Gordan Lightfoot - The Wreck of the Edmond Fitzgerald.
Another favorite of mine (Gordan Lightfoot) - this song is based on actual history.
My father, who grew up in PA, a state that borders Lake Erie, had an old book of stories of the Great Lakes. They are infamous for gales and serious weather, and in the storm that sank the Edmond Fitzgerald, the waves were over 25 feet. They are often referred to as inland seas due to their size and weather, and Superior is the second largest lake in the world (the Caspian Sea being the largest) and 10th deepest. The Edmond Fitzgerald was an American freighter, that sank in 1975.
From Wikipedia:
For 17 years,
Edmund Fitzgerald carried
taconite iron ore from mines near
Duluth, Minnesota, to iron works in
Detroit,
Toledo, and other Great Lakes ports. As a workhorse, she set seasonal haul records six times, often breaking her own previous record.
[5][6] Captain Peter Pulcer was known for piping music day or night over the ship's intercom while passing through the
St. Clair and
Detroit rivers (between lakes
Huron and
Erie), and entertaining spectators at the
Soo Locks (between Lakes Superior and Huron) with a running commentary about the ship.
[5] Her size, record-breaking performance, and "
DJ captain" endeared
Edmund Fitzgerald to boat watchers.
[7]
No bodies were ever recovered.
