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The Leader of the Mix Tape

Tribute must be paid. What Dan Fogelberg song do you honor him with on your mix tape?

1) "Part of the Plan"	1 votes
2) "Leader of the Band"	3 votes
3) "Same Old Lang Syne"	2 votes
4) "The Power of Gold"	1 votes
5) "The Language of Love"	0 votes
6) "Lonely in Love"	0 votes
7) "Longer Than"	0 votes

Edgy DC Dec 16 2007 07:32 PM Edited 1 time(s), most recently on Dec 24 2007 08:52 AM

Join me in a walk down the middle of the road, in memory of the mayor of the middle of the road. 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 on the singer's Web site. "Dan left us this morning at 6 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 also for the engaging storyline. Fogelberg's heyday 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, Wisconsin, 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. 1) "Part of the Plan" (performed by the Wheezetones here) 2) "Leader of the Band" 3) "Same Old Lang Syne" 4) "The Power of Gold" (Go, Mountaineers!) 5) "The Language of Love" (He rocks!) 6) "Lonely in Love"

themetfairy Dec 16 2007 07:52 PM

I love Same Old Lang Syne. RIP Dan.

Rockin' Doc Dec 16 2007 09:26 PM

I'm not sure about the "Power of Gold" now that their "Leader of the Band" has skipped out for Ann Arbor. First Michigan lures away the Mountaineers basketball coach and now the get their football coach to follow. Damn Wolverines!

John Cougar Lunchbucket Dec 16 2007 09:38 PM

Fogelberg was a middle of the road kinda singer-songwriter who always seemed to have bigger ambitions. "Power of Gold" was from a duo album with jazz flute player Tim Weisberg. It sounded pretty cool to me then, but today a little overdramatic. Conversely "Leader of the band" was way too wussy for me when it was new, but I suspect it surpasses "Gold" for me today.

Frayed Knot Dec 17 2007 07:59 AM

Fogelberg was definitely "chick" music for the most part. My other memory of him was that he was one of those songwriters who would get exasperated if it was suggested that any of his songs were born of anything other than direct personal experiences. He would claim not to know how it was possible to write honestly any other way.

Vic Sage Dec 17 2007 08:40 AM Edited 1 time(s), most recently on Dec 17 2007 12:39 PM

The 1st Weisberg / Fogelberg album - "Twin Sons of Different Mothers" - was a big deal when i was a college freshman. You could hear it piping out of every room in the girls' dorm. If a guy played it, he was trying to show some girl his "sensitive" side... i.e., he was trying to get laid. The phrase "twin sons of different mothers" is one i still use to this day, so thanks Dan. And here's a vote for the "gold".

seawolf17 Dec 17 2007 08:49 AM

No.

metsguyinmichigan Dec 17 2007 11:25 AM

I think "Phoenix" was his best song.

Edgy DC Dec 17 2007 12:02 PM

="Frayed Knot"]My other memory of him was that he was one of those songwriters who would get exasperated if it was suggested that any of his songs were born of anything other than direct personal experiences. He would claim not to know how it was possible to write honestly any other way. Yeah, that's what I picked up. His dad actually was a bandleader. He actually did run into an old girlfriend at the grocery store.

Edgy DC Dec 24 2007 08:51 AM

Great Casey's ghost! I woke up this morning thinking about Fogelberg and realized that I forgot "Longer Than"! Vote changing is permitted!