Singer/songwriter Dan Fogelberg died today at the age of 56. He died three years after being diagnosed with prostate cancer. His web site said, “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.”
Dan was born in Peoria, Illinois in 1951. He came from a musical family – his father was a high school band director and his mother was a pianist. In fact, his dad was the inspiration for one of Dan’s biggest hits – “Leader of the Band.” Dan taught himself to play the guitar and the piano.
As a teen, he was a member of a few bands. While in college, he began performing in local coffeehouses. He was discovered by Irving Azoff in 1971. Azoff was also the manager of REO Speedwagon. Dan became a session musician before releasing his first album Home Free. That album was not very successful, but his second album Souvenirs was, featuring the hit song “Part of the Plan.”
In the 70s and early 80s, Dan had a string of successful gold and platinum albums. He hit the charts with songs such as “The Power of Gold,” “The Language of Love,” and “Lonely in Love.” Another one of his biggest hits is one you have probably heard lately on the radio – “Same Old Lang Syne.” It is a Christmasy song based on a real life meeting of an old girlfriend.
Some people categorized Dan as “soft rock,” but in the mid-80s, he recorded some great bluegrass music in Nashville. In 1999, he released a Christmas album (First Christmas Morning” and in 2003, returned to his soft rock roots with Full Circle.
Dan wrote many of his songs about two things that were close to his heart – peace, the environment, and Native American concerns. Dan was inducted into the Performers Hall of Fame in 2002.
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