Singer, songwriter Dan Fogelberg, 56, dead of prostate cancer
Dan Fogelberg, the singer/songwriter whose hits included Longer, Leader of the Band, and Power of Gold has died today at the age of 56. The cause of death was announced as prostate cancer.
Fogelberg was born Daniel Grayling Fogelberg on August 13, 1951 in Peoria, Illinois, USA. He recorded other hits like Make Love Stay, which hit number-one on the Adult contemporary charts.
A note on Fogelberg’s web site announced his passing. “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,” said the note. “His strength, dignity and grace in the face of the daunting challenges of this disease were an inspiration to all who knew him.”
Fogelberg is survived by his wife Jean and brothers Marc and Peter.
BACKGROUND
Early life and family
Dan Fogelberg, the youngest of Lawrence and Margaret (Young) Fogelberg’s three sons, was born in Peoria, Illinois. His father was a high school band director who spent most of his career at Peoria Woodruff High School and Pekin High School, and his mother was a pianist. His father would later be the inspiration for the song “Leader of the Band”. Using a Mel Bay course book, Dan taught himself to play a Hawaiian slide guitar his grandfather gave to him; he also learned to play the piano. He started his music career at age 14 when he joined his first band, The Clan, which paid homage to The Beatles. His second band was another cover combo, The Coachmen, which, in 1967, released two singles on Ledger Records: “Maybe Time Will Let Me Forget” and “Don’t Want To Lose Her.”
Early musical career
After graduating from Woodruff High School in 1969, he studied theater arts and painting at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and began performing as a solo acoustic player in area coffeehouses. There, he was discovered in 1971 by Irving Azoff. Fogelberg and Azoff, who started his music-management career promoting another Illinois act, REO Speedwagon, moved to California to seek their fortunes. Fogelberg became a session musician who played with pop-folk artists like Van Morrison. In 1972, he released his debut album Home Free to lukewarm response. His second effort was much more successful: the 1974 Joe Walsh-produced album Souvenirs and its hit song “Part of the Plan” made him a major star.
Musical career
Following Souvenirs, Fogelberg released a string of gold and platinum albums Captured Angel in 1975; his masterpiece Nether Lands in 1977 and found commercial success with songs like “The Power of Gold,” “The Language of Love,” and “Lonely in Love”. His 1978 Twin Sons of Different Mothers was the first of two collaborations with jazz flutist Tim Weisberg. 1979’s Phoenix was his most successful with “Longer” which became a wedding standard. The Innocent Age, released in October 1981, reached the peak of critical and popular acclaim. The double album “song cycle” included three of his biggest hits: “Leader of the Band,” “Hard To Say,” and “Same Old Lang Syne,” based on a real-life accidental meeting with a former girlfriend. In 1984, he rocked again with Windows And Walls.
In 1985, Fogelberg released High Country Snows. Recorded in Nashville, it showcased his (and some of the industry’s best) talent in the bluegrass genre. Vince Gill, Ricky Skaggs, Doc Watson, Jerry Douglas, David Grisman, Chris Hillman and Herb Pedersen were among those who contributed to the record. 1987 heralded a return to rock with the release of Exiles, while 1990’s The Wild Places was a tribute to Earth preservation. In 1991, he released the live album, Greetings from the West.
River of Souls, released in 1993, was Fogelberg’s last studio album for Sony Records. In 1997, Portrait encompassed his career with four discs, each highlighting a different facet of his music: “Ballads,” “Rock and Roll,” “Tales and Travels” (which displayed his talents as a narrative songwriter) and “Hits.” In 1999, he fulfilled a career-long dream of creating a Christmas album called First Christmas Morning and, in 2003, Full Circle showcased a return to the folk-influenced, 1970s soft rock-style of music for which he and other singer-songwriters from his era had gained popular recognition.
A very personal songwriter, Fogelberg also used his music to address social issues, among them peace and Native American concerns. He was particularly outspoken about his commitment to the environment and to finding alternatives to nuclear power. To that end, Fogelberg performed at a number of the Musicians United for Safe Energy “No Nukes” concerts in 1979 and 1980.
His live concerts won acclaim across the nation over the years. Fogelberg said that one of his proudest moments came in 1979 when he played at New York’s Carnegie Hall for an audience that included his mother and father. Most summers, Fogelberg would perform with a full band or in a solo acoustic setting; the differing formats allowed the artist to show the breadth and depth of his talent as a singer, guitarist, pianist and bandleader. In 2002, fans showed their appreciation by choosing Fogelberg to be one of the first 10 inductees into the Performers Hall of Fame at the Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison, Colorado.
Final years
In May 2004, Fogelberg was diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer. He underwent hormonal therapy and achieved a partial remission, which did not eliminate his cancer, but reduced it and stopped its spread. On August 13, 2005, his 54th birthday, Fogelberg announced the success of his cancer treatments and he thanked fans for their support. He said that he had no immediate plans to return to making music, but was keeping his options open and enjoying spending time with his wife, musician Jean Fogelberg.
Fogelberg, who since 1982 lived on Mountain Bird Ranch, 610 acres near Pagosa Springs, Colorado, put the lavishly appointed property up for sale at an asking price of US$15 million in 2005.
Fogelberg died of cancer on December 16, 2007.
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December 17th, 2007 at 9:05 pm
So many young musicians with prostate cancer: http://www.laprp.com/patients_speak_detail.php?aid=51
December 18th, 2007 at 8:38 am
I see a lot of famous men that have had or do have prostate cancer. Many have died. Yet the only fund raising I see being done is for breast cancer. There is a website for prostate cancer called “Me too” but I am sure they must get their share of “you hate women” or you would not complain about raising money for breast cancer.
I have been seeing Pink so much lately that I am starting to see red!