"One of the best singer-songwriters that ever lived."
"Dan truly was a brilliant artist."
"Dan left us so many great tunes."
"An ageless voice that is surreal."
"Fogelberg is a songwriting genius."
"Brilliant insights that this man had about a lot of life's experiences, real and heartfelt."
"Dan Fogelberg is powerful."
"An entire library of original, timeless and meaningful songs."
"Amazing story teller within his songs, of life and years gone by. I would give him a Lifetime Grammy for best composer."
"Beautiful songs, beautiful legacy, beautiful man."
Dan Fogelberg was born August 13, 1951 in Peoria, Illinois into a musical family; his mother Margaret was a classically trained pianist and his father Lawrence was a high school band director. Dan's first instrument was the piano and by age 10, Fogelberg was looking for all the records he could find. His grandfather gave Dan a Hawai'ian guitar which had pictures of dancing hula girls engraved on it. The guitar also featured steel strings, tough for anyone to play, but indeed challenging for an eleven-year-old beginning player.
Dan seemed to be a natural, however, and the experience forced him to acquire a strong left hand as he taught himself chords for a Mel Bay guitar book.
In 1963, an event occurred which changed not only his life but his career, as it did for many people. That was the first time Fogelberg heard the Beatles. It is remarkable at the age of 12 how it struck Dan about how the guitar could sound and the importance of songwriting in music. He realized that songs had to be written; they didn't just happen by themselves, and so, he began to write.
At the age of 14, Dan joined a band, The Clan, which performed Beatles songs through his junior year. As the other members of the group fell away from music, Dan's interest in music intensified. His second group, also a cover band which called themselves the Coachmen (Fogelberg is second from right, above), released an album and two singles written by Fogelberg in 1967.
Like any serious professional, Fogelberg took music and songwriting very seriously. He listened to Simon & Garfunkel, Joni Mitchell, Gordon Lightfoot, the Byrds, Buffalo Springfield, Neil Young and others and honed his craft.
Dan withdrew to his sacred spot between two ancient pines overlooking the Illinois River:
I was not feeling like a part of Peoria anymore. I was off in my own trip, deep inside myself. At the same time, I was terribly excited because I was discovering this whole person I never knew could exist, and this music and this creativity. It was an incredible awakening, the beginning of a great journey. And I knew the river was a conscious metaphor for my escape from Peoria. I was just waiting to leap on its back and ride it, down to St. Louis and New Orleans and out to the Gulf and on to the world.
Forces were at work that left Fogelberg conflicted--on the one hand, he was an extroverted entertainer who was born to perform, yet he was also an introverted artist who yearned for privacy.
After graduating from Woodruff High School in 1969, Fogelberg (sitting, above) could have begun careers in several areas. He studied theater and painting at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. But music kept calling, and Dan played with a folk-rock band at local establishments. Fogelberg's friend, Peter Berkow, who owned a folk music club called The Red Herring, asked Dan to perform acoustic sets there.
Before long, Fogelberg became a cherished performer in the area. To those who heard him in those early years, it seemed that all he needed was a break. That break occurred when Dan was woken late one night by a knock on the door from his former high school sweetheart. She told Dan that "an important music agent" wanted to hear him play.
Fogelberg threw on his clothes and followed the young woman to a fraternity party at a local bar to meet Irving Azoff, a University of Illinois graduate who was now head of a local booking agency. Azoff had already signed another regional act, REO Speedwagon, and was on the hunt for other talented new artists. After a rock band played to drunken partiers, Dan took the stage.
Although the noise from the bar didn't subside, Azoff heard the soulful beauty of Fogelberg's songs. "Yeah," Irving said to him after his set. "You're the one. I'm ready for the big time. And I think you're ready for the big time, too."
Dan made the decision to drop out of college. When he showed up at home in them in the middle of the day, he told his parents of his plans. His father, to his credit, sat silent for a long time. Finally, he said, "Okay, I don't agree with this, but if this is really what you want, you go try it for a year. If it doesn't work out, you come back and go back to school."
Azoff soon moved to Hollywood, California, setting up an office on Sunset Boulevard across from David Geffen, who at the time was signing his own set of amazing talent such as the Eagles, Jackson Browne and Joni Mitchell. Azoff wired the money to Fogelberg to move to California.
Soon, such industry heavyweights as Jerry Moss at A&M Records, David Geffen at Asylum and Clive Davis at Columbia saw the great potential in Fogelberg. Dan later recalled the critical moment in his life:
Irving would come home one day and say 'Okay, the deal's done -- we're signing with Asylum!' Then three days later he'd come back and say, 'It's A & M. I got a better deal.' This went on for months. Then he'd come home and say, 'No, it's Capitol! (They eventually met with Clive Davis at the Beverly Hills Hotel.)
Clive had everything laid out --caviar, canapés, the whole deal. He played me Paul Simon's first solo record, which had yet to come out, and kept talking about a kid named Springsteen and a guy named Billy Joel who he had signed. Clive said, 'I'm signing singer-songwriters, and I think you belong here too.' He talked us into it, gave us a nice check and we signed with Columbia.
Azoff and Fogelberg traveled to Nashville, Tennessee to develop Dan's talent and record his first album. Producer Norbert Putnam secured session work for Fogelberg, where he often played from 9 a.m. to midnight four days a week. Playing with other outstanding musicians, Dan learned "that it's not what you play, it's what you don't play. That has formed the core of my guitar playing ever since. It's melodic, it's sparse."
In 1972, Fogelberg released Home Free. While the album did not do well until Fogelberg became a star, it allowed him to open for Van Morrison. Dan showed his tremendous promise with "To The Morning". According to Fogelberg, "This was the first song that made me think I might actually make a living as a songwriter."
"Wysteria is another beautiful song, a mesmerizing highlight of the album. The imagery that Fogelberg's lyrics invoke are something to behold.
"Dan truly was a brilliant artist."
"Dan left us so many great tunes."
"An ageless voice that is surreal."
"Fogelberg is a songwriting genius."
"Brilliant insights that this man had about a lot of life's experiences, real and heartfelt."
"Dan Fogelberg is powerful."
"An entire library of original, timeless and meaningful songs."
"Amazing story teller within his songs, of life and years gone by. I would give him a Lifetime Grammy for best composer."
"Beautiful songs, beautiful legacy, beautiful man."
Dan seemed to be a natural, however, and the experience forced him to acquire a strong left hand as he taught himself chords for a Mel Bay guitar book.
In 1963, an event occurred which changed not only his life but his career, as it did for many people. That was the first time Fogelberg heard the Beatles. It is remarkable at the age of 12 how it struck Dan about how the guitar could sound and the importance of songwriting in music. He realized that songs had to be written; they didn't just happen by themselves, and so, he began to write.
Like any serious professional, Fogelberg took music and songwriting very seriously. He listened to Simon & Garfunkel, Joni Mitchell, Gordon Lightfoot, the Byrds, Buffalo Springfield, Neil Young and others and honed his craft.
Dan withdrew to his sacred spot between two ancient pines overlooking the Illinois River:
I was not feeling like a part of Peoria anymore. I was off in my own trip, deep inside myself. At the same time, I was terribly excited because I was discovering this whole person I never knew could exist, and this music and this creativity. It was an incredible awakening, the beginning of a great journey. And I knew the river was a conscious metaphor for my escape from Peoria. I was just waiting to leap on its back and ride it, down to St. Louis and New Orleans and out to the Gulf and on to the world.
Forces were at work that left Fogelberg conflicted--on the one hand, he was an extroverted entertainer who was born to perform, yet he was also an introverted artist who yearned for privacy.
Before long, Fogelberg became a cherished performer in the area. To those who heard him in those early years, it seemed that all he needed was a break. That break occurred when Dan was woken late one night by a knock on the door from his former high school sweetheart. She told Dan that "an important music agent" wanted to hear him play.
Fogelberg threw on his clothes and followed the young woman to a fraternity party at a local bar to meet Irving Azoff, a University of Illinois graduate who was now head of a local booking agency. Azoff had already signed another regional act, REO Speedwagon, and was on the hunt for other talented new artists. After a rock band played to drunken partiers, Dan took the stage.
Dan made the decision to drop out of college. When he showed up at home in them in the middle of the day, he told his parents of his plans. His father, to his credit, sat silent for a long time. Finally, he said, "Okay, I don't agree with this, but if this is really what you want, you go try it for a year. If it doesn't work out, you come back and go back to school."
Azoff soon moved to Hollywood, California, setting up an office on Sunset Boulevard across from David Geffen, who at the time was signing his own set of amazing talent such as the Eagles, Jackson Browne and Joni Mitchell. Azoff wired the money to Fogelberg to move to California.
Soon, such industry heavyweights as Jerry Moss at A&M Records, David Geffen at Asylum and Clive Davis at Columbia saw the great potential in Fogelberg. Dan later recalled the critical moment in his life:
Irving would come home one day and say 'Okay, the deal's done -- we're signing with Asylum!' Then three days later he'd come back and say, 'It's A & M. I got a better deal.' This went on for months. Then he'd come home and say, 'No, it's Capitol! (They eventually met with Clive Davis at the Beverly Hills Hotel.)
Clive had everything laid out --caviar, canapés, the whole deal. He played me Paul Simon's first solo record, which had yet to come out, and kept talking about a kid named Springsteen and a guy named Billy Joel who he had signed. Clive said, 'I'm signing singer-songwriters, and I think you belong here too.' He talked us into it, gave us a nice check and we signed with Columbia.
Azoff and Fogelberg traveled to Nashville, Tennessee to develop Dan's talent and record his first album. Producer Norbert Putnam secured session work for Fogelberg, where he often played from 9 a.m. to midnight four days a week. Playing with other outstanding musicians, Dan learned "that it's not what you play, it's what you don't play. That has formed the core of my guitar playing ever since. It's melodic, it's sparse."
"The River", about the river that runs through Peoria, gave us another glimpse into what Fogelberg was capable of.
"Stars" is another fine example of some of the best work of his career, and certainly for his early years.
That last song sounds so much like Crosby, Stills & Nash, both in the music and the journey the lyrics take you. "Looking For A Lady" too sounds like a song right out of the catalog of Crosby, Stills & Nash.
All those tracks were loved by all those who heard them, but they were lost to the world without a hit song. By this time, Azoff had started his own label, Full Moon Records, which was distributed by Epic. Fogelberg got a second chance with Full Moon, and he made the most of it.
Fogelberg began to make connections that would pay off for him. Azoff introduced him to Joe Walsh, who produced Dan's second album Souvenirs in 1974. Fogelberg didn't know if Walsh was the right choice until he heard one of his solo albums. Walsh began the process by asking Dan to write down a wish list of musicians. Fogelberg wrote down Russ Kunkel, who he had heard drumming for James Taylor.
When Walsh quickly brought Kunkel aboard, as well as musicians such as bassist Kenny Passarelli, Don Henley, Glenn Frey and Randy Meisner of the Eagles, and Graham Nash, Dan knew he had arrived. Imagine yourself about to record the second album of your career in the company of those people. The single "Part Of The Plan" introduced Fogelberg to most people; it reached an underrated #31 overall.
Frey, Henley and Meisner and Graham Nash sing backing vocals on "There's A Place In The World For A Gambler".
All those tracks were loved by all those who heard them, but they were lost to the world without a hit song. By this time, Azoff had started his own label, Full Moon Records, which was distributed by Epic. Fogelberg got a second chance with Full Moon, and he made the most of it.
Souvenirs has now sold over two million copies in the United States alone. Dan played on sessions in California for other artists including an appearance on Jackson Browne's album Late for the Sky.
In the midst of the hectic touring schedule referred to above, Fogelberg wrote enough songs for his next album. In 1975, he finally returned home to visit his father, who was hospitalized. While in Peoria, Dan recorded songs, playing all the instruments himself, to be used as demos for his new album.
Fogelberg moved to Colorado and, although he experienced a songwriting slump, he eventually regained his knack and began writing more classically-influenced songs. The bolder tone of his music could be detected both lyrically and musically.
Join us tomorrow on Inside The Rock Era for Part Two of this salute to Dan Fogelberg as we prepare to present The Top 100 Artists of the Rock Era* beginning February 6.
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