Dan Fogelberg Dead At 56

[BILLW]

Just saw this sad news, I'll have to go break it gently to my wife...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071217/ap_on_en_mu/obit_fogelberg

Bill :(

[Jesse Joe]

Very sad & surprising at 56. :(

[charlene]

just saw this..so sad..
his fabulous music will live on..

http://www.danfogelberg.com/news.html

[Affair on Touhy Ave.]

http://www.treehouse.org/fogelberg/coachmen.html

I mentioned this before but thought I'd repeat it again the link contains a couple of songs he recorded with his group The Coachmen.

These stream aren't all that great, Im Familiar with 1 of them which I heard on 1 of the internet stations I normally listen to.

[RM]

This news seems to land a bit closer to home than most of the other obits notices. Although I was never a huge fan, I found him to be the 'real deal'. Ouch.

"Part of the Plan"

[charlene]

JUst listening to some clips at his website..my goodness he was marvelous..I forgot how much I loved his stuff..
so very sad..

[podunklander]

So sad to learn of this. A wonderful talent and he blessed us with some timeless music. No doubt he had suffered through this advanced cancer and treatments and is now at rest.

[BendRick]

This is very surprising and very sad news. I started listening to Dan's music back in the 1970's, and his music was part of my life. I have all of his albums. I enjoyed his music as much as I enjoyed Gordon Lightfoot's music. Goodbye, Dan.

[Auburn Annie]

Agreeing with other posters here - so sad and much too young. He'd known he had advanced prostate cancer since 2004. He left quite a legacy for us all.

[Moosedog]

That's just terrible news. I've always been a big fan of Dan Fogelberg.

Vickie

[Bill]

I was going to post the link to his news site, but you beat me to it. A great talent lost.

He always made it known the big influence Lightfoot had on him. He probably didn't fathom the influence he had on us.

A few years ago after the diagnosis he sold off most of his guitars through Gruhn's Guitars in Nashville, and included notes on how they had been used for performances and recording. Not sure if any are still available or not.

I'd probably get the story wrong if I tried to recall it in detail, but as I understand he had traveled west with Randy Misner in the early days and there were initial talks of him joining the Eagles, but apparantly he and Don Henley mutually agreed that it wasn't for the best.

The Innocent Age is a landmark piece of work. His acoustic album with guests like Doc Watson is also a treasure. And of course this being the Christmas season Same Old Lang Syne is all over tha airwaves.

The older I get the more human these heros seem.

[Borderstone]

I've listened to Dan since "Longer" in 1980 and in 1982 bought his greatest hits LP and his final hit of 1984 "Language Of Love". Like most I was hoping he'd survive his illness but now another great musician and songwriter is gone.

It always bothered me that people disposed of his albums,as if they held no merit anymore. I'd go to the used record stores and there'd be rows of them,in poor shape too. very insulting for a mna who made such good music to listen too.

Here's to you and your work Dan and those 11 wonderful hits:

Part of The Plan
Heart Hotels
Hard To Say
Longer
Missing You
The Power Of Gold
Make Love Stay
Leader Of The Band (always choked me up).
Run For The Roses
Same Old Lang Syne
Language Of Love

Rest in peace Dan Fogerlberg,for whether we like it or not,it really is part of the plan.

[Gord H]

I'm shocked to hear this... :( I was never a big fan of his music)but his two signature songs were a staple with my dad when I was younger.

RIP Dan

[charlene]

Toronto - CITY TV

'Longer' And 'Leader Of The Band' Singer Dan Fogelberg Dies But Leaves Message Behind
Monday December 17, 2007
CityNews.ca Staff
He wasn't a huge hit maker, but you probably remember a few of his biggest songs. Dan Fogelberg, the singer-songwriter who took "Leader of the Band" and "Same Old Lang Syne" to the top of the charts in the 1980s, died on Sunday.

The musician had been suffering from prostate cancer for three years and his case wasn't diagnosed quickly enough to save his life. "Dan left us this morning at 6am," read a notice on the singer's official website. "He fought a brave battle with cancer and died peacefully at home in Maine with his wife Jean at his side. His strength, dignity and grace in the face of the daunting challenges of this disease were an inspiration to all who knew him."

"Leader" was about a bandleader and was a tribute to his father, while the melancholy "Syne" dealt with a man who ran into his old girlfriend while on vacation - something that actually happened to him in the mid-70s. Other hits included "Longer", "Run For the Roses" and "The Power of Gold." Fogelberg never had the presence of some of his contemporaries, yet he managed to earn several platinum and multi-platinum records with his soft-rock sound. He often credited the Beatles and Canadians Joni Mitchell and Gordon Lightfoot, among others, with influencing his sound.

He was an avid environmentalist before it became a modern-day cause and put out his last album called "Full Circle" in 2003. But he never got to tour for it, receiving his cancer prognosis the following year.

Fogelberg's last message didn't come in a song. It was a plea on his website to men in their 40s and 50s. "Prostate cancer can be very slow growing or very aggressive, but detected early while it is still confined to the prostate gland, it can usually be treated and cured successfully," he wrote. "Do yourself and your loved ones a huge favor and GET CHECKED REGULARLY. I promise you, you DON'T want to go through what I'm going through if you can avoid it."

It's sage advice from a man who knew what he was talking about - Fogelberg was just 56.

[charlene]

Toronto Star:

Dan Fogelberg, 56: Singer-songwriter

Dec 17, 2007 07:15 AM
Richard Ouzounian
Entertainment Reporter

The troubador of might-have-been has sung his final song.

Dan Fogelberg, the singer-songwriter whose melodies about feelings kept unspoken and loves left unrequited touched the hearts of a generation, died yesterday morning at the age of 56.

He passed away at his home in Maine with his wife Jean at his side after a three-year struggle with prostate cancer.

Born Daniel Grayling Fogelberg in Peoria, Ill., on Aug. 13, 1951,his mother was a pianist and his father a high school band director (and the inspiration for his hit “Leader of the Band”).

After an eclectic early musical career, working as a folk singer and session musician for the likes of Van Morrison, he broke through in 1974 with his song “Part of the Plan.”

Over the next decade, he released numerous gold and platinum albums, two of them created with jazz flutist Tim Weisberg.

His 1979 anthem of love, “Longer,” was his most successful song, but his career took a different turn with his double album song cycle The Innocent Age, released in October 1981.

In it, Fogelberg seemed to have found his true voice, but it was one made up of melancholy and regret.

Three of the giant hits from that recording, all of which still maintain their popularity today, touch on the necessity of grabbing the right moment or spending the rest of one’s life regretting it.

“Run for the Roses” declares that “Your fate is delivered/Your moment’s at hand/It’s the chance of a lifetime/In a lifetime of chance.”

Yet more often than not, the chances slipped away. “Leader of the Band” is a tribute to the major role his father had in shaping his life, but it ends with the realization that “I don’t think I said `I love you’ near enough.”

And most famously, “Same Old Lang Syne,” frequently played at this time of year, tells of two old lovers meeting in a convenience store on Christmas Eve who “tried to reach beyond the emptiness/But neither one knew how.”

In a way, Fogelberg spent the next 13 years of his career in the same empty fashion, futilely trying to reconnect with the public the way he had with his earlier songs.

He moved from bluegrass to rock, from social songs to more elegiac pieces and the critics acclaimed him, but finding a new vessel for the perfect plaintive note that his woodwind of a voice captured in the early ’80s remained elusive.

In the end, he sang one kind of song so well that his fans never really wanted to hear him sing any other. Maybe that was our tragedy as much as his.

In an interview with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel in 1997, he said those songs weren’t really a reflection of what he was like. “I’m not a dour person in the least. I’m actually kind of a happy person.”

But that’s the living legacy to the leader of the band.

[paddletothesea]

Another great man, singer, voice, songwriter passes away.
Sad to hear Dan Fogelberg died this past sunday.
http://www.danfogelberg.com
NM

[closetcanadian]

Very sad news indeed. And he was only 56 years young. Taken from his loved ones and fans much too soon. Another gifted singer-songwriter who will be greatly missed...

[Jesse Joe]

This to me has to be the most beautiful song he wrote !



YouTube - LONGER THAN - Dan Fogelberg

[Jesse Joe]

Leader Of The Band

YouTube - In Memory of Dan Fogelberg

[Borderstone]

In '84 he did a beautiful song from Windows and "Walls" that was the follow up to "Language of Love",called "Believe In Me".

The last new song I heard from him was in 1990/1991,from "The Wild Places" album. It was a brilliant cover version of "Rhythm Of the Rain" (originally by The Cascades). At the end of the song,he segues into The Beatles "Rain",singing,"When the rain comes,you might a well, etc..."

[Kathy Number Four]

I LOVED Dan Fogelberg! I have several of his albums. My favorite song was "Longer". And the songs "Leader of the Band" and "Same Old Lang Syne" never fail to bring a lump to my throat. I'm so sad that he's gone! :( :( :(

[talbot10]

In '84 he did a beautiful song from Windows and "Walls" that was the follow up to "Language of Love",called "Believe In Me".

The last new song I heard from him was in 1990/1991,from "The Wild Places" album. It was a brilliant cover version of "Rhythm Of the Rain" (originally by The Cascades). At the end of the song,he segues into The Beatles "Rain",singing,"When the rain comes,you might a well, etc..."

That is a stunning song indeed Border! I love his music. I waited for his new albums like I did lightfoot and Leo Kottke in my younger days! Very sad indeed. There is a beautiful live performance of "Believe in me" on youtube.

YouTube - Believe In Me - Dan Fogelberg Live!
Bill

[Affair on Touhy Ave.]

Notice How Part Of The Plan and Power Of Gold sound somewhat simmiliar?

I know P.O.T.P was in 74 and P.O.G. was in 78 but I wonder if both songs were written about the same time and Power might of been held back a few years for whatever reasons?


1 song I like by Dan is Missing You.

[Jesse Joe]

YouTube - Missing You - Dan Fogelberg Live 1987

[Borderstone]

I had today off and went out record hunting. I noticed at the store I went to that,now that he's gone,people are getting rid of their albums. :(

I've noticed this strange occourence when other singers haev passd away recently. Why would you not keep them?

Anyhow,I saw a 45 w/picture sleeved (a bit crinckled with age) of Dan's "Same Old Lang Syne",which co-incidently I heard on the radio last night.
I almost bought it for $1.00 but for some reason,I changed my mind. Trying to save money I guess,since I already had a $4 CCR album and $7.50 Ray Charles CD.

[The Rez]

From those long-ago days when puberty was but a dream, I discovered the roster of those Music-Makers who, however briefly, touched my heart deeply grew longer w/ each Season of Discovery. Most often, that *touch* included the desire to perform The Music myownself.

The Season is neverending . . .

Came a Time when Dan joined The Passing Parade . . . staying considerably longer than most.

A buddy, Danny Murikami, was Dan's *guitar guy* on the late 70's - early 80's solo tours. No, Danny didn't play - he tuned. Danny parked himself behind amp stacks and stage foliage; ran out long enough to trade instruments w/ Dan; ran back into his redoubt; and tuned away.

The solo tours called for boucous guitars, so Danny was kept mighty busy. One date at then-Irvine Meadows, I sneaked out w/ Danny just before second set lights came up. Very cool to just sit out there in hiding watching Danny's Frenzy in service of Dan's Peaceableness . . . as The Precious Music floated across the summer night.

Dan couldn't have done w/o Danny - and the other way 'round.

Sweet . . .

Rez

[timetraveler]

I'll have to say that it came as something of a shock to hear of his passing on the radio. I was in the middle of fixing breakfast when I heard & can remember thinking that maybe I was just imagining what I had just heard. Sad to say, it looks like I wasn't. He did put out some really sweet, romance music in his time, the kind that was clean & family friendly. He will be greatly missed.