still tours and plays it at every concert.
Haynes remembers flying with Lightfoot to Whitefish Point, Michigan, to mark an anniversary of the wreck. They met with victims' families then Haynes took a walk along the shores of Lake Superior, looking out toward where the Fitz sank, about 17 miles away.
“I just sat there for about 15 or 20 minutes reflecting on all this stuff that had passed in connection with the Edmund Fitzgerald,” Haynes said. “And it was very emotional for me. It always has been.”
Associated Press writer Isabella Volmert contributed to this report from Lansing, Michigan.
Stained glass with Rev. Richard W. Ingalls' name is displayed at the Mariner's Church in Detroit, Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)
The bell at the Mariner's Church in Detroit is displayed, Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)
FILE - Gordon Lightfoot performs during the half-time show at the CFL Grey Cup championship football game between the Toronto Argonauts and the Calgary Stampeders on Nov. 25, 2012, in Toronto. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press via AP)
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander isn't scoring the way he usually does, but the Oklahoma City Thunder are still winning the way they normally do.
Gilgeous-Alexander, the reigning NBA MVP, averaged 31.1 points during the regular season. In the Western Conference semifinals against the Los Angeles Lakers, he is averaging 20 points and taking only 14 shots per game.
Oklahoma City has still won the first two games by an average of 18 points. Gilgeous-Alexander and Chet Holmgren each scored 22 points, and the defending champion Thunder beat the Lakers 125-107 on Thursday night.
Ajay Mitchell, starting in place of injured Jalen Williams, is averaging 19 points on 50% shooting in the series for Oklahoma City.
“I think the coaching staff does a good job at just getting all of us ready,” said Mitchell, a second-year guard. "And we have a lot of competitors. Like, everyone’s a competitor on our team. So every time the lights are bright, everyone’s ready to go.”
Holmgren is the leading scorer for the Thunder in the best-of-seven series with 23 points per game. The 2026 All-Star also is averaging 10.5 rebounds and 2.5 blocks.
Jared McCain, a midseason acquisition from the Philadelphia 76ers, barely played in the first round against Phoenix but has averaged 15 points and made 8 of 10 3-pointers in the series.
“He goes in there, stays in character, stays aggressive," Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. "He’s going to shoot the next shot. He makes the right plays, plays inside the team. He competes defensively, has had good defensive possessions for us. And he was huge tonight. You need that in a playoff series.”
The Lakers again were without scoring champion Luka Doncic, who is out indefinitely with a strained left hamstring. They also were missing forward Jarred Vanderbilt, the reserve forward who dislocated the pinkie on his right hand during the second quarter of Game 1. The Lakers had three players finish with five fouls, limiting their aggressiveness late in the game.
Los Angeles guard Austin Reaves, who struggled with his shot in Game 1, scored 31 points on 10-for-16 shooting in Game 2. LeBron James, coming off a 27-point effort in Game 1, followed that up with 23.
With the Lakers up 63-61 early in the third quarter, Gilgeous-Alexander got tied up with Reaves and was called for his fourth foul. Upon review, it was upgraded to a flagrant 1 for Gilgeous-Alexander's follow through. Oklahoma City's Alex Caruso was called for a technical foul as the situation was being sorted out.
Gilgeous-Alexander left the game with the Lakers up 65-61, but the Thunder rallied and took control without him. On a fast break, Holmgren found a trailing Jaylin Williams, who hit a 3-pointer and was fouled. His free throw put the Thunder up 85-74.
The Thunder outscored the Lakers 32-15 while Gilgeous-Alexander was out in the third quarter to take a 93-80 lead into the fourth.
“It was amazing," Gilgeous-Alexander said. “They strung together stops, they’re playing the right way offensively and things are going their way. Full confidence in those guys. They know how to win basketball games. And we've proven that. They’ve proven that no matter who’s on the floor, they know how to get the job done. And they just did it again tonight."
The Lakers cut Oklahoma City's lead to five in the fourth quarter before the Thunder pulled away again.
Los Angeles will host Game 3 on Saturday.
“We just stuck with it,” Holmgren said. “It’s the game of basketball. It’s not always going to go your way. It’s about how you respond. And this team has proven many times that we know how to respond. And we did so tonight.”
This story has been corrected to show that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is averaging 20, not 19, points per game against the Lakers.
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Oklahoma City Thunder's Chet Holmgren (7) shoots over Los Angeles Lakers' Austin Reaves (15) in the second half of Game 2 in a second-round NBA basketball playoffs series Thursday, May 7, 2026, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Nate Billings)
Oklahoma City Thunder guard Ajay Mitchell, front, works for a shot as Los Angeles Lakers' Austin Reaves, rear, defends in the second half of Game 2 in a second-round NBA basketball playoffs series Thursday, May 7, 2026, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Nate Billings)
Los Angeles Lakers' LeBron James stands on the court in the second half of Game 2 in a second-round NBA basketball playoffs series against the Oklahoma City Thunder Thursday, May 7, 2026, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Nate Billings)
Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) drives to the basket past Los Angeles Lakers' Deandre Ayton (5) and LeBron James, rear, in the second half of Game 2 in a second-round NBA basketball playoffs series Thursday, May 7, 2026, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Nate Billings)
Oklahoma City Thunder center Chet Holmgren (7) works to the basket against Los Angeles Lakers forward Rui Hachimura (28) in the second half of Game 2 in a second-round NBA basketball playoffs series Thursday, May 7, 2026, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Nate Billings)
