Pee Wee Charles- Edmund Fitzgerald 50 years ago tomorrow 11-10

[Craig Stock]

Just saw this article today of one of Gordon Lightfoot's best songs.

https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/fifty-y ... nhpriver_6

Pee Wee did such beautifully haunting steel playing on this song that made it to number one in Canada and 2 in the USA.

I read somewhere that the song was recorded in one take late at night at the end of a session.

Maybe Ed can chime in on the details!

[Craig Stock]

Great tribute to Gordon's song by Oklahoma's pride the Turnpike Troubadour's version of 'The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald' in Cleveland, Ohio recently!!

https://youtu.be/Fg0j-GFzbT8?si=JoDBN1A8PhYssrFU

[Fred Treece]

It’s such a great song! And not a word of fiction in the lyrics. If it doesn’t chill your soul when you hear it then you don’t have one.

I never appreciated the pedal steel in the song until after I started playing. It’s brilliant. Hats off to Mr. Charles.

Anyone who lives (or has lived) in the Great Lakes region knows what a big deal the story is. I would imagine some band is playing The Wreck somewhere in Cleveland every November 10th, as if to acknowledge the ship finally arriving. Your Turnpike Troubadors did a right honorable rendition and their audience let them know it.

[Colin Boutilier]

It’s such a great song! And not a word of fiction in the lyrics. If it doesn’t chill your soul when you hear it then you don’t have one.

I never appreciated the pedal steel in the song until after I started playing. It’s brilliant. Hats off to Mr. Charles.

Anyone who lives (or has lived) in the Great Lakes region knows what a big deal the story is. I would imagine some band is playing The Wreck somewhere in Cleveland every November 10th, as if to acknowledge the ship finally arriving. Your Turnpike Troubadors did a right honorable rendition and their audience let them know it.

Up here in Canada, that song cries out as gospel to us. Especially around the lakes, and out here in the Maritimes where we share the common bonds of nautical tragedies and relish in the tales and tunes that depict them.

[Kenny Davis]

It's disappointing that no credit was given to Pee Wee in Discogs.

[Clyde Mattocks]

I have heard conflicting stories about the recording. I have heard they did it in one take and I have heard they did it about ten times and decided the first take was the best. At any rate, it is a masterpiece.

[Dennis Belt]

According to the new book ‘The Gales of November’ about the Edmund Fitzgerald sinking, it was not only the first take, it was the first time they had played the whole song. They had messed with the chord progression before but never done the whole song. Pretty incredible!

[Craig Stock]

Thanks for the info, that sounds about like what had heard years ago!