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An Incredible Talent With a Gorgeous Voice Silenced On Sunday...Dan Fogelberg Has Died at 56.
I was very saddened to learn that singer/songwriter Dan Fogelberg had passed away on Sunday, Dec. 16. He was known for a lot of his "pop" songs, but Fogelberg was extraordinarily talented at many levels. I think what I admired most was that in the cut throat world of music, he did what he wanted and how he wanted to do it.
Some folks classify his work as "folk." Others classify it as "pop." I've also heard "easy listening," "soft rock" and other descriptions. For me, it was simply "the work of Dan Fogelberg." It seemed to me to be more of a mood that he chose to deliver, more so than trying to play to a certain genre. His bluegrass work is simply righteous! "Wandering Shepherd" is one of my all time favorites, as is "Down the Road."
Dan Fogelberg was one of many influences in my writing, how I play my guitar and how to "deliver" a song. His words are known to us all. You might not recall the name immediately, but upon hearing the song, you'd say OH YEAH! I know him now! (How many weddings since "Longer" was released have you been to where that song wasn't at least played, if not sung?) He spoke to your heart as he sang simple a song telling of a Christmas Eve impromptu meeting in a grocery store, (Same Old Lang Syne-true story), deeply haunting songs that didn't make the mainstream like Souvenirs, the well remembered Leader of the Band...Run for the Roses...the list goes on and on. My brother called Tuesday night to ask if I had "heard." No, I had not. I didn't know that Dan Fogelberg had passed away. Memories flooded my mind and ran so quickly through the late 70's and into the 80's when my brother and I would spend hours discussing our musical favorites. We have always had the same basic tastes in music, so those discussions were easy and usually pretty intense in terms of what we loved to listen to. Dan Fogleberg was an artist at many levels. He started as a painter, actually, then "switched" to music.
And what a musician he was. As well as being a writer, he played many instruments and played them all expertly.
In this day and age, the artistry of writing is so incredibly compromised, dictated by labels and creativity is so squelched. Dan Fogelberg was too young to leave a legacy. He had a lot left to give, but that was not meant to be. My hope and my prayer is that the younger generations of writers will pay careful attention to the lyrics and melodies of writers like Dan Fogelberg. The comparisons are many...James and Liv Taylor, Jimmy Buffett, Jackson Browne...there are a lot from that era that fell (to me) in the same genre. I'm listing men, but let's face it, men were the more recognized singer/songwriters in their day. Bonnie Raitt, Emmylou Harris and other wonderful female singers got the songs the men wrote. (Mary Chapin Carpenter helped to work on all that! Yet, now you barely hear from her.)
It's very discouraging when a talent like Dan Fogelberg is lost, in terms of creative, non-standard, no cookie cutter allowed song writing. I know I felt a deep loss last night when my brother told me. It's those pioneers of writing and crafting songs that make you "feel something right here" and I'm afraid that's all but lost in most every genre of music today. I learned of Dan Fogelberg in the late 70's. I was in Europe and a friend at the time named Anne Yonover asked me if I knew of him. She played "Part of the Plan." I knew the song, but not the singer, but you can bet I never forgot that name. By the time the LP (that's long play vinyl album for you young kids!) "PHOENIX" was released...one listen to "Tullamore Dew" and it was, once again, love at first listen. I would be afraid to guess how many times Quint and I played that record as loud as we could play it as well as over and over again! My collection of older Fogelberg (as well as my brother's) grew. We collected all the records, even the duet he did with Tim Weisberg (Twin Sons of Different Mothers). My brother told me he has the follow up called "No Resemblance Whatsoever."
On a serious note, Fogelberg was diagnosed in 2004 with advanced prostate cancer. If you go to his website (and I encourage you to do so), you can read a message that he had posted some time ago...along with a serious warning to all men. After 40, take your testing seriously. It is sadly a matter of life and death, as this post shows. Prostate cancer, like most cancers, if caught early, is very treatable. But, it's up to you menfolk out there to be responsible for your health in that regard! Read the post on the website. It is now a chilling reminder that we are mortal.
I am grateful to know and love the music that Dan Fogelberg made. It's hard to imagine that there won't be another collection of his work and that future generations will not know the true depth of his creativity. Most of all, I'm sorry he left us so soon.
Your voice, your words and your melodies are already missed Dan Fogelberg. Rest in peace. I was thinking last night, I guess you're with "The Leader of the Band" right now. I'll be listening to "Souvenirs" in your honor. *Thanks for giving my brother and me many good memories together with the love of your music that we share.
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Some folks classify his work as "folk." Others classify it as "pop." I've also heard "easy listening," "soft rock" and other descriptions. For me, it was simply "the work of Dan Fogelberg." It seemed to me to be more of a mood that he chose to deliver, more so than trying to play to a certain genre. His bluegrass work is simply righteous! "Wandering Shepherd" is one of my all time favorites, as is "Down the Road."
Dan Fogelberg was one of many influences in my writing, how I play my guitar and how to "deliver" a song. His words are known to us all. You might not recall the name immediately, but upon hearing the song, you'd say OH YEAH! I know him now! (How many weddings since "Longer" was released have you been to where that song wasn't at least played, if not sung?) He spoke to your heart as he sang simple a song telling of a Christmas Eve impromptu meeting in a grocery store, (Same Old Lang Syne-true story), deeply haunting songs that didn't make the mainstream like Souvenirs, the well remembered Leader of the Band...Run for the Roses...the list goes on and on. My brother called Tuesday night to ask if I had "heard." No, I had not. I didn't know that Dan Fogelberg had passed away. Memories flooded my mind and ran so quickly through the late 70's and into the 80's when my brother and I would spend hours discussing our musical favorites. We have always had the same basic tastes in music, so those discussions were easy and usually pretty intense in terms of what we loved to listen to. Dan Fogleberg was an artist at many levels. He started as a painter, actually, then "switched" to music.
And what a musician he was. As well as being a writer, he played many instruments and played them all expertly.
In this day and age, the artistry of writing is so incredibly compromised, dictated by labels and creativity is so squelched. Dan Fogelberg was too young to leave a legacy. He had a lot left to give, but that was not meant to be. My hope and my prayer is that the younger generations of writers will pay careful attention to the lyrics and melodies of writers like Dan Fogelberg. The comparisons are many...James and Liv Taylor, Jimmy Buffett, Jackson Browne...there are a lot from that era that fell (to me) in the same genre. I'm listing men, but let's face it, men were the more recognized singer/songwriters in their day. Bonnie Raitt, Emmylou Harris and other wonderful female singers got the songs the men wrote. (Mary Chapin Carpenter helped to work on all that! Yet, now you barely hear from her.)
It's very discouraging when a talent like Dan Fogelberg is lost, in terms of creative, non-standard, no cookie cutter allowed song writing. I know I felt a deep loss last night when my brother told me. It's those pioneers of writing and crafting songs that make you "feel something right here" and I'm afraid that's all but lost in most every genre of music today. I learned of Dan Fogelberg in the late 70's. I was in Europe and a friend at the time named Anne Yonover asked me if I knew of him. She played "Part of the Plan." I knew the song, but not the singer, but you can bet I never forgot that name. By the time the LP (that's long play vinyl album for you young kids!) "PHOENIX" was released...one listen to "Tullamore Dew" and it was, once again, love at first listen. I would be afraid to guess how many times Quint and I played that record as loud as we could play it as well as over and over again! My collection of older Fogelberg (as well as my brother's) grew. We collected all the records, even the duet he did with Tim Weisberg (Twin Sons of Different Mothers). My brother told me he has the follow up called "No Resemblance Whatsoever."
On a serious note, Fogelberg was diagnosed in 2004 with advanced prostate cancer. If you go to his website (and I encourage you to do so), you can read a message that he had posted some time ago...along with a serious warning to all men. After 40, take your testing seriously. It is sadly a matter of life and death, as this post shows. Prostate cancer, like most cancers, if caught early, is very treatable. But, it's up to you menfolk out there to be responsible for your health in that regard! Read the post on the website. It is now a chilling reminder that we are mortal.
I am grateful to know and love the music that Dan Fogelberg made. It's hard to imagine that there won't be another collection of his work and that future generations will not know the true depth of his creativity. Most of all, I'm sorry he left us so soon.
Your voice, your words and your melodies are already missed Dan Fogelberg. Rest in peace. I was thinking last night, I guess you're with "The Leader of the Band" right now. I'll be listening to "Souvenirs" in your honor. *Thanks for giving my brother and me many good memories together with the love of your music that we share.
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