Dan Fogelberg

The late Dan Fogelberg (August 13, 1951, Peoria, Illinois – December 16, 2007, Deer Isle, Maine) was an American singer/songwriter who had several gold and platinum releases in the late 1970's and early 80's. During his solo career, under assistance of Eagles manager Irving Azoff, he rose to prominence and epitomized the soft rock 70s sound. He also voiced his concerns on social and ecological issues, including the No Nukes concerts, and worked in the studio with a diverse variety of musicians including Van Morrison, Joe Walsh, Tim Weisberg and Ricky Skaggs.

The youngest of three sons, Dan was born in Peoria, Illinois, the son of Margaret (née Irvine), a classically-trained pianist, and Lawrence Peter Fogelberg, a high school band director, who spent most of his career at Peoria Woodruff High School and Pekin High School. Dan Fogelberg's mother was a Scottish immigrant and his father was of Swedish descent. His father would later be the inspiration for the song Leader of the Band. Using a Mel Bay course book, Dan taught himself to play a Hawaiian slide guitar his grandfather gave to him; he also learned to play the piano. He started his music career at age 14 when he joined his first band, The Clan, which paid homage to The Beatles. His second band was another cover combo, The Coachmen, which in 1967 released two singles on Ledger Records: "Maybe Time Will Let Me Forget" and "Don't Want To Lose Her." Another was the blues band, Frankie and the Aliens, who toured regionally during the 1980s covering songs by Cream and Muddy Waters, among others.