It’s Okay To Like Dan Fogelberg
I’ve been meaning to write this for a while now. The holidays got in the way, but maybe that was for the best. It gave me time to really think about what I wanted to say.
And here it is.
It is okay to like Dan Fogelberg.
Go ahead. You can say it. Here, watch me:
I like Dan Fogelberg. Some of Dan Fogelberg’s music, I loved. And still do.
Dan Fogelberg died of prostate cancer on December 16th, 2007. He was 56. His most recent publicity photos show a good-looking guy, clean-shaven and smiling, the kind of guy who makes middle-aged moms blush and their daughters giggle.
Unfortunately, his reputation didn’t weather the years as well as he. For some folks of a certain age, Fogelberg’s name has become the go-to punch line for jokes about 1970s-era granola-munching, Chukka boot-wearing Sensitive Guys. Many critics loathed him. Rolling Stone’s review of 1979’s
It’s less troublesome to dismiss Dan Fogelberg, as have most eulogists I’ve read, as that “1970’s soft rock singer-songwriter” who scored a few hits than it is to set aside that fashionable prejudice and honestly consider his work. Or, more telling, his work’s popularity.
The fact that so many people evidently aren’t willing to do that – and worse, are dismissing Fogelberg as little more than a footnote to 1970s and early 80s pop – is really getting under my skin.
Fogelberg wasn’t a footnote. From his first album release, 1972’s Home Free, through 1981’s double album The Innocent Age, Fogelberg was regarded as an artist on par with the best of his peers. With Joe Walsh, he was one of the first acts signed by Irving Azoff, who soon went on to manage The Eagles, and he was considered for the spot in that band’s lineup that ultimately went to Walsh.
Reading the liner notes of Dan Fogelberg’s essential discography is like reading a who’s who of mellow 1970’s album rock. He attracted the best session players in the business. The Innocent Age features guest vocals from Emmylou Harris, Joni Mitchell, Richie Furay, Don Henley, Glenn Frey and Chris Hillman. If you had any of them in your album collection, you invariably owned at least one Dan Fogelberg album. Probably Souvenirs.
I played Souvenirs and other Fogelberg albums on the air as a rock radio DJ. It wasn’t at all unusual back in the day to hear him played alongside The Eagles, Poco, Jackson Browne, Linda Ronstadt, James Taylor, CSNY, Jimmy Buffett, Boz Scaggs, Neil Young and dozens more 1970s album rock radio core artists. You wouldn’t hear “Longer,” but definitely “Part of the Plan,” “As the Raven Flies” and “There’s a Place in the World for a Gambler” from Souvenirs, maybe “Crow” from the underrated Captured Angel, definitely “The Power of Gold” from his Tim Weisberg collaboration Twin Sons of Different Mothers.
I liked to slide The Innocent Age out of its cover right around midnight. I was a college student in the early 80s, paying my way through school as the late-night jock on the town’s sole rock station, a pitiful low-wattage AM that nonetheless had a cult following. By midnight, I knew the hard partiers had already switched to the big regional FM; those who remained with me were studying or stoned, or both. That was my cue to take it way down: Robin Trower’s “
The Innocent Age features Fogelberg’s biggest hits, “Same Old Lang Syne” and “Leader of the Band,” but one of my favorite tracks to play late at night was “Only the Heart May Know,” his tender duet with Emmylou Harris, sweet as a lullaby sent into the night. Not that I never played anything from
“Along the Road” may be my favorite Dan Fogelberg song of all time. Definitely top three. Two. It’s pretty high up there.
*****
Of the ten albums Dan Fogelberg recorded and released between 1972 and 1985, two are RIAA-certified gold, three are platinum, four are double platinum and one is triple platinum. That’s 15 million units sold, most of them back when they were still called LPs and you had to actually make the trip to a record store to buy one.
Clearly, somebody other than me liked Dan Fogelberg.
Okay, so maybe you particularly didn’t like him. Maybe you agree with the chorus of critics who labeled his lyrics mawkish, overwrought, treacly and clichéd.
Well, yeah. A lot of his lyrics were. I don’t think an objective listener can deny it, no matter how great a fan they may be.
I’ve always thought Dan Fogelberg on balance was a far better melodist than lyricist. His best melodies from those first seven albums are gems of craftsmanship, made more impressive by the sheer number of just damned catchy, stick-in-your-brain songs he cranked out. “Part of the Plan” and “Crow” would sound right at home in Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young’s oeuvre, and the hook to “Wishing on the Moon” from Phoenix is every bit as vital as, say, that of The Eagles’ “Already Gone.” Gritty up the lyrics a little, put Glenn Frey on lead with Dan singing the high harmony (Jesus, that voice) and it could be the B-side hit the Eagles never recorded.
But pair those melodies with Dan’s sentimental pen…
I can’t listen to the title track of 1977’s Nether Lands without the word “gushing” coming to mind. Dan’s standing on a mountaintop, beholding all that is below and before him, his heart and soul singing with the joy of the vista and the moment over a bed of woodwinds, strings and French horns, lush as the soundtrack to Sunrise over The Majestic Rockies, in Technicolor.
It’s just so damn over the top. Like Julie Andrews with a flannel shirt and a beard.
But here’s the thing. Not two years before I first heard “Nether Lands,” I’d been a raw-boned 16-year-old lad standing on the Mogollon Rim, southwest of
And so when the good Mr. Fogelberg’s high sweet tenor sang over those soaring, shameless orchestral glissandos, my heart sang with him. Because I had been there, and so knew that he had gotten it exactly and absolutely right.
And there it is. The key to Dan Fogelberg’s popularity, and the source of his most frequent criticisms.
Maybe if he’d thrown in some irony, a little cynicism to go with the poignancy. Maybe if he’d invoked whiskey and cigarettes when his woman done left him, rather than cottonwood trees in autumn. Maybe if he’d taken his hand off his heart and grabbed his crotch a bit more. Or at all.
But that wasn’t his thing. It’s clearly not where he lived, or what he believed. Not enough to want to write about it, at any rate.
The Dan Fogelberg who wrote and recorded those wonderful albums is a sweet guy, a gentle soul who recognized the transience of life and so chose to celebrate its moments of sweetness, chose sentiment over cynicism or resentment, even in life’s most heartrending moments. After you were done cursing and getting drunk and assigning blame, Dan’s the guy you’d eventually want sitting across the table from you over coffee or a beer. He’d listen and nod and smile, and you’d know he understood. He’d put it all into perspective for you. He wouldn’t try to make you feel better, but you’d come away knowing you weren’t alone, and that would make you feel better. It made the ache more tolerable, and enabled you to look forward once more.
Short of sitting across that table, his music on the stereo and a good bottle of wine isn’t a bad substitute. Many times, when my heart and soul ached, for many reasons, it’s what helped me.
*****
I left Dan Fogelberg behind. I never developed a taste for his post-Innocent Age work, and my own pop and rock tastes changed as life changed me, carrying me on passing years from Dan and his peers to my current favorites. But I still carry a big torch for those days, and with the advent of iTunes, Rhapsody and the rest have found myself seeking out the music of my youth, reveling in sentimental fondness as I rediscover those songs, and the memories they awaken.
And so, I shouldn’t be surprised that I find myself sentimental over Dan Fogelberg’s death. And so irritated that it has gone so largely unremarked.
Maybe it’s because I’m older now, at that age when so many of those who composed and played the soundtrack to my youth are leaving us, making memories of that time more poignant. Maybe its that, because his music meant something to me, seeing his music dismissed makes me feel as if my youth and feelings are likewise being dismissed.
I imagine it’s all of that.
But also, I’m just plain pissed off at the critical pretentiousness that continues to dismiss him even in death, and the ease with which so many people mock him, for no other reason than that. Because it’s easy.
You don’t like his music? That’s fine. If you’ve given his best stuff a sincere listen and it’s not your cup of tea, then thanks for stopping by.
But if you haven’t? Listen to the clips I’ve included here. If you’re intrigued, spend a few bucks and download some tracks online. Or ask a friend, or maybe their Granola-munching parents, if they’ve got some Dan Fogelberg you can borrow.
But be warned. You’ve got to kick the furniture out of the way and invite Dan in, if you’re going to appreciate him at all. You’ve got to be willing to let him nail you right smack-dab in your squishy place.
And if you find you like him – well, of course it’s okay. It’s always been okay. You don’t need my permission, or anyone’s. With anything in life, it’s never about what others say. It’s always about what you feel.
A few days after his death, longtime friend Jackson Browne called Dan Fogelberg “an angel.” Writing about him now, listening to him now, having rediscovered him now after all these years, I don’t feel inclined to disagree.
Rest in peace, Dan. And thanks.
TNH
January 6th, 2008 at 2:06 pm
Nice post. I’ve loved Dan Fogelberg for a long time, and there’s still a lot of fans out there who are in tears over his passing.
“Nether Lands” was high on my list of favorites. It’s always the passion in his voice that I relate to.
I haven’t been able to play his music since he passed. It makes me too sad.
Thanks for the post.
January 7th, 2008 at 5:37 am
Thank you for writing a great article about Dan Fogelberg. He truly was a great artist and it is a shame that so many trivialize his music or pigeon-hole it as being soft or schmaltz rock.
If anyone ever saw him live, they know that he can really rock. He was an excellent musician.
January 7th, 2008 at 5:52 am
Thanks for this entry. You’ve said what I’ve wanted to say, but couldn’t put into words.
I disagree with the critic who labeled his lyrics as “mawkish, overwrought, treacly and clichéd.” DF was a poet, in my humble opinion, who set his words to music. He was a musician who wrote poetry to fit his music.
I haven’t played another CD other than a Fogelberg disc since he died. I’m even a bigger fan now.
January 7th, 2008 at 8:29 am
Thanks so much for putting into words what my heart and emotions have been crying out since Dan died.
My love for his music and the person we was never waned, not once, since I picked up Home Free in 1973.
In the days since he died I have read many a eulogy about him but yours strummed all the right chords. Thanks again.
January 7th, 2008 at 4:42 pm
For those people who don’t know Dan Fogelberg’s music or never bothered to see Dan in concert, all I can say is ” I am so sorry for your loss”.
Carol
January 22nd, 2008 at 2:50 pm
Thank you for capturing and expressing what I feel about Dan and his passing. Throughout his life his music displayed a quiet courage that allowed him to show us his heart with no reservations or apologies, an impossible feat for many men (probably the same ones who would criticize his strengths for illuminating their own weaknesses).
Your words about him reflect a similar rare courage. You really should send them to his family.
Rest in Peace Dan Fogelberg, you were well and truly loved.
February 24th, 2008 at 4:10 pm
I’m a songwriter with two regional emmy nominations (best composer) to my credit. Nothing big, for sure, but at least credible. I throw that in to underscore that I know the technical aspects of composition, and for YEARS have marveled at Fogelberg’s talent — his qualitive genius, both melodic and lyrical — and just as emphatically, wondered why he was always panned by critics. The comment in your article about “maybe if he thrown in more cynicism, etc.,” FINALLY, after thirty years of being a Fogelberg fan, helps clear up the issue for me. I think you’re right. I found out today, Feb 24, that Dan had passed. And I’m sad, to the soul.
April 14th, 2008 at 7:47 pm
Thank you for your wonderful post about my favorite, most beloved artist. Not a day goes by that I don’t think about him; Dan’s passing tore me in pieces.
He has always been so underrated, so under appreciated. His talent was enormous. I only hope that he will finally, like so many other great artists, be honored, post mortem.
Also, thank you for making me laugh, along with all your kind words.
April 19th, 2008 at 8:14 pm
Thank you ever so much for puting into words your feelings about Dan Fogelberg. You are an exceptional writer. It is so close to how I feel about DF, that it seems the only difference is I was 20 years old puchasing “Homefree” the day after I first heard “Souvenirs” for the first time. I had to find out what other work this artist had and where did he come from. Only to find out that he is from a relatively small town in Illinois, just a couple hour trip from where I was born and raised. I too will die by a river. When you think about how much of his music was recorded in the studio by himself doing almost all the instruments, plus lead and harmony.
you can realize how talented he was. He kept things simple. He got involved in the Environment and native american indians, not to mention”no nukes”
The day “Captured Angel” was released, I was at “Peaches”, getting my copy and yes it is sometimes lost in the shuffle when speaking in terms of favorites.
I was visiting friends in Colorado and was in the mountains, stoned and under the stars when I heard “Netherlands” for the first time.
“Innocent Age” !!! What an album.
I have them all. Between LP’s, Tapes, and CD’s I have them all covered. I feel personally responcible for turning several people into fans of his work. It just seems appropriate that when Fogelberg came out with his last
album, “Full Circle”, he and I for that matter had indeed come full circle.
I know he was 56 and left us way too soon, but I wonder if he really knows how many peoples lives he touched.
I borrowed some verses from “Leader of the Band” in giving my father’s eulogy 2 weeks before Dan Fogelberg passed. I included those same verses in a letter to my own father a few weeks before he passed, and am especially grateful that I did that and have no regrets because of it. What timing!!. If you could send a postcard from the afterlife, his would say “wish you were here”.
thanks again
May 15th, 2008 at 1:07 pm
One night in 1979, I was listening to a local low wattage radio station and they were playing “Twin sons”. The next day as I was commenting to a friend on how great this “new” guy was, he handed me an 8-track.. Nether Lands, I was stunned and I mean stunned! I could not stop listening and have not stopped since.
The middle of this story is just too long to share, but when I heard of his passing I was deeply saddened, friends were calling to check on me as if Dan and I were family.
My best friend summed up my excessive sadness best by telling me “Dan was the backdrop( soundtrack) to your twenties and beyond, its only right to be so sad”
Call me “sappy” if you will…I’m in good company.
butch
July 28th, 2008 at 8:40 pm
Music has always been an important part of my life. My dreams, my memories, my behavior is moulded by the music playing in the background. Dan Fogelburg was, IS, part of the musical tapestry that colors my world. Sappy, my ass!
November 28th, 2008 at 12:03 pm
I remember hearing Nether Lands echoing down the hall of my college dorm in 1978. I HAD to find out where such beautiful music came from. Once I found out, I rushed out and picked up the album, althought I could ill-afford it on my thin budget. It was worth the investment and then some. I purchased all of his prior CD’s as quickly as my budget would allow. Each one offered a view of the world that spoke to me. Some tunes I liked, some I didn’t. I believe that I became Dan’s biggest fan, and remain so thirty years later.
Thank you for this well-written post. We Dan Fans lost a real treasure with his passing, but at least he left us with a rich collection of some of the most exceptional music evern written.
November 28th, 2008 at 8:44 pm
Coming up on a year since Dan’s passing, somehow I’d missed this post before. Thank you, finding it made my evening. Dan’s music was not only a soundtrack to my early years, his music inspired me to be a better musician and taught me that it was okay to fearlessly bare, yet carefully cloak, my emotions in my own writing. Losing Dan was like losing a teacher, a brother, a lover and a friend all in one. My life is better for having been touched by his music and by his conviction. He is still missed.
December 15th, 2008 at 4:49 pm
I sit here on the eve of the 1st anniversary of Dan’s passing and I still can’t believe that he’s gone. The world seems so empty without him in it. I can’t help thinking of his wife Jean and the rest of his family and I wish them comfort and peace.
December 16th, 2008 at 9:39 pm
A full year since the day of his passing and I’m still shocked that his talent has fallen silent. I’ve been a fan since Netherlands. Dancing Shoes and Lesson Learned my favorites, listening to the tunes while cruising on my motorcycle up PCH on the California Coast my senior year in college. My kids know Leader of the Band and Run for the Roses by heart!! Man wouldn’t it be great to have a Dan Fogelberg museum at his ranch (recently sold) in Southern Colorado!? Hmmmm. We can do it!
December 30th, 2008 at 2:30 pm
This article is spot on. I think you and I are of like mind, TNH.
I came to know Dan’s work when “Captured Angel” was played for me by a good friend back in ‘74. I’ve been listening to Dan’s music since. I too was a late night DJ while in college in north central Indiana in the late ’70’s. Only I was at a low power FM station that had a rock/college rock format.
I had lost track of Dan’s work after “High Country Snows”. Then about 1991 I started going back and replacing my LP’s with CD’s and just finished my collection of all of Dan’s work on CD on Christmas day (I found a copy of “River of Souls”, now out of print, on Amazon).
I have to say that “Nether Lands” is my favorite Dan album, with “Sketches/False Faces” being my favorite tracks. The orchestration, lyrics, and vocals on these songs always make the hair on the back of my neck stand up and tingle! Occasionally my eyes even well up. I think I could recite the lyrics to this entire album from memory and in the correct track order.
You’re darn right it’s OK to like Fogelberg, and to those who have put him down, well, you’re entitled to your opinion, but I contend it comes from a lack of knowledge about Dan and how personal his music is. Irving Azoff wanted to release the demo tapes Dan made for “Captured Angel” as the finished album. Dan had to plead with him to get Russ Kunkel, Norbert Putnam, and a few others to lay down tracks on the final product. Dan just didn’t think his work was good enough. There are places on this album where almost everything you hear is Dan and Dan alone!
I’ll be a Dan fan for life. On the question of making Mountain Bird Ranch a museum, I’d love to see it, but do you have $15 million laying around?
February 7th, 2009 at 4:37 pm
I’m missing Dan a lot today - your post helped. What an astounding piece of writing. Thanks.
March 24th, 2009 at 6:19 am
I STILL like Dan Fogelberg. So there. He has an honored place on my iPod.
May 2nd, 2009 at 10:29 pm
Just found this! It really is ashame that Dan is most widely known only for those sugary sweet ballads, coz the man could rock!! I feel sorry for those who never listened to more than his hits. You have to go below the surface and listen to his full bodies of works to appreciate the genuine pure talent that recided in Dan. He was a genius songwriter, master musician and had a voice that makes us girls melt!!! I have been a fan for over 30 years and still cannot pick one favorite or even ten–coz with a very few exceptions, every song is a masterpiece in its own rights. Dan did so many genre of music and did them all so well. So to those who diss Dan’s music-I feel sorry for them and for those love his music-Cudos–You “got it”!!!!!!
October 3rd, 2009 at 3:41 am
Hello fans of Dan Fogelberg,
is there anybody,who can tell me, where I can visit Dans graveyard?
Pleas excuse my English.
Greetings,
Juergen (Germany)
February 9th, 2010 at 11:41 am
I’m sorry to tell you Juergen, that you can’t visit an actual grave. Dan’s wife Jean, following Dan’s wishes, had his remains cremated. His ashes were cast out over “The Reach”, the harbor on the Maine coast next to their home on what would have been Dan’s 57th birthday on August 13th, 2008.
May 24th, 2010 at 3:51 pm
I’ve just learned of Dan’s passing very recently. He was part of the soundtrack to my life in my teens and early twenties. I was in Australia
when he died and never heard. Although I never got to see him “live”
I always wanted to. After Innocent Age I too lost touch, the albums
that I will always cherish are Captured Angel & Souvenirs. Anyone who
disputes his talents hasn’t ever heard his early tracks where he was the only
musician - he played all the instruments. Dan’s music will live forever
with me. Good Bye and Thank You.
July 15th, 2010 at 8:34 pm
Hi, I am a 27 year old male and I think Dan Fogelberg is one of the best musicians of all time. His singing is top-notch, the musical backing/use of instruments is unbeatable, and most of all, the tunes are SO catchy, unlike…(cough)…90% of what you hear on the radio today. My favorite songs by him are the common “Same Old Lang Syne” and “Longer”…who cares if they are sappy…they define the word “music” better than a dictionary can. I really wish some radio stations would play Dan Fogelberg songs…because listening to his songs with a tiny bit of dynamic range compression is just MUSICAL HEAVEN. All the various instruments come to life like no other on the radio!