Dan Fogelberg has been my favorite singer-songwriter since I was 10 years old. As an adult, I was privileged enough to meet and talk with him and discover that he was a stellar human being and a good dude too. (In my experience it’s all too common to find out that musical heroes are middling to lousy human beings, alas. Dan was aces, just a funny and beautiful guy.) Eight years ago in December, it will be eight years since his voice was stilled at age 56 by advanced pancreatic cancer. It’s still hard to fathom that he’s no longer a physical presence in the world… Makes one wonder…
Two things are on my agenda today. One is to ask all of you to support the Prostate Cancer Foundation in whatever way works for you. The group does yeoman’s work to find a cure for this horrid disease. Cancer all on its own is a bitch — support the American Cancer Society too. It’s time to bring the evil of cancer to an end, for men, for women, for children. Let’s save some lives.
Number two: If you know his work or if you don’t, immerse yourself in some Danmusic today. It will bring a netherworldly beauty into your life, guaranteed. Below are some tasty nuggets from YouTube to whet your appetite, but then dig in on your own. He sang like an angel and played guitar like a demon, his passion for the planet and for peace were inspiring, and his visions… rapturous. And there was nothing like seeing him live in concert, nothing.
Happy birthday, Dan. (Love and hugs, Jean.)
Couldn’t pick one early Dan song to share, so went with an entire 1976 concert at the historic Capitol Theater in Passaic, NJ.
The quality of the vid is wonky, but the performance is sublime.
Same caveat here, but the jam is unmissable; dig the sparring between Dan and flautist Tim Weisberg. Mercy. I recommend you check out the DVD Greetings from the West.
Back to 1982: Also originally from the Fogelberg/Weisberg Twin Sons of Different Mothers LP, but the live performance features percussionist Joe Vitale on the flute. Smokin’ jam. YouTube has a lot of video from Dan’s 1982 The Innocent Age tour, which was magical to experience then (I saw him numerous times with the last being in 2003, but this tour was my first time seeing Dan live) and is just a gift now.
Must include some kick in the gut songs…