Dan Fogelberg died yesterday.
Now I know beyond the shadow of a doubt that death is not an ending. But something about losing one of your heroes can make you wish you could call up that hero and say, “You need to understand how huge this is to me.”
I believe that whether or not we get to be famous in our art, we touch others in ways that none of us will ever know. I know there are millions of people out there with millions of memories of Dan Fogelberg’s music. I know that these people are sad today, even though they didn’t necessarily know him.
And it’s not just because Dan Fogelberg was famous. Or that he wrote and sang so many hit songs.
It’s because art is so personal. It’s about the listener every bit as much as it is about the singer. It’s about the reader every bit as much as it is about the writer. I, for one, cling tightly to my heroes, as if they could ever know how deeply they have altered my life. As if I am somehow special.
I discovered Dan Fogelberg when I was a kid. My older brother became a DJ at a tiny radio station. My older brother was cool. He played guitar and had lots of records I could listen to through the walls of our house. One day, he brought home a stack of records because the station was clearing out their albums to make space for CD’s. Among those albums were three Dan Fogelberg records – long since worn out and scratched by the DJ’s. My brother handed them to me and told me I’d like them.
I took them into my room and put them on my record player. They became kind of a soundtrack to me. None of my friends listened to this kind of stuff. Dan Fogelberg was my secret joy. Later, I’d work his songs into mix tapes for my friends who would inevitably ask, “Who’s that?”
I remember reading the liner notes on one of the albums and realizing that Dan Fogelberg wrote his own songs. (Whoa! You can write your own songs??) I have no idea where I thought songs came from up to that point. Maybe I thought they just appeared out of the ethers or something. But it had never dawned on me that someone could write and sing his own songs. Dan Fogelberg opened that door to me. He will forever be that guy.
So, Dan, wherever you are now – thanks for the chances you took, the words you wrote, the melodies you sang, and the person you were. You touched many souls.
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{ 23 comments… read them below or add one }
Thank you for putting into words a lot of how I’m feeling today. When I heard that Dan had died, my teenage romances all flitted through my brain. His music was always played at dances. He was a sign of my times.
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Thanks for writing this. Leader of the Band is one of the first songs I played over and over as a kid. It still makes me teary. (I also had his albums from my older siblings.)
He is so personally present in his words and music. That feeling penetrated me. Thanks you.
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Who can hear “Another Auld Lang Syne” without being physically transported to a snowy grocery store on xmas eve? Who can hear “Living Legacy” and not see their own father in a new light?
I never did catch “Fogelmania,” but, like anyone listening to the radio in 1981, old Dan’s records gave us enormous ly human songs. Unforgettable songs.
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Christine..
How right you are that there are some special people who touch us because they took the risk to put heart and soul out there for all to see. We celebrate the life and mourn the loss, and, I know and so many others,will always cherish the music that defined my life when I was starting to make my way in the world.
Thanks so much for your moving tribute…
Mary in San Diego
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Thanks Christine. I feel the need to be surrounded by others that feel a similar connection to Dan’s gift. “Home Free”, “Souvenirs”, “Captured Angel”…the list goes on…the albums were all standards on my stereo & saw me through many a personal battle. Dan, what a difference you made and still make in my life. You will be missed! Karlene
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He was not quite the superstar he deserved to be. He wrote some marvelous lyrics.
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Christine your post was heartfelt and I really appreciated it. I have never heard Dan’s music and it made me want to explore it. Over at amazon all the albums seemed to be recommended and my local library doesn’t have any (sigh!). What album would you recommend to listen to for someone who was new to Dan’s work? Any thoughts appreciated.
Thanks
Angela
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Carol P. Marshall Reply:
August 14th, 2011 at 3:03 am
Angela, I heard my first Dan Fogelberg song in 1975, when I was a freshman in college at Stephen F. Austin State Univ. in the Piney East Woods of Texas. First was “Home Free”, then “Souveneirs” Then “Nether Lands” then “Captured Angel” Then “Phoenix” a double album called “The Innocent Age” also “Exiles” “THe Wild Places” “Twin Sons of Different Mothers” with Tim Weisberg, the famous flautist (electric flute) “No Resemblance What so Ever” Earlier, there was “High Country Snows” a bluegrass album Dan always wanted to make. He could play about 11 different instruments, write the lyrics, the melody, the sheet music and play every instrument to his songs. For me was a geneius. There was also “Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, and some Blues” a Blues album from his love of Muddy Waters, and Buddy Guy, and B.B. King. “Windows and Walls” ws another album. Angela, you can’t lose with any of Dan’s albums. Oh, and “Full Circle” and since Christmas was his favorite time of year, he made a very special album called “First Christmas Morning” It’s a serious album with songs written in the rennaisance period. One, Greensleves (What Child is THis) was written by King Henry Vlll in the 1500′s. His ChristX album is truly what Christmas was about back in those days. He studied these songs and translated the foreign words into our language, and they are unbelievable. It shows how classy he really was, although his pictures reveal his class as well. Tonight was Dan’s 60th B-Day August 13th. Weren’t we lucky to have him and his legacy of beautiful, meaningful music. Dan, you were magical, and I hope Angela gets more and more fmiliar with your work. Bless you Angela, and Bless you Dan always.
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angela – i’m sure everyone would be happy to contribute their ideas for places to start. You can try a few tunes on iTunes if you want — “There’s a Place in the World for a Gambler” is gorgeous. “Scarecrow’s Dream,” “Be On Your Way,” “Once Upon a Time,” “Same Old Lang Syne” Here’s a YouTube video of an encore performance of that song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhjYbfK9vrk My favorite album is Home Free.
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Okay, here’s a better video of just Dan and his guitar – a lovely vocal too. It’s easier to hear his voice without the band behind him…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cy3GHCy49Dw&feature=related
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That’s really awesome that Dan was your “ah hah” moment that songs were written by people. If you read his bio at http://www.danfogelberg.com he tells how even though he grew up shadowing his dad’s conducting, the Beatle’s were his “ah hah” that music was written by somebody.
There are some listening clips on the site as well.
I have some heart moments that have Fogelberg song connections of my own.
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Lovely tribute, Christine…
When I was like, 11, I bought “Same Old Lang Syne” on 45 with my own money. I played it a LOT.
I remember the odd, mixed feelings I had after hearing the last verse…
“Just for a moment I was back at school…and felt that old familiar pain. And as I turned to make my way back home, the snow turned into rain.”
God that’s so bittersweet I can’t take it! My little kid brain couldn’t fathom why it ended with the snow turning to rain. But man, what a great line. It’s equal parts sad as hell and hopeful…the perfect metaphor, perfect for the song.
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wow – I didn’t know he died until reading your blog today. He’s been such an inspiration to me over the years – maybe the reason I picked up the guitar in the first place. His songs bring back memories of all my early loves. I have every one of his albums too – scratched up I am sure from constant playing. His lyrics plucked the strings of my teenage heart. I will make it a point to listen to some of my favorites today as we all celebrate his life and work.
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p.s. There are so many favorites but I just had to say that “Leader of the Band” always makes me cry. Such a touching song about Dan’s relationship with his father that hits home in so many ways.
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Thank you Christine . . . my first true love (at 15) used to sing “Stars” under my window at night, with his guitar. I’ve never forgotten how romantic and sweet and sad the music was (and the musician, too). Sounds like I am not alone! I wonder how many e-mails went out to teenage loves last night. Thanks for remembering Dan Fogelberg and all he gave us on your blog.
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Thank you, Christine, for writing a moving remembrance of an unforgettable musical force. Who knows how many Dan Fogelberg albums and cassette tapes I played to extinction. Angela, imagine a prolific flower garden of music- you can’t go wrong. I too am very fond of the album Home Free, as well as Nether Lands and Souvenirs.
The following lyrics are excerpted from the song “Part Of The Plan” from the Souvenirs album, and are included here in tribute:
Love when you can
Cry when you have to
Be who you must
That’s a part of the plan
Await your arrival with simple survival
And one day we’ll all understand
One day we’ll all understand
One day we’ll all understand
There is no Eden or Heavenly gates
That you’re gonna make it to one day
But all of the answers you seek can be found
In the dreams that you dream on the way
Dan has now arrived…one day we’ll all understand.
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It’s so sad to lose someone with a talent that touched so many-and at such a young age. Bless his family.
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Thanks for the beautiful post. I’ve always had a huge crush on him and love, love his lyrics. I did not know he died until I read your tribute. Thanks again.
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christine,
nice to see such an appreciative tribute from one fine singer-songwriter to another. i discovered dan fogelberg in 1973 when i stumbled on a used radio station copy of homefree in a record store in dayton, ohio. it quickly became my favorite album, and was the soundtrack to my first attempt at romance. a year later i lost my grandmother, who’d been taking care of me, and souvenirs helped me through that loss. the summer ’75 of i hitchhiked to colorado and shortly after relocated there, only to discover that df had also landed in boulder county. saw him in a couple great shows at macky auditorium and later at red rocks. netherlands got worn out on my turntable (an album that i think has contains of his most inspirational singing and melodies. i drifted away the df’s music as the years passed, but never lost my appreciation for the gift of his spirit and voice, and the many great songs. having discovered your music a few years back at the eno festival, i think i can say that songwriters like yourself will carry on that spirit, and the ability to bring out the love in us all…times three… we miss you already dan…peace
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Hi Christine. I had the pleasure of meeting and talking to Dan when he was doing soundcheck at the Waikiki Shell during one of his acoustic tours in the 80′s. My friend and I were local musicians and got backstage in the afternoon before a show. He was one of the good guys. I remember that he was gracious to us and polite and deferential to the sound guys he was working with.
Dan was one my earliest musical influences. I heard “Home Free” in 1971 and immediately taught myself several of the songs on that record. I devoured every subsequent album and learned more of his songs than anyone else. While I credit the Beatles with my songwriter’s “aha!” moment, Dans songs informed and influenced my writing. It was always my intention to write and perform songs that might touch my audience the way he touched me.
That was a lovely tribute you wrote. I join you in saying, “Bon voyage, my friend. I’ll look for you when I get there and I’m looking forward to hearing your new material.”
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I love, love, love Dan Fogelberg. I am sitting here listening to Netherlands as I write this. This album, and Phoenix, have been with me from vinyl to cassette to MP3. I wish I had gotten to hear him in concert, but sadly, I did not. What a loss…
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What a great tribute, Christine. I was also turned on to Dan from an older brother. He has been an inspiration to me for about 32 years. I was lucky enough to see him at the U of I, I believe it was in the early 90′s. I sat 4 rows from the stage because lucky for me, the UI students didn’t know who he was so tickets were easy to come by. I was enthralled by his presence and his talent and never wanted that night to end. I look forward to meeting him some day.
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I, too, was saddened to hear of Dan Fogleburg’s death, especially at the young age of 56. He was taken too soon.
His song, “Another Auld Lang Syne” took me into another place everytime I heard it; I had to stop whatever I was doing to listen to it completely. I had also run into an “old lover in a grocery store” years ago and the story had personally become my own. To make the story even more interesting, during an interview on tv one day, Dan explained how the story in the song actually happened. That really touched me.
Thanks for the wonderful tribute, Christine. He will certainly be missed.
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Hear, hear.
http://thereach.blogspot.com/2007/12/dan-fogelberg-1951-2007.html
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