Cover art reproduced with kind permission by Garrigosa Studios and Chase Palmer of Bernstein & Andriulli. www.garrigosastudio.com

October 1, 2023, marks the eighth anniversary of the sinking of the U.S.-flagged steamship El Faro with the loss of all hands in the Atlantic Ocean. In honor and memory of the crew, singer-songwriter Jerry Popiel is releasing the new, original song “The Wreck of the El Faro.”

On October 1, 2015, the 791’ long El Faro was steaming on a regularly-scheduled route between Jacksonville, Florida, and San Juan, Puerto Rico, when it voyaged into the eyewall of Hurricane Joaquin northeast of the Bahamas and was overcome by winds and seas. A massive search effort was undertaken, but all 33 persons on board were lost.

As both a folk-rock musician and in his concurrent career as a search and rescue specialist, Jerry was moved by the courage of the crew and awe-inspiring story of the final voyage. “The complete loss of a large U. S.-flagged vessel and crew at sea is extremely rare in the 21st century. The El Faro is one of the most striking examples since the loss of the Edmund Fitzgerald on Lake Superior in 1975. After reading the transcripts of the El Faro crew’s discussions during their final day, I was stirred to pay a musical tribute to them.”

“The folk music tradition is replete with ship stories, with Gordon Lightfoot’s The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald being the most well-known. With El Faro, I decided to take a slightly different tack with the lyrics… less about ‘here’s what happened’ and more about ‘what would you do’ and ‘how does it feel’? Having served onboard ships during a number of storms in the Atlantic, I remember the uneasy feeling of the vessels battling green water over the bow, steel shuddering immensely, and taking rolls big enough to throw you out of your bed, all while being seasick. Certainly, whatever the crew of El Faro faced and felt was far worse than that. These courageous men and women, and the families they left behind, deserve to be remembered.”

Besides composing the music and lyrics, Jerry performed all instruments on the track including acoustic and electric guitars, mandolin, bass guitar, piano, drums and vocals. Jerry recorded, mixed and mastered the track at his home studio in Cleveland, Ohio.

Jerry is a singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer. As a solo artist, he has performed at Live Nation VIP clubs before James Taylor, Jimmy Buffett, Shania Twain, Keith Urban, Dierks Bentley and many more, and other locations before Girl Named Tom, Shawn Mullins, Leon Russell, the Strawbs and more. He is also a member of the indie band Fox Apts.