Dan Fogelberg

{{Infobox musical artist

| name = Dan Fogelberg

| image = Dan Fogelberg 1974.JPG

| caption = Fogelberg in 1974

| birth_name = Daniel Grayling Fogelberg

| alias =

| birth_date = {{birth date|1951|8|13}}

| birth_place = Peoria, Illinois, U.S.

| death_date = {{death date and age|2007|12|16|1951|8|13}}

| death_place = Deer Isle, Maine, U.S.

| origin =

| instrument = {{hlist|Vocals|guitar|bass|piano|keyboards}}

| genre = {{Hlist|Rock|country|folk|folk rock|soft rock|pop rock|pop}}

| occupation = {{hlist|Singer|musician|songwriter|composer}}

| years_active = 1968–2007

| label = Columbia, Full Moon, Epic, Giant, Mailboat

| website = {{URL|https://danfogelberg.com}}

}}

Daniel Grayling Fogelberg{{cite web| title= Artist Biography| website= danfogelberg.com| first= Bruce| last= Eder| url= http://www.danfogelberg.com/ederbiography.html| archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20160104025438/http://www.danfogelberg.com/ederbiography.html| archivedate= January 4, 2016| access-date= August 13, 2021}} (August 13, 1951 – December 16, 2007) was an American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist widely known for his 1970s and 1980s soft rock hits, including "Longer" (1979), "Same Old Lang Syne" (1981), and "Leader of the Band" (1982).

Early life and family

Dan Fogelberg was born in Peoria, Illinois. He was the youngest of three sons born to Margaret (née Irvine), (1920–2015), a classically trained pianist, and Lawrence Peter Fogelberg, (1911–1982), a band director at Woodruff High School in Peoria, at Pekin Community High School in Pekin, Illinois,{{Cite web |url= http://www.treehouse.org/fogelberg/biography.html |title= Biography |website= Treehouse.org |publisher = Wynn Drumm |location= Waxahachie, Texas |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180718001530/http://www.treehouse.org/fogelberg/biography.html |archive-date = July 18, 2018 |access-date= July 28, 2020 }} and at Bradley University in Peoria.{{cite web|title= Leader Of The Band by Dan Fogelberg |website= SongFacts.com |url= https://www.songfacts.com/facts/dan-fogelberg/leader-of-the-band|access-date=January 10, 2018}} Fogelberg's mother was a Scottish immigrant and his father was of Swedish descent.{{cite news |last= Lyons|first=Dee |title= Dan Fogelberg: Singer to Shine at Starfest |work= The Dallas Morning News|date=June 26, 1987| url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=DM&p_theme=dm&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0ED3CF439607F165&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM|access-date=December 19, 2007}}

Fogelberg often related his story of his father having allowed him to "conduct" the Bradley University school band at age 14. In 1981, Fogelberg released the song "Leader of the Band", which was written for and inspired by his father.

Using a Mel Bay course book, Fogelberg taught himself to play a Hawaiian slide guitar that his grandfather had given him. He also learned to play the piano. At age 14, he joined a band, The Clan, which covered The Beatles. His second band was another cover band, The Coachmen, who, in 1967, released a single with both tracks written by Fogelberg, recorded at Golden Voice Recording studio in South Pekin, Illinois, and released on the Ledger Record label: "Maybe Time Will Let Me Forget" and "Don't Want to Lose Her".{{cite web| url= https://www.danfogelberg.com/early-rpms |title=Early Recordings| first= |last= |website= danfogelberg.com| publisher=| date= |access-date= August 13, 2021}}

After graduating from Woodruff High School in 1969, Fogelberg studied theater arts and painting at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He began performing as a solo acoustic player at a local coffeehouse, "The Red Herring", which is where he made his first solo recordings as part of a folk festival in 1971. He was discovered by Irving Azoff, who started his music management career promoting another Champaign-Urbana act, REO Speedwagon. Azoff sent Fogelberg to Nashville, Tennessee, to hone his skills. There he became a session musician and recorded his first album with producer Norbert Putnam. In 1972, Fogelberg released his debut album Home Free to a lukewarm response, although it eventually reached platinum status.{{cite web|title=Discography – Home Free|url=http://www.danfogelberg.com/infohomefree.html|website=danfogelberg.com|access-date=February 8, 2016|archive-date=March 4, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304054857/http://www.danfogelberg.com/infohomefree.html|url-status=dead}}

He performed as an opening act for Van Morrison in the early 1970s.{{cite web|title= Dan Fogelberg |url= http://www.mtv.com/news/500252/dan-fogelberg/ |date=August 12, 1998|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190111121448/http://www.mtv.com/news/500252/dan-fogelberg/ |url-status= dead |archive-date= January 11, 2019 |website= MTV.com |access-date=January 10, 2018}}

Career

WZZQ, a radio station in Jackson, Mississippi, gave Home Free a lot of airplay and some local promoters secured the City Auditorium in Jackson for a concert. They sold out the show in ten days and when they called Fogelberg's agent to let him know the show sold out, he was in disbelief because Fogelberg had been playing in clubs with less than 100 people in attendance, whereas the City Auditorium had 2,500 seats. On February 22, 1974, this show was broadcast and recorded by WZZQ and can be found on YouTube.{{Cite web|last=Watkins|first=Billy|title=Fogelberg tribute album stirs memories of when Jackson made him believe in himself|url=https://www.clarionledger.com/story/magnolia/2017/12/03/fogelberg-tribute-album-stirs-memories-when-jackson-made-him-believe-himself/912481001/|date=December 2, 2017|access-date=February 13, 2022|website=The Clarion-Ledger|language=en-US}}{{Cite web|title=Dan Fogelberg, Jackson and WZZQ|url=https://www.radiodiscussions.com/threads/dan-fogelberg-jackson-and-wzzq.521234/|access-date=February 13, 2022|website=Radio Discussions|date=December 17, 2007 |language=en-US}}

Fogelberg's second effort was successful – the 1974 Joe Walsh-produced album Souvenirs. The song "Part of the Plan" became his first hit. Fogelberg also received contributions from the Eagles throughout the album. He had toured with the Eagles during this time. After Souvenirs, he released a string of gold and platinum albums, including Captured Angel (1975) and Nether Lands (1977).

His 1978 Twin Sons of Different Mothers was the first of two collaborations with jazz flutist Tim Weisberg, which found commercial success with songs such as "The Power of Gold".{{YouTube|_8RPLbfY9 km|The Power of Gold video used in the ABC 1980 Olympics}}

Phoenix, from 1979, reached the top 10, with "Longer" becoming a #2 pop hit in 1980 and peaking at number 59 on the UK Singles Chart – his sole entry on that chart. This LP eventually sold two million copies. It was followed by a Top 20 hit "Heart Hotels". The album also reached number 42 on the UK Albums Chart, likewise his only entry on that chart.

In 1980, Fogelberg appeared on the soundtrack to the film Urban Cowboy{{Cite web|url=http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0081696/soundtrack|title=Urban Cowboy (1980) |website=IMDb.com|access-date=September 8, 2019}} with his song "Times Like These". He performed live on television for the first time.

The Innocent Age, released in October 1981, was Fogelberg's critical and commercial peak. The double album included four of his biggest hits: "Same Old Lang Syne", "Hard to Say", "Leader of the Band", and "Run for the Roses". He drew inspiration for The Innocent Age from Thomas Wolfe's novel Of Time and the River. A 1982 greatest hits album contained two new songs, both of which were released as singles: "Missing You" and "Make Love Stay". In 1984, he released the album Windows and Walls, containing the singles "The Language of Love" and "Believe in Me".

Fogelberg released High Country Snows in 1985. Recorded in Nashville, it showcased his and some of the industry's best talent in bluegrass. Vince Gill, Ricky Skaggs, Doc Watson, Jerry Douglas, David Grisman, Chris Hillman, and Herb Pedersen contributed to the record. In a world he defined as "life in the fast lane", Fogelberg described the music as "life in the off-ramp". In late 1985, he switched gears and took to the road with a group of musician friends, including Joe Vitale, Paul Harris, Tino Gonzales, Jeff Grossberg and Rick Rosas, playing blues in small clubs throughout Colorado as Frankie and the Aliens, covering songs by Cream and Muddy Waters, among others.{{Cite web

|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=u70MAAAAIBAJ&dq=fogelberg%201985&pg=4746%2C3492537

|title=St. Petersburg Times – Google News Archive Search

|website=News.google.com

|access-date=June 6, 2010

}}{{Dead link|date=January 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} 1987 heralded a return to rock with Exiles, an album that contained "What You're Doing", a throwback to the old Stax Records sound made famous in Memphis during the 1960s. The Wild Places, an album whose theme was the preservation of nature, was released in 1990 followed by a tour. His live Greetings From The West album, and full-length concert film (with interview segments) of the same name, were released in 1991.

River of Souls, released in 1993, was Fogelberg's last studio album for Sony Records. In 1997, the box set Portrait encompassed his career with four discs, each highlighting a different facet of his music. In 1999, he released a Christmas album, The First Christmas Morning, and in 2003, Full Circle showcased a return to the folk-influenced 1970s soft rock style of music.

In May 2017, a live album of Fogelberg's performance at Carnegie Hall, championed by his wife,{{cite web | url=https://www.danfogelberg.com/live-at-carnegie-hall | title=Live at Carnegie Hall }} sourced from a 1979 tape made by his touring sound company, was released. It peaked at No. 71 on the Billboard album chart on June 10, 2017,{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/music/dan-fogelberg|title=Dan Fogelberg Live At Carnegie Hall Chart History|magazine=Billboard}} becoming the first of Fogelberg's live albums to chart on the Billboard Top 200 chart.

Personal life

Fogelberg was married three times: to Maggie Slaymaker from 1982 to 1985, to Anastasia Savage from 1991 to 1996 and to musician Jean Marie Mayer from 2002 until he died in 2007.{{Cite web

|url=http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/Dan-Fogelberg-Biography/C6036D58E537441148256AAB002148FE

|title=DAN FOGELBERG BIOGRAPHY

|work=sing365.com

|access-date=June 6, 2010

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090210085046/http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/Dan-Fogelberg-Biography/C6036D58E537441148256AAB002148FE

|archive-date=February 10, 2009

|url-status=dead

}}{{IMDb name|id=1199245|section=bio|name=Dan Fogelberg}}. Retrieved June 6, 2010.

From the early 1980s until his cancer diagnosis, Fogelberg lived near Pagosa Springs, Colorado, on a working ranch, which housed a recording studio that he built. He also owned a home in Maine on Deer Isle, overlooking Eggemoggin Reach.{{cite news| last = Witkowski| first = Robert| title = Wild Child| newspaper = Portland Monthly| location = Portland, Maine| date = March 2010| url = http://www.portlandmonthly.com/portmag/2010/03/wild-child/| access-date = September 12, 2017| archive-date = April 26, 2021| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210426202033/https://www.portlandmonthly.com/portmag/2010/03/wild-child/| url-status = dead}}

= Cancer diagnosis and death =

In May 2004, Fogelberg was diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer. After undergoing therapy, his cancer went into partial remission. In August 2005, Fogelberg announced the success of his cancer treatments. However, his cancer returned and on December 16, 2007, Fogelberg died at home in Deer Isle, Maine, at the age of 56.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/17/arts/music/17fogelberg.html|title=Dan Fogelberg, Lyric Rocker, Dies at 56|newspaper=New York Times|date=December 17, 2007}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-fogelberg17dec17-story.html|title=Singer-songwriter helped define soft rock|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=December 17, 2007}}{{Cite magazine|url=https://variety.com/2007/music/markets-festivals/singer-dan-fogelberg-dies-at-56-1117977824/|title=Singer Dan Fogelberg dies at 56|magazine=Variety|date=December 16, 2007}}{{Cite web |url= http://www.dfpeoria.com/|title=Dan Fogelberg – A Tribute to a Native Son of Peoria, Illinois |website=Dfpeoria.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100918210231/http://www.dfpeoria.com/|archive-date=September 18, 2010 |url-status=dead |access-date=June 6, 2010 }} Fogelberg was cremated and his ashes were scattered on Eggemoggin Reach (from his song, "The Reach") off the coast of Maine.

In 2009, Fogelberg's widow, Jean Fogelberg, produced Love in Time, a collection of 11 previously unpublished songs that Fogelberg had asked her to release after his death.{{Cite web |url=http://danfogelberg.com/infosometimesasong.html |title=Dan Fogelberg Official Website |work=DanFogelberg.com |access-date=June 6, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100304043527/http://www.danfogelberg.com/infosometimesasong.html |archive-date=March 4, 2010|url-status=dead}} Love in Time became the first Dan Fogelberg album to chart since River of Souls in 1993, reaching number 117 on the Billboard Top 200 on October 10, 2009.{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/music/dan-fogelberg|title=Dan Fogelberg Love In Time Chart History|magazine=Billboard}}

Legacy

In tribute to Dan and his father Lawrence Fogelberg, Peoria renamed Abington Street in the city's East Bluff neighborhood "Fogelberg Parkway". The street runs along the northeast side of Woodruff High School, Fogelberg's alma mater and where his father was a teacher and bandleader. Fogelberg Parkway continues to the intersection of N. Prospect and E. Frye, the location of the convenience store where Fogelberg ran into his high school sweetheart one Christmas Eve – as described in the song "Same Old Lang Syne". A group of Fogelberg fans created a memorial garden in Riverfront Park in 2010.

In 2017, ten years after the singer's death, Jean Fogelberg released Dan Fogelberg - Live at Carnegie Hall which immediately became a fan favorite. That same year, she released a CD tribute to Dan's work, A Tribute to Dan Fogelberg, with performances by his old friend and producer Joe Walsh with Eagles, Garth Brooks, Trisha Yearwood, Vince Gill, Amy Grant, Jimmy Buffett, Michael McDonald, Randy Owen, Donna Summer, Boz Scaggs, Dobie Gray, the Zac Brown Band, and other artists.{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-country/dan-fogelberg-tribute-album-garth-brooks-zac-brown-honor-late-singer-124374/ |title=Dan Fogelberg Tribute Album |magazine=Rolling Stone |date=December 15, 2017 |access-date=January 10, 2019}} Seven years in the making, the tribute CD was co-produced by Jean, with major assistance from Dan Fogelberg's friend, producer and arranger Norbert Putnam; Fogelberg's longtime friend and manager, Irving Azoff; and Denver music promoter Chuck Morris.{{Cite web| url= https://www.danfogelberg.com/a-tribute-to-dan-fogelbergl|title=Tribute To Dan Fogelberg|first=Jean|last=Fogelberg|website=Danfogelberg}}{{Cite web| url=https://303magazine.com/2018/11/qa-chuck-morris-colorado/|title=Q&A – Chuck Morris Reflects On His Legendary Career Before Hall Of Fame Induction |website=303magazine.com|date=November 27, 2018}} In conjunction with the tribute CD, Fogelberg was inducted into the Colorado Music Hall of Fame at its "Rocky Mountain Way" induction concert at Fiddler's Green Amphitheater on Fogelberg's birthday, August 13, 2017.{{cite web|url=https://theknow.denverpost.com/2017/06/05/garth-brooks-colorado-music-hall-of-fame-concert-2017/146822/|title=Garth Brooks, Joe Walsh to play 2017 Colorado Music Hall of Fame concert|website=Denver Post|date=June 5, 2017|access-date=July 15, 2018|archive-date=July 16, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180716082320/https://theknow.denverpost.com/2017/06/05/garth-brooks-colorado-music-hall-of-fame-concert-2017/146822/|url-status=dead}}

Part of the Plan is a musical using the music of Fogelberg. Starring Harley Jay and Kate Morgan Chadwick,{{cite web| url= https://www.newschannel5.com/talk-of-the-town/tpac-original-musical-part-of-the-plan-preview|title=TPAC Original Musical 'Part of the Plan' Preview |date= September 12, 2017| website= newschannel5.com| publisher= Scripps Media| access-date= August 13, 2021}} it opened on September 8, 2017, at the Tennessee Performing Arts Center (TPAC) in Nashville. Written by Kate Atkinson & Karen Harris of K-Squared Entertainment, the new musical played nineteen performances in TPAC's James K. Polk Theatre in September 2017 and swept the 2017 Broadway World Regional Awards with 15 wins including BEST NEW WORK

and BEST MUSICAL.{{cite web|url=http://www.danfogelbergmusical.com/| title= Home| website= DanFogelbergMusical.com |access-date=September 12, 2017}}

My Morning Jacket frontman Jim James has cited Fogelberg as a musical favorite and an influence, with "Leader of the Band" being the first single he ever bought.{{Cite web|url=https://fans.com/posts/36236|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190404103648/https://fans.com/posts/36236|url-status=dead|archive-date=April 4, 2019|title=40 Things You Should Know About Jim James| website=Fans.com}} James' home studio features a Trident Series 80 recording console that formerly belonged to Fogelberg.{{Cite web| url= https://vertigorecordingservices.blogspot.com/2011/02/with-jim-james.html|title=Vertigorecordingservices: with Jim James... |website= vertigorecordingservies.blogspot.com| date=February 10, 2011}} Garth Brooks has stated that Fogelberg influenced his music. "There are songs that people say are the soundtrack of your life... In college, I would take out my Dan Fogelberg records and would read a passage (of lyrics) from Fogelberg's work and go about my day. That was an artist who changed my life, who made me change where I wanted to go and the music I wanted to play and thus, led me here."{{cite web |work= Milwaukee Journal Sentinel |first= Piet |last= Levy|via= jsonline.com |title=Nine highlights from Garth Brooks, Trisha Yearwood press conference |date= September 25, 2015 |url= http://archive.jsonline.com/entertainment/musicandnightlife/nine-highlights-from-garth-brooks-tricia-yearwood-press-conference-b99584484z1-329596741.html/ |access-date=February 18, 2020}}

Discography

Albums

{{columns-list|

Home Free (1972)
Souvenirs (1974)
Captured Angel (1975)
Nether Lands (1977)
Twin Sons of Different Mothers (with Tim Weisberg; 1978)
Phoenix (1979)
The Innocent Age (1981)
Windows and Walls (1984)
High Country Snows (1985)
Exiles (1987)
The Wild Places (1990)
Live: Greetings From the West (1991)
River of Souls (1993)
No Resemblance Whatsoever (with Tim Weisberg; 1995)
Portrait -The Music of Dan Fogelberg (4 CD Box Set; 1997)
The First Christmas Morning (1999)
Live: Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed...and Some Blues (2000)
Full Circle (2003)
Love in Time (2009)
Dan Fogelberg - Live at Carnegie Hall (2017)