Tom Petty, The #100 Artist of the Rock Era

 "one of the greatest musicians of the late 20th century"

"legendary music..."

"A great innovator."

"A huge catalog of great songs."

"He blessed us with his music and personality."

"His music will be around forever."

"Four decades of some of the finest rock music ever recorded."

"A true American rock & roll legend."

"A genius artist and composer."

"A huge influence on an entire generation."

Tom Petty was born October 20, 1950 in Gainesville, Florida.  When he was 10, Tom's uncle, who was working on the set of the Elvis Presley movie Follow That Dream, invited Tom to watch the set and introduced him to Elvis.  From that moment on, Petty was inspired to be a rock and roll singer.  Tom got a further boost of motivation when he saw the Beatles' famous first performance on The Ed Sullivan Show.  Petty formed the group the Epics in which he played bass guitar and dropped out of high school when he was 17.

However, since music doesn't pay well unless you're a star, Petty was a member of the grounds crew at the University of Florida and also worked as a gravedigger to pay the bills.  The Epics became known as Mudcrutch, and included guitarist Mike Campbell and keyboardist Benmont Tench, but the group was unable to generate popularity outside of their native Gainesville. 

 

Petty married Jane Benyo in 1974.  After Mudcrutch split up, Petty reluctantly agreed to pursue a solo career. Tench formed his own group, whose sound Petty appreciated. Eventually, Petty and Campbell teamed up with Tench, bassist Ron Blair, and drummer Stan Lynch to form the Heartbreakers. Their self-titled debut album generated two minor hits which paved the way for Petty.  The first did not chart originally and even when re-released a year later, peaked at #40.  This is "Breakdown".

 

The debut has since gone Gold.  The group's follow-up release, You're Gonna' Get It!, did fairly well but lacked the punch of their debut.  So Petty and the group went to work on their third album.  In 1979, the album Damn the Torpedoes provided the impetus to get the group over the top.  They scored their first career Top 10 (#3 in Canada, #10 in the United States) with "Don't Do Me Like That".

 

Damn the Torpedoes went to #2 on the Album chart and has sold over three million copies.  Petty's next release was arguably his best career song, #2 in Canada and #3 in New Zealand, but as it stalled at #15 in the U.S., one of The Top Unknown/Underrated Songs of the Rock Era*.  "Refugee".

 

Another song in that club is this single, which only peaked at #59.  We believe it is good enough that it should have reached the Top 10--"Here Comes My Girl".

Later that year, Petty and the Heartbreakers got great exposure in a benefit concert for Musicians United for Safe Energy at Madison Square Garden.  The group's song "Cry To Me" was featured on the resulting album, No Nukes.

 

Petty and the Heartbreakers released the album Hard Promises in 1981.  It contained a minor hit and sold one million copies but was well short of the popularity of Damn the Torpedoes.  "The Waiting" reached #1 on the Rock chart, but only #19 overall.

 

 In 1982, Petty and the Heartbreakers joined Stevie Nicks for the single "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around", which was nominated for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal at the Grammy Awards.  It was a #3 smash in the U.S. that peaked at #5 in Canada.

 

Bassist Howie Epstein replaced Ron Blair for the 1982 album Long After Dark, which featured the hit "You Got Lucky", another #1 on the Rock chart.

 

Long After Dark, which went Gold, was Petty's third consecutive Top 10 album.  The group performed at Live Aid in Philadelphia in 1985.  Later that year, they released Southern Accents, which has sold over one million copies to date.   "Don't Come Around Here No More" won an MTV Video Music Award for Best special effects and was nominated for four other awards, including Video of the Year, Viewer's Choice, and Best Concept Video.  It peaked at #15, #2 on the Rock chart.

Petty and the Heartbreakers joined Bob Dylan on his tour and also played dates with the Grateful Dead in 1986 and 1987.   The Heartbreakers released the album Let Me Up (I've Had Enough) in 1987.  Petty wrote "Jammin' Me" with Dylan, another #1 on the Rock chart that stalled at #18 overall:

The album was Petty's sixth straight Gold album and second consecutive Platinum release.  Tom appeared in the movie Made in Heaven as well as several episodes of It's Garry Shandling's Show from 1987-1990, playing himself as one of Shandling's neighbors.  Petty also appeared in Shandling's other television series, The Larry Sanders Show.

In 1988, Petty teamed with George Harrison, Dylan, Roy Orbison, and Jeff Lynne to form the Traveling Wilburys, which released two very successful and critically-acclaimed albums. That work as part of a separate group scored points for the Wilburys but does not count towards Petty's solo career.

 

The following year, Petty released the album Full Moon Fever.  Although the album was promoted as a solo album, Campbell played on and co-produced the album along with Petty and Lynne.  Another of Petty's signature songs is "I Won't Back Down", another #1 on the Rock chart that reached #12 overall in the U.S. and #5 in Canada.

 

Full Moon Fever has now sold over five million copies and was a Top 10 album in most countries.  This great song stalled at #23, one of The Top Unknown/Underrated Songs of the Rock Era*--"Runnin' Down A Dream".  

 

The album was nominated for Album of the Year and Petty was nominated for Best Rock Vocal Performance, Male for "Free Fallin'".  It was his sixth #1 on the Rock chart, with the last three all on Full Moon Fever, #7 overall, and #4 in New Zealand and #5 in Canada.

 

In 1991, Petty and the Heartbreakers released the album Into the Great Wide Open, another co-produced by Lynne.  "Learning To Fly" also went to #1 on the Rock chart.

 

Into the Great Wide Open was another of the group's best, selling over two million copies in the U.S. alone.  The title song was nominated for Best Male Video at the MTV Video Music Awards.  The standout song on the album, though, was "Out In The Cold", which never made the Top 100--it's easily another of The Top Unknown/Underrated Songs*.

The album was nominated for Best Rock Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group and "Learning To Fly" was nominated for Best Rock Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group at the Grammys.

 

The group them recorded two new songs for a Greatest Hits album, one of them being "Mary Jane's Last Dance".  Petty earned another MTV Video Music nomination for Best Male Video, with the song jumping to #1 on the Rock chart and #14 overall, another Top/Unknown/Underrated Song*.

 

The compilation sold over 12 million copies.  "American Girl" is another favorite of Petty fans.

 

Petty signed a deal with Warner Brothers Records and released the 1994 album Wildflowers.  The album was nominated for Best Rock Album and Petty won a Grammy for Best Rock Vocal Performance, Male.  He was also nominated for Best Male Video at the MTV Video Music Awards for the single "You Don't Know How It Feels", his 10th #1 on the Rock chart.

The album sold over three million copies in the U.S. alone and reached #5.  Petty and the Heartbreakers then recorded music for the soundtrack album She's the One.  

In 1996, Petty received the George Gershwin and Ira Gershwin Award for Lifetime Musical Achievement from UCLA and the Golden Note Award from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP).  But his personal life was falling apart, beginning with his divorce from Jane that year.

Tom appeared in the movie The Postman in 1997.  Petty and the Heartbreakers received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1999.  Tom had struggled with heroin addition since his divorce, but finally in 1999, he went to a treatment center.  

In 1999, the group released the album Echo, another Gold album.  "Room At The Top" was nominated for a Grammy for Best Rock Song and Echo was nominated for Best Rock Album.

In 2001, Petty and the Heartbreakers were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Following the September 11 tragedy, Petty and the Heartbreakers performed "I Won't Back Down" at a benefit concert for victims of the mass murder.  In 2002, Petty released The Last DJ, which went to #9 on the U.S. album chart.

Petty received the Billboard Century Award on 2005.

In 2006, Petty recorded "Square One" for the movie Elizabethtown, which was nominated for Best Song Written for a Motion Picture at the Grammys.  Later that year, the band received the keys to their hometown of Gainesville.

Petty released the album Highway Companion, supported by a tour with the Heartbreakers.  He was nominated for Best Rock Album and Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance for "Saving Grace" at the Grammy Awards.

Runnin' Down a Dream, the documentary about Petty's career, was released in 2007.  In 2008, Petty and the Heartbreakers performed at halftime of Super Bowl XLII and toured North America that summer.

In 2009, Petty released the box set The Live Anthology, a collection of live recordings from 1978-2006.  Petty won a Grammy for Best Music Video, Long Form, for "Runnin' Down A Dream".

The following year, the group released Mojo, a #2 smash on the album chart that was nominated for Best Rock Album at the Grammys.

In 2012, the group performed around the world, including performances in Europe for the first time in 20 years.  In 2014, the group released the album Hypnotic Eye, which debuted at #1.  Hypnotic Eye gave Petty another Grammy nomination for Best Rock Album.  The group performed throughout the U.S. on their 40th Anniversary Tour.

On October 2, 2017, Petty was found unconscious at his home, unable to breathe and in cardiac arrest.  Paramedics resuscitated him and took him to the UCLA Medical Center in Santa Monica, California, but Tom died that night.  A memorial service was held at the Self-Realization Fellowship Lake Shrine in Los Angeles on October 16.  The L.A. County Medical Examiner concluded that Petty had died of a combination of opioids fentanyl, oxycodone, acetylfentanyl and despropionyl, sedatives temazepam and alprazolam and citalopram (an antidepressant).

In 2018, the box set An American Treasure was released.  Later that year, the city of Gainesville renamed Northeast Park, where Tom often visited in his youth, as Tom Petty Park.

Petty was nominated for 15 Grammy Awards, winning two, and won two MTV Video Music Awards among seven nominations.  He had just three career Top 10 hits, but it is his collection of great album tracks and success on the Rock chart, where he landed 25 hits and 10 #1's that earns him a spot in The Top 100 Artists*.  

Christina Aguilera, The #101 Artist of the Rock Era

"Her voice is breathtaking."

"A legend."

"Beautiful woman and awesome voice."

"One of the greatest singers in history.  Her vocals are off the chart."

"A truly brilliant artist.  Respect."

"Absolutely amazing and exceptional."

"She's got such a powerful voice."

"One of the best singers in the world."

"What a great talent!"

"Can't deny that voice."

Christina Aguilera was born in New York City on December 18, 1980.  Her family moved often due to her father's military service in the U.S. Army.  Christina's parents divorced when she was six years old and Christina, her younger sister Rachel, and her mother moved into her grandmother's home in Rochester, Pennsylvania.

It was her grandmother who exposed Aguilera to soul and blues, which Christina would listen and sing along to.  Christina was inspired to be a singer and won a talent show at age eight singing Whitney Houston's "I Wanna' Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)".  Aguilera competed in the show Star Search two years later.  She performed the U.S. national anthem several times before football, baseball, and hockey games in the Pittsburgh area.  

Christina briefly attended North Allegheny Intermediate High School before being homeschooled.  In 1991, Aguilera auditioned for The Mickey Mouse Club, and joined the television show two years later, performing with fellow cast members Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake, and Ryan Gosling.  

When the show was canceled in 1994, Aguilera moved to Japan and recorded "All I Wanna' Do" with Japanese singer Keizo Nakashani.  In 1998, Christina moved back to the U.S. with the goal of earning a recording contract.  She sent a cover version of Houston's "Run To You" to Disney and was selected to record the theme song "Reflection" for the animated movie Mulan.  The single reached #15 on the Adult Contemporary chart.

 

RCA signed Aguilera to a contract on the basis of that success.  Christina released the single "Genie In A Bottle" in advance of her self-titled debut album in 1999.  It was an instant hit, reaching #1 in 21 countries and selling over seven million copies.

 

Aguilera's album also reached #1  in both the U.S. and Canada.  It has now sold over nine million copies in the U.S. and 17 million worldwide.  "What A Girl Wants", featured in the classic movie What Women Want, was another smash hit on the album, reaching #1 in the U.S. and New Zealand, #3 in the U.K., and Top 10 nearly everywhere.

 

Aguilera captured Best New Artist honors at the Grammy Awards.  "I Turn To You" soared to #3 and became her third straight Gold single.

 

Christina released the single "Come On Over Baby (All I Want Is You", a #1 smash in the U.S. and #2 in New Zealand and another Gold record.

In 2000, Aguilera supported Come on Over and Do Something, which aimed to "encourage kids to get involved in their communities and make a difference."  She also signed a letter from the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals to the South Korean government to urge them to stop killing dogs for food.

Christina released the albums Mi Reflejo and My Kind of Christmas in 2000.  The former, a Spanish-language album, was a huge hit on the Latin Album chart, reaching #1 for 19 weeks.  Her Christmas album sold over one million copies.

 

Aguilera spent nearly a year touring North America, Europe, South America, and Japan.  Christina won a Billboard Music Award for Top Female Pop Act of the Year.  She teamed up with Ricky Martin for "Nobody Wants To Be Lonely", another #1 in New Zealand that hit the Top 10 in most countries but stopped short at #13 in the United States.

Despite her success, Christina didn't feel her manager, Steve Kurtz, was promoting her in the right way and Irving Azoff became her new manager.

 

Christina, Pink, Lil' Kim, and Mya recorded a remake of Labelle's smash "Lady Marmalade" for the movie Moulin Rouge!  It was a smash, reaching #1 for five weeks  in the U.S. and also topping charts in the U.K., Australia, Germany, New Zealand and Ireland and earned a Grammy Award for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals.  

Now more in control of her career, Aguilera released the album Stripped.  Co-writing most of the songs and serving as executive producer, Aguilera released "Dirrty" as the first single in 2002, a #1 in both the U.K. and Ireland.  

 

"Beautiful" raced to #1 in the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and Ireland and #2  in the U.S., went Gold, and won a Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.

Stripped reached #2 on the Album chart and has sold over 4 million copies in the U.S., another 2 million in the U.K., and 10 million total.  "Fighter" landed at #3 in the U.K. and Canada.

Christina joined fellow Mickey Mouse Club alum Justin Timberlake on tour.

Aguilera captured a Billboard Music Award for Top Female Pop Act in 2003.

In 2004, Christina recorded a part for the animated movie Shark Tale, and she and Missy Elliott covered Rose Royce's "Car Wash" for the film, although it was not near as successful as the original.  Christina and Herbie Hancock's version of "A Song For You" was nominated for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals at the Grammy Awards.

 

Aguilera married Jordan Bratman in 2005.  The following year, she released the album Back to Basics, featuring the lead single "Ain't No Other Man".  It went to #2 in the U.K. and #6  in the U.S., sold over two million copies, and won the Grammy for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.

Back to Basics was a #1 album in nearly every country in the world and has topped five million in sales.  Christina supported the album with a world tour which was the highest-grossing solo female tour of 2007 ($48.1 million). "Hurt" also went Gold and rose to #1 in New Zealand.

 Christina's "Beautiful" was included on the album Love Rocks, with proceeds going to the Human Rights Campaign. 

 

In 2007, Christina became the spokesperson for "Rock the Vote" and encouraged young people to vote.  After giving birth to her first child, a son, Aguilera appeared in the documentary Shine a Light.  Christina also released her compilation album Keeps Gettin' Better:  A Decade of Hits.  The title song hit #4 in Canada and #7 in the United States.

Aguilera became the global spokesperson for World Hunger Relief in 2009; she has helped raise over $148 million for the program and other hunger relief organizations in 45 countries.  After the devastating 2009 earthquake in Haiti, Christina donated a signed Chrysler 300 which was auctioned to raise money for relief efforts.

In 2010, Aguilera was appointed as U.N. ambassador for the World Food Program and received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.  She released the album Bionic to only moderate success, and then starred with Cher in the movie Burlesque, recording eight songs for the movie soundtrack.  

Aguilera performed the U.S. national anthem at Super Bowl XLV in 2011, and later performed at the Grammy Awards in a segment that paid tribute to legend Aretha Franklin.  Christina divorced her husband in April.

 

Aguilera was a coach on the television series The Voice in 2011 and 2012.  Christina collaborated with Maroon 5 for the smash hit "Moves Like Jagger", a #1 smash in the U.S. and either #1 or #2 in nearly every country in the world.

The single was one of the top hits of the year, selling over 12 million copies in the U.S. alone.  In 2012, Aguilera released Lotus, which reached #7 on the Album Chart and yielded the single "Your Body".

 

Christina won the People's Voice Award at the 2013 People's Choice Awards.  Aguilera and Pitbull reached #8 with "Feel This Moment", a two-million seller.  

Christina also collaborated with Alejandro Fernandez and A Great Big World, the latter song ("Say Something") selling over 12 million copies and earning Best Pop Duo/Group Performance at the Grammy Awards.

Aguilera received the Muhammad Ali Humanitarian of the Year Award in 2013 for her outstanding work around the world.  Christina was engaged to Matthew Rutler in 2014 and gave birth to the couple's daughter in August.  Aguilera starred in the television series Nashville in 2015.  

In 2016, Christina recorded "Change", which she dedicated to victims of the Orlando nightclub shooting.  In 2018, Aguilera starred in the movie Zoe.  She released the album Liberation, which became her seventh Top 10 album.  "Fall In Line" (with Ty Dolla Sign and 2 Chainz) was nominated for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance.

"Like I Do" with GoldLink was nominated for Best Rap/Sung Performance.  Aguilera toured the U.S. and Europe and also headlined a 25-date residency in Las Vegas.  

In 2019, Christina received the Disney Legends Award. 

Aguilera has won five Grammy Awards.  She has scored 27 career hits with 11 reaching the Top 10 and 5 going to #1.  Seven of her songs have attained Platinum status with 12 going Gold. 

Dan Fogelberg, the #102 Artist of the Rock Era, Part Four

By this time, Fogelberg decided to resist the pressures of writing music easily accessible to the public and the critics and took his sound in different and experimental directions.  Dan released the album High Country Snows in 1985.  The album also went Gold.  The single "Go Down Easy" reached #6 on the Adult chart.

One of the great tracks on the album is "Sutter's Mill". 

In 1987, Dan released the album Exiles.  "Lonely In Love" made it to #2 on the Adult Contemporary chart.  

Often, Fogelberg's album tracks were better than his singles, as evidenced by "Seeing You Again". 

After a tour, Fogelberg invited Timothy B. Schmit of the Eagles, David Crosby and Bruce Cockburn to help on his next project.  Dan recorded and produced the album The Wild Places at his Mountain Bird studio in Colorado and released it in 1991.  Dan's remake of the Cascades' big hit "Rhythm Of The Rain" rolled to #3 on the Adult Contemporary chart.

Fogelberg painted another gem with "Forefathers".  

"The Spirit Trail" is another outstanding track.  

We want to feature two more outstanding album tracks from The Wild Places album.  This is "Song Of The Sea".

The title song is another winner.

Fogelberg released the album River of Souls in 1993.  The title song is another of his best. 

"A Love Like This" also stands out.   

Dan and Tim Weisberg reunited for another collaboration in 1995, No Resemblance Whatsoever.

In 1997, he released the box set Portrait.  He recorded the new song "Don't Lose Heart". 

In 1999, Fogelberg released the album The First Christmas Morning.  His final album, Full Circle, was released in 2003.

In May of 2004, Dan was diagnosed with advanced prostrate cancer.  He underwent therapy, which originally seemed to be going well.  But on December 16, 2007, Fogelberg died at the age of 56.

The city of Peoria renamed a street "Fogelberg Parkway", which runs by his old high school.  His fans raised money for a permanent memorial garden, which was placed in Riverfront Park in 2010.

Four of Dan's 14 career hits reached the Top 10, but Adults loved him--he placed an incredible 11 of 16 hits on the AC Top 10 with four #1's. 

Fogelberg has sold an estimated 20 million albums worldwide.

We hope you enjoyed this four-part tribute to Dan.  If you missed any part of it, go back and catch up.  Join us tomorrow for The #101 Artist of the Rock Era*, exclusively on Inside The Rock Era!

Dan Fogelberg, the #102 Artist of the Rock Era, Part Three

Fogelberg continued his hot streak with the double album The Innocent Age in 1981.  Joni Mitchell and Emmylou Harris joined him for the album, which was Dan's seventh straight Gold album, selling over two million.  "Hard To Say" jumped to #2 on the Adult Contemporary chart and #7 overall.

Dan wrote this about a true encounter he had with a former love on Christmas Eve.  "Same Old Lang Syne" hit #8 on the Adult chart and #9 overall.

Fogelberg's next release reflected one of his earliest memories.  When he was four, Dan stood on a box in front of his father's big band, a baton in hand, conducting the musicians.  Although his dad stood behind him, doing the real work, the experience was a forebearer of things to come, following in his father's footsteps to become the leader of the band.  "It was an amazing feeling," he declared decades after the childhood event.  "To be immersed in music.  It felt both very magical and powerful.  And I was fearless."

Fogelberg wrote "Leader Of The Band" about his father, who later became a conductor at Woodruff High School in Peoria.  The line, "Thank-you for the freedom when it came my time to go" in this amazing tribute is in reference to the thoughtful understanding and advice his dad gave him when he told him he wanted to leave college to pursue a career in music.  "Leader Of The Band" was a #1 Adult smash and #9 overall.

Dan's love of horses led him to write this beautiful song in tribute of the Kentucky Derby.  "Run For The Roses" peaked at #3 on the AC chart but only #18 overall, an obvious choice for one of The Top Underrated Songs*.

We want to feature "Ghosts", another outstanding cut. #41  121K, 359-19

In 1982, Dan released his Greatest Hits album.  One of two new songs recorded, "Missing You" reached #6 on the Adult chart.

The compilation is nearing four million in sales in the U.S. alone.  "Make Love Stay" made it eight consecutive Top 10 hits on the Adult Contemporary chart and his third #1 in five years.

In 1984, Fogelberg released the album Windows and Walls. The album became his eighth straight Gold studio release. "The Language Of Love" peaked at #14.

"Believe In Me" paid off with yet another #1 on the AC chart.

Join us tomorrow for the conclusion of our salute to Dan Fogelberg, who narrowly missed making The Top 100 Artists of the Rock Era*.

Dan Fogelberg, the #102 Artist of the Rock Era, Part Two

Fogelberg was growing both as an artist with deep songs and complex music, but he wanted to do an album for himself.  The project became a duet with flautist Tim Weisberg, the 1978 album Twin Sons of Different Mothers.  

But fate plays a strange part.  This "personal album" became Fogelberg's breakthrough.  A song added late in the process, "The Power Of Gold", became one of his biggest hits to date.  Still, with a peak of #24, it is one of The Top Unknown/Underrated Songs of the Rock Era*. 

"Since You've Asked" is another great early Fogelberg song.  

Fogelberg and Weisberg combined for the instrumental, "Guitar Etude No. 3".

The album went Gold, and Dan fulfilled a career goal by playing Carnegie Hall in New York City to a sellout audience that included his parents.  Dan reached the ascension up the ladder to fame with the album Phoenix, released in 1979.  "Longer" is considered one of the quintessential love songs, a #1 smash on the Adult Contemporary chart and #2 overall.

"Heart Hotels" rushed to #3 on the AC chart, the most accurate measure of tastes, since adults by now dominated the Rock audience.

Phoenix is nearing three million in sales. This is one of the great album tracks of all-time:  "Tullamore Dew/Phoenix"

Dan recorded this song following the crisis at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant on March 28, 1979.  Over the next few days, radioactive gas was released into the air and 40,000 gallons of radioactive waste water was released into the Susquehanna River.  The song is an attack on nuclear power and the powerful interests be hind it, as well as an appeal to turn to solar power instead--"Face The Fire".

One of Fogelberg's most beautiful songs is "Along The Road".

Another great track on this tremendous album is "Gypsy Wind".

We hope you enjoyed this salute to Dan Fogelberg.  Join us tomorrow for Part Three!

Dan Fogelberg, the #102 Artist of the Rock Era, Part One

"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.

 

 

"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".

We believe his work is for the ages.  If you agree, do yourself a favor and buy an album or five of his.  Fogelberg toured for nearly two years in support of the album.  The title song is also worth featuring.  Fogelberg was really developing his melodies by this time to go with those timeless lyrics. 

This is one of The Top Tracks* of the Rock Era--"As The Raven Flies" 

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.  

But when Azoff heard them, Irving felt there was no way other musicians could duplicate the feeling captured in the demos.  Thus, the demos became the album, although Dan did hire Russ Kunkel to play percussion and other musicians to help out.  Finally, Fogelberg released Captured Angel, his third consecutive Platinum album.  "The Last Nail" is a solid track on the 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.

By 1977, Dan's growth was apparent in the album Nether Lands.  The magical "Scarecrow's Dream" is one of his most-loved YouTube songs and a fan favorite.  It is one of the Top Tracks* of the Rock Era.

The album has now sold over two million copies.  The soaring melodies, orchestration, and incredible lyrics in the title song make it another amazing track. 

Azoff set up Fogelberg to open for another of his clients, the Eagles, on a national tour, which naturally gave Dan tremendous exposure, not to mention thousands of new fans.  This is "Lessons Learned".

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.