Dan Fogelberg facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Dan Fogelberg
Fogelberg in 1974
Background information
Birth name	Daniel Grayling Fogelberg
Born	(1951-08-13)August 13, 1951 Peoria, Illinois, U.S.
Died	December 16, 2007(2007-12-16) (aged 56) Deer Isle, Maine, U.S.
Genres	Rock, folk rock, soft rock, country rock
Occupation(s)	Musician
Instruments	Vocals, guitar, bass, piano, mandolin
Years active	1968–2007
Labels	Columbia, Full Moon, Epic, Giant, Mailboat
Associated acts	Fools Gold Tim Weisberg

Daniel Grayling Fogelberg (born August 13, 1951 – died December 16, 2007) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician. He was known for his popular songs from the 1970s and 1980s. Some of his most famous songs include "Longer" (1979), "Same Old Lang Syne" (1980), and "Leader of the Band" (1981). Fogelberg wrote "Leader of the Band" to honor his father. He first recorded it for his 1979 album Phoenix. However, he felt it was too emotional at the time. He finally released it in 1981 on his album The Innocent Age.

Early Life and Musical Start

Dan Fogelberg was born in Peoria, Illinois. He was the youngest of three sons. His mother, Margaret, was a trained pianist. His father, Lawrence, was a band director at local high schools and Bradley University. Dan's father later inspired his song "Leader of the Band". Dan remembered his father letting him lead the Bradley University band when he was only four years old.

Dan taught himself to play a Hawaiian slide guitar using a book. He also learned to play the piano. When he was 14, he joined a band called The Clan. They played songs by The Beatles. His next band was The Coachmen. In 1967, they released a single with two songs Dan wrote. These songs were "Maybe Time Will Let Me Forget" and "Don't Want to Lose Her".

After high school in 1969, Dan studied art at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He also played music in local places with a folk-rock band called The Ship. He started performing alone in cafes. One of these places was the Red Herring, where he made his first solo recordings in 1971. A music manager named Irving Azoff discovered Dan. Azoff sent Dan to Nashville, Tennessee, to improve his music skills. There, Dan worked as a session musician, playing on other artists' recordings. He also recorded his first album, Home Free, in 1972. It slowly became a popular album. In the early 1970s, Dan also opened shows for Van Morrison.

Rising to Music Fame

A radio station in Jackson, Mississippi, called WZZQ, played Dan's first album, Home Free, a lot. Local promoters then set up a concert for him in Jackson. They sold out the 2,500-seat show very quickly. This was Dan's first big concert. On February 22, 1974, this show was broadcast live on the radio.

Dan's second album, Souvenirs, came out in 1974 and was very successful. Joe Walsh from the Eagles helped produce it. The song "Part of the Plan" became Dan's first hit. The Eagles also helped with other songs on the album. Dan toured with the Eagles around this time. After Souvenirs, he released many more successful albums. These included Captured Angel (1975) and Nether Lands (1977).

In 1978, Dan worked with jazz flutist Tim Weisberg on the album Twin Sons of Different Mothers. This album had the popular song "The Power of Gold". This song reached number 59 on the UK Singles Chart. The album itself reached number 42 on the UK Albums Chart.

His 1979 album, Phoenix, became a top 10 hit. The song "Longer" from this album became a huge pop hit in 1980. The album sold two million copies. Another song, "Heart Hotels," also became a Top 20 hit.

In 1980, Dan's song "Times Like These" was featured in the movie Urban Cowboy. He also performed on live television for the first time.

The Innocent Age, released in 1981, was a very important album for Dan. This double album included four of his biggest hits: "Same Old Lang Syne", "Hard to Say", "Leader of the Band", and "Run for the Roses". Dan was inspired to create The Innocent Age by a novel called Of Time and the River. In 1982, a greatest hits album came out. It had two new songs, "Missing You" and "Make Love Stay". In 1984, he released Windows and Walls, which included the songs "The Language of Love" and "Believe in Me".

Dan sometimes had to cancel concerts because of tonsillitis. After surgery, his health improved a lot.

Later Music and Projects

In 1985, Dan released High Country Snows. This album was recorded in Nashville and featured many talented bluegrass musicians. These included Vince Gill, Ricky Skaggs, and Doc Watson. Dan called this music "life in the off-ramp," meaning it was a break from the fast pace of life. Later in 1985, he played blues music in small clubs in Colorado with friends. They called themselves Frankie and the Aliens. They played songs by bands like Cream and Muddy Waters.

In 1987, Dan returned to rock music with the album Exiles. This album included "What You're Doing," which sounded like old Stax Records songs. The Wild Places, an album about protecting nature, came out in 1990. He then went on tour. His live album and concert film, Greetings From The West, were released in 1991.

River of Souls, released in 1993, was Dan's last studio album for Sony Records. In 1997, a box set called Portrait was released. It had four discs that showed different sides of his music. In 1999, he released a Christmas album called The First Christmas Morning. In 2003, Full Circle showed a return to his folk-influenced soft rock style from the 1970s.

In May 2017, a live album of Dan's 1979 performance at Carnegie Hall was released. It reached No. 71 on the Billboard album chart. This was the first of Dan's live albums to make it onto the Billboard Top 200 chart.

Personal Life

Dan Fogelberg was married three times. He was married to Maggie Slaymaker from 1982 to 1985. Then, he married Anastasia Savage from 1991 to 1996. Finally, he married Jean Marie Mayer in 2002, and they were together until his death in 2007.

From the early 1980s, Dan lived on a working ranch near Pagosa Springs, Colorado. He had a recording studio there. He also owned a home in Maine, on Deer Isle.

Health and Passing

In May 2004, Dan Fogelberg was diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer. He received treatment, and his cancer went into partial remission. In August 2005, he announced that his treatments were successful. However, the cancer returned. Dan Fogelberg passed away at his home in Deer Isle, Maine, on December 16, 2007, at age 56. His ashes were scattered into the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Maine.

After his death, Dan's wife, Jean Fogelberg, released a song he wrote for her called "Sometimes a Song." All money from the song went to the Prostate Cancer Foundation. The song was released on Valentine's Day 2008. It was also included on an album called Love in Time in September 2009. This album had 11 songs that had not been released before. Love in Time reached number 117 on the Billboard Top 200 chart.

Legacy and Tributes

To honor Dan Fogelberg, his hometown of Peoria, Illinois, renamed a street "Fogelberg Parkway." This street runs by Woodruff High School, where Dan went to school and where his father taught. Fogelberg Parkway also goes to the place where Dan met his high school sweetheart on Christmas Eve. This meeting inspired his song "Same Old Lang Syne". In 2010, a group of his fans created a memorial garden in Riverfront Park.

Dan Fogelberg was inducted into the Colorado Music Hall of Fame on August 13, 2017.

Ten years after Dan's death, Jean Fogelberg helped create a tribute CD called A Tribute to Dan Fogelberg. It featured performances by many famous artists. These included his friend and producer Joe Walsh with the Eagles, Garth Brooks, Trisha Yearwood, Vince Gill, Amy Grant, Jimmy Buffett, and Michael McDonald.

A musical called Part of the Plan uses Dan Fogelberg's music. It opened on September 8, 2017, in Nashville.

Many musicians have said Dan Fogelberg influenced them. My Morning Jacket frontman Jim James said "Leader of the Band" was the first single he ever bought. Garth Brooks also said Dan Fogelberg influenced his music greatly. Brooks said Dan's songs were like the "soundtrack of your life" for him.

Discography

Studio albums

See also

In Spanish: Dan Fogelberg para niños