How did the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald become more famous than any shipwreck besides the Titanic? When Gordon Lightfoot read a Newsweek article about how Lake Superior “never gives up her dead,” he was inspired to write a song that would become one of the most unlikely pop hits ever. Hear from a musician who knew Lightfoot, and from staff at four sites that keep the Fitzgerald’s memory alive with artifacts and ceremonies. As author Frederick Stonehouse says, all ships on the Great Lakes “now are wrapped into the legend of the Fitzgerald.”

Edmund Fitzgerald: 50 Years Under is produced by the Duluth News Tribune, a newspaper that covered the Fitz during its heyday and has remained close to this story ever since. Find features that go into even greater detail, with photos and video, at duluthnewstribune.com/edmundfitzgerald.

Written and narrated by Jay Gabler, with audio engineering by Wyatt Buckner and Dan Williamson. The audio of this episode was edited by Wyatt Buckner.

Our editors on this project are Katie Rohman and Barrett Chase, and our executive editor is Rick Lubbers. Original score composed by William Bruegemann. This episode’s Newsweek excerpt was read by Barrett Chase.

Thanks to our guests on this episode: Elle Andra-Warner, John U. Bacon, David James Carlson, John Crowley, Rob Hofmann, Bruce Lynn, Kaylee Matuszak, Paul Sabourin, Hayes Scriven, Dave Strandberg, Sara Summers-Luedtke, Frederick Stonehouse and Terrence Tysall. Thanks, also, to Duluth Harbor Cam for permission to use audio from the arrival of the Arthur M. Anderson.