I’m saddened by the death of Dan Fogelberg, who passed away Sunday of prostate cancer at the age of 56.
Fogelberg was one of those sensitive singer-songwriter types who flourished in the 1970s, along with artists like Jackson Browne, Joni Mitchell, James Taylor, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Carole King and the Eagles. I loved that genre. Still do.
I also felt a certain kinship to Fogelberg. We were about the same age and we both spent time in the same Illinois towns. Fogelberg was born in Peoria and I spent two years at Bradley University in Peoria. Before he had a recording contract, Fogelberg was a fixture on the coffeehouse circuit in Champaign-Urbana and I spent my final two years of college at the University of Illinois in those twin cities.
I saw Fogelberg perform before he released Home Free, his debut album, in 1972. I wish I could say I knew immediately that Fogelberg would go on to become an international star, but I can’t. I’m not that smart.
I can say I wasn’t surprised when Fogelberg hit it big in 1974 with the release of Souvenirs, which contained the single Part of the Plan.
However, nobody, Fogelberg included, could have predicted the success of The Innocent Age, a double-album released in 1981 that landed in that rare place where art and commerce happily co-exist. The Innocent Age, an autobiographical song cycle about the passage from childhood to adulthood is borne aloft by thoughtful lyrics and beautiful melodies. Against all odds, it was a commercial smash, propelled by the hit singles Run for the Roses, Same Old Lang Syne and Leader of the Band.
I listened to The Innocent Age in its entirety today. Great album.
Thanks, Dan.
