RIP Dan Fogelberg - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

Cynthetiq · 12-16-2007, 05:37 PM

Quote:

The leader of the band is tired
And his eyes are growing old
But his blood runs through
My instrument
And his song is in my soul --
My life has been a poor attempt
To imitate the man
Im just a living legacy
To the leader of the band
I am the living legacy
To the leader of the band.

This song is always an inspiration to me to be a better person in the world. Thank you for touching my life in a positive way.

Quote:

December 16, 2007
Singer - Songwriter Dan Fogelberg Dies
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 8:13 p.m. ET
LINK
NEW YORK (AP) -- Dan Fogelberg, the singer and songwriter whose hits ''Leader of the Band'' and ''Same Old Lang Syne'' helped define the soft-rock era, died Sunday at his home in Maine after battling prostate cancer. He was 56.

His death was announced Sunday in a statement by Anna Loynes of the Solters & Digney public relations agency, and was also posted on the singer's Web site.

''Dan left us this morning at 6:00 a.m. He fought a brave battle with cancer and died peacefully at home in Maine with his wife Jean at his side,'' it read. ''His strength, dignity and grace in the face of the daunting challenges of this disease were an inspiration to all who knew him.''

Fogelberg discovered he had advanced prostate cancer in 2004. In a statement then, he thanked fans for their support: ''It is truly overwhelming and humbling to realize how many lives my music has touched so deeply all these years. ... I thank you from the very depths of my heart.''

Fogelberg's music was powerful in its simplicity. He didn't rely on the volume of his voice to convey his emotions; instead, they came through in the soft, tender delivery and his poignant lyrics. Songs like ''Same Old Lang Syne'' -- in which a man reminisces after meeting an old girlfriend by chance during the holidays -- became classics not only because of his performance, but for the engaging storyline, as well.

Fogelberg's heydey was in the 1970s and early 80s, when he scored several platinum and multiplatinum records fueled by such hits as ''The Power of Gold'' and ''Leader of the Band,'' a touching tribute he wrote to his father, a bandleader. Fogelberg put out his first album in 1972.

Fogelberg's songs tended to have a weighty tone, reflecting on emotional issues in a serious way. But in an interview with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel in 1997, he said it did not represent his personality.

''That came from my singles in the early '80s,'' he reflects. ''I think it probably really started on the radio. I'm not a dour person in the least. I'm actually kind of a happy person. Music doesn't really reflect the whole person.

''One of my dearest friends is Jimmy Buffett. From his music, people have this perception that he's up all the time, and, of course, he's not. Jimmy has a serious side, too.''

Later in his career, he would write material that focused on the state of the environment, an issue close to his heart. Fogelberg's last album was 2003's ''Full Circle,'' his first album of original material in a decade. A year later he would receive his cancer diagnosis, forcing him to forgo a planned fall tour.

------

On the Net:

Dan Fogelberg: http://www.danfogelberg.com

Charlatan · 12-16-2007, 06:00 PM

I can only imagine how Quadro is feeling today...

noodle · 12-16-2007, 06:18 PM

I am sad.

Craven Morehead · 12-16-2007, 06:22 PM

One of my wife's favorite singers. Have been to many of his concerts, either solo or with his backing band. His best days were in the 80s for the most part but 56 is way to young to go, especially from prostate cancer. Its a slow moving disease, so he's had it for years. It normally doesn't happen to someone so young. My father in law died earlier this year from it at 90 and he had it for years. 56 was way too soon.

RIP Dan

hunnychile · 12-16-2007, 07:56 PM

Sad news.

Dan was a good song writer and performer and I will always enjoy his maudlin lyrics of "Same Old Lang Syne" around this time of the year.

At least he is no longer in pain and resting in peace.

God Bless him. Thanks for the tunes & memories, Dan!

ngdawg · 12-16-2007, 08:01 PM

I'm shocked... Rest in Peace, Sir.

BadNick · 12-16-2007, 08:14 PM

I always enjoyed his music. Death at just 56yo makes it all the more sad. R.I.P. Dan I'm hearing his tunes in my head right now.

jewels · 12-17-2007, 11:14 AM

I was truly shocked to hear this. I adored his music when I was a teen, and just bought Souvenirs on CD less than a year ago.

We'll miss you, Dan. Thank you for what you left behind.

*Nikki* · 12-17-2007, 12:45 PM

I love his music, how sad that he had to go.

flstf · 12-17-2007, 01:02 PM

Sad news, especially since he was not so old.
My favorite song of his is "Heart Hotels" reached No. 21 in 1980.

ottopilot · 12-17-2007, 04:26 PM

Really liked his first albums and "Netherlands" (saw that concert then).

He was not afraid to pronounce his "r"s.

DaveOrion · 12-17-2007, 06:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jewels443

I was truly shocked to hear this. I adored his music when I was a teen, and just bought Souvenirs on CD less than a year ago.

We'll miss you, Dan. Thank you for what you left behind.

I still have Netherlands & Souvenirs on actual albums.......I always found his music very soothing with a somewhat surreal quality. RIP bro......

Grancey · 12-17-2007, 09:10 PM

We drank a toast to innocence, we drank a toast to time
Reliving in our eloquence, another 'auld lang syne'

hunnychile · 12-21-2007, 02:53 PM

I just remembered how much I liked his song, "Part of the Plan." It got me through some long dark days when I was a kid.

Thankfully, I'm on the road to brighter days and feeling hopeful about 2008.

All the posts have been kind and that's nice to see...

guy44 · 12-22-2007, 01:18 PM

It's sad to hear of his passing; Fogelberg was the subject of a (not mean) running joke in my family.

A few years ago, my father, in one of his less successful attempts to prove how cool he is to me and my brother, mentioned that when he was in college at the University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana, he hung around the music scene which included a young Dan Fogelberg. Neither my brother nor I had ever heard of him until a couple weeks later, when we saw Baseketball, which includes a joke in which Ernest Borgnine says something along the lines of, "you kids with your rock music and your Dan Fogelberg!" In the movie, this particular name check elicited a "who?" look from Trey Parker and Matt Stone. My brother and I immediately began needling my dad about this joke, and went so far as to buy him Dan Fogelberg CDs for his birthday.

Incidentally, if you look up Fogelberg's entry on Wikipedia, it mentions that he was discovered by the same producer who discovered REO Speedwagon, a group that also attended U of I while my father was there. My dad has stories about joining a good friend of his, who was heavily involved in the music scene there, to steal a stereo set back from the REO Speedwagon guys after they all got into a dispute over ownership!

I'm not sure if I've ever heard a Dan Fogelberg song, but I think I'll make an effort now to look up his catalogue. RIP.

divagrrrl · 12-23-2007, 01:45 PM

So passes one of our greatest songwriters.

RIP Dan.

warrrreagl · 12-23-2007, 07:31 PM

Dan's music was indescribably elemental in my playing style and helping me develop my initial musicality. I can never even fully explain the debt I owe him for my music. For example, my finger-picking style was created by memorizing all of his. My chord fingerings were developed by trying to copy his. My ear-training is a direct result of trying to copy exactly what I heard him play coming out of my speakers. It was Fogelberg's music that first allowed me to hear a chord played on guitar and visualize that chord so I could tell what it was without having to look. My performance persona was developed by trying to copy what I imagined his to be as I played his music at friends' houses. My sense of blending came from playing chords while picking out the lower harmonies. I learned more from the potential of multi-tracking from his first album than anything else I'd ever heard before. My vocal harmonies were entirely indebted to his. I saw him play in Birmingham in 1978 and I was able to go back to my sister's house and play all the things he'd played that I'd never been able to play just from watching his hands. He absolutely gave birth to all of my formative musical spirit.

And now his spirit has moved on down the line.

Back in high school I was in the jazz band and on the fast track to becoming a jazz snob and growing "beyond" my Fogelberg-inspired acoustic roots. In New Orleans for a Jazz Festival, a friend and I went to a workshop with one of the guest guitarists and he showed us cool stuff like how to string our guitars different from what we'd normally done in the past. At one point, the guitarist asked me to play something for him and I had my Les Paul and the only thing I could think of was Old Tennessee. I know now that the guy wanted to hear some cool jazz fingerings and stuff but at the time Old Tennessee showed off my skills more than anything else. After I'd played through the intro, first verse, and first refrain, he stopped me and immediately trashed my playing style in front of God and everybody else in that room. It was obvious that he didn't think the song was valid and he ripped my thumb position, angle of the neck on the guitar, finger position between the frets, and everything else you can think of. After it was all over and my friend and I were walking back to the main auditorium I was thoroughly crushed and kind of pissed off that I'd played Fogelberg instead of something more jazzy. My friend simply said, "He was kind of an asshole wasn't he? I thought you sounded good." And that was all the vindication I ever needed to hear. It really DID sound good. I played it very well, and my friend and I both came to the conclusion of "fuck him."

Never be ashamed of where you come from.

12-16-2007, 06:00 PM	#2 (permalink)
Charlatan Getting it. Super Moderator Location: Lion City	I can only imagine how Quadro is feeling today... __________________ "My hands are on fire. Hands are on fire. Ain't got no more time for all you charlatans and liars." - Old Man Luedecke

12-16-2007, 07:56 PM	#5 (permalink)
hunnychile Alien Anthropologist Location: Between Boredom and Nirvana	Sad news. Dan was a good song writer and performer and I will always enjoy his maudlin lyrics of "Same Old Lang Syne" around this time of the year. At least he is no longer in pain and resting in peace. God Bless him. Thanks for the tunes & memories, Dan! __________________ "I need compassion, understanding and chocolate." - NJB

12-17-2007, 04:26 PM	#11 (permalink)
ottopilot let me be clear Location: Waddy Peytona	Really liked his first albums and "Netherlands" (saw that concert then). He was not afraid to pronounce his "r"s. __________________ "It rubs the lotion on Buffy, Jodi and Mr. French's skin" - Uncle Bill from Buffalo

12-17-2007, 09:10 PM	#13 (permalink)
Grancey Life's short, gotta hurry... Location: land of pit vipers	We drank a toast to innocence, we drank a toast to time Reliving in our eloquence, another 'auld lang syne' __________________ Quiet, mild-mannered souls might just turn out to be roaring lions of two-fisted cool.

12-21-2007, 02:53 PM	#14 (permalink)
hunnychile Alien Anthropologist Location: Between Boredom and Nirvana	I just remembered how much I liked his song, "Part of the Plan." It got me through some long dark days when I was a kid. Thankfully, I'm on the road to brighter days and feeling hopeful about 2008. All the posts have been kind and that's nice to see... __________________ "I need compassion, understanding and chocolate." - NJB

12-16-2007, 06:22 PM	#4 (permalink)
Craven Morehead Custom User Title	One of my wife's favorite singers. Have been to many of his concerts, either solo or with his backing band. His best days were in the 80s for the most part but 56 is way to young to go, especially from prostate cancer. Its a slow moving disease, so he's had it for years. It normally doesn't happen to someone so young. My father in law died earlier this year from it at 90 and he had it for years. 56 was way too soon. RIP Dan

12-16-2007, 08:01 PM	#6 (permalink)
ngdawg peekaboo Location: on the back, bitch	I'm shocked... Rest in Peace, Sir.

12-16-2007, 08:14 PM	#7 (permalink)
BadNick Riding the Ocean Spray Location: S.E. PA in U Sofa	I always enjoyed his music. Death at just 56yo makes it all the more sad. R.I.P. Dan I'm hearing his tunes in my head right now.

12-17-2007, 11:14 AM	#8 (permalink)
jewels Eponymous Location: Central Central Florida	I was truly shocked to hear this. I adored his music when I was a teen, and just bought Souvenirs on CD less than a year ago. We'll miss you, Dan. Thank you for what you left behind.

12-17-2007, 12:45 PM	#9 (permalink)
Nikki ~~~~~~~ Location: Charleston, SC	I love his music, how sad that he had to go.

12-17-2007, 01:02 PM	#10 (permalink)
flstf Easy Rider Location: Moscow on the Ohio	Sad news, especially since he was not so old. My favorite song of his is "Heart Hotels" reached No. 21 in 1980.

12-22-2007, 01:18 PM	#15 (permalink)
guy44 Somnabulist Location: corner of No and Where	It's sad to hear of his passing; Fogelberg was the subject of a (not mean) running joke in my family. A few years ago, my father, in one of his less successful attempts to prove how cool he is to me and my brother, mentioned that when he was in college at the University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana, he hung around the music scene which included a young Dan Fogelberg. Neither my brother nor I had ever heard of him until a couple weeks later, when we saw Baseketball, which includes a joke in which Ernest Borgnine says something along the lines of, "you kids with your rock music and your Dan Fogelberg!" In the movie, this particular name check elicited a "who?" look from Trey Parker and Matt Stone. My brother and I immediately began needling my dad about this joke, and went so far as to buy him Dan Fogelberg CDs for his birthday. Incidentally, if you look up Fogelberg's entry on Wikipedia, it mentions that he was discovered by the same producer who discovered REO Speedwagon, a group that also attended U of I while my father was there. My dad has stories about joining a good friend of his, who was heavily involved in the music scene there, to steal a stereo set back from the REO Speedwagon guys after they all got into a dispute over ownership! I'm not sure if I've ever heard a Dan Fogelberg song, but I think I'll make an effort now to look up his catalogue. RIP. __________________ "You have reached Ritual Sacrifice. For goats press one, or say 'goats.'"

12-23-2007, 01:45 PM	#16 (permalink)
divagrrrl Crazy Location: SoCal	So passes one of our greatest songwriters. RIP Dan.

12-23-2007, 07:31 PM	#17 (permalink)
warrrreagl pinche vato Location: backwater, Third World, land of cotton	Dan's music was indescribably elemental in my playing style and helping me develop my initial musicality. I can never even fully explain the debt I owe him for my music. For example, my finger-picking style was created by memorizing all of his. My chord fingerings were developed by trying to copy his. My ear-training is a direct result of trying to copy exactly what I heard him play coming out of my speakers. It was Fogelberg's music that first allowed me to hear a chord played on guitar and visualize that chord so I could tell what it was without having to look. My performance persona was developed by trying to copy what I imagined his to be as I played his music at friends' houses. My sense of blending came from playing chords while picking out the lower harmonies. I learned more from the potential of multi-tracking from his first album than anything else I'd ever heard before. My vocal harmonies were entirely indebted to his. I saw him play in Birmingham in 1978 and I was able to go back to my sister's house and play all the things he'd played that I'd never been able to play just from watching his hands. He absolutely gave birth to all of my formative musical spirit. And now his spirit has moved on down the line. Back in high school I was in the jazz band and on the fast track to becoming a jazz snob and growing "beyond" my Fogelberg-inspired acoustic roots. In New Orleans for a Jazz Festival, a friend and I went to a workshop with one of the guest guitarists and he showed us cool stuff like how to string our guitars different from what we'd normally done in the past. At one point, the guitarist asked me to play something for him and I had my Les Paul and the only thing I could think of was Old Tennessee. I know now that the guy wanted to hear some cool jazz fingerings and stuff but at the time Old Tennessee showed off my skills more than anything else. After I'd played through the intro, first verse, and first refrain, he stopped me and immediately trashed my playing style in front of God and everybody else in that room. It was obvious that he didn't think the song was valid and he ripped my thumb position, angle of the neck on the guitar, finger position between the frets, and everything else you can think of. After it was all over and my friend and I were walking back to the main auditorium I was thoroughly crushed and kind of pissed off that I'd played Fogelberg instead of something more jazzy. My friend simply said, "He was kind of an asshole wasn't he? I thought you sounded good." And that was all the vindication I ever needed to hear. It really DID sound good. I played it very well, and my friend and I both came to the conclusion of "fuck him." Never be ashamed of where you come from. __________________ Living is easy with eyes closed.