Two events, a memorial service for the public, and a separate private ceremony for the families of the crew, were held to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the tragedy.

Monday marks 50 years since the tragedy, which saw the Fitzgerald sink to the bottom of Lake Superior with its 29 crew members.

In his new book, John U. Bacon says science, weather and the Fitzgerald's cargo can help explain why the ship sank to the bottom of Lake Superior during a treacherous storm in 1975.

Twenty-nine sailors drowned when the Edmund Fitzgerald went down in the Great Lakes' icy waters on Nov. 10, 1975. The ship was immortalized in a surprise hit 1976 folk ballad by Gordon Lightfoot.

"It's an honor to play his music," musician Mike Fornes said, who's been performing with a Gordon Lightfoot tribute band for years.

Ron Bloomfield of Central Michigan University and member of Michigan's Underwater Salvage and Preserve Committee discusses why the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald remains unexplored since the early 1990's.

One of Michigan's top shipwreck experts, Ric Mixter, says even though he explored the wreckage in the early 1990's, many questions remain unanswered.