Dan Fogelberg

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I saw a post on my Facebook feed this morning that said today (12/16) is the anniversary of the death of folk-rock singer Dan Fogelberg. He died December 16, 2007 of prostate cancer. The post made me think back on his career. As with many other singers with a "huge hit," Fogelberg's biggest hit, "Longer," is one of my least favorite songs of his. I thought it was smarmy and hokey ("longer than there've been fishes in the ocean"....oy) and certainly not representative of his larger body of work (such as his masterful Souvenirs album, which was produced by Joe Walsh, or Nether Lands). Additionally, I saw him one time, in 1982, on the tour supporting the album The Innocent Age. It was, and still remains, one of the WORST concerts I've ever seen. He played at a big arena (Hampton Coliseum), the same place bands like AC/DC, Rush, and Foreigner played at. That was just no place for his soft rock and folk music, and it was reflected in an unappreciative crowd with bad vibes reaching the stage (and being sent back from the singer). Having said all of that, you probably wonder why I'm writing about Fogelberg, right? Seriously, I do like a lot of his music. Souvenirs is album I'd recommend to just about anyone: if you like folk, soft rock, harmonies, or even bluegrass, there's something on the album for you (not to mention Joe Walsh's great guitar work). He was one of the great singer/songwriters of the 70's. Fogelberg was only 56 when cancer claimed him eight years ago. There's so much music he could've given. At least we have what he did give us, and much of that is terrific.