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Dan Fogelberg


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Eric,

I was wondering what your thoughts are on the music of Dan Fogelberg. Did you ever have the opportunity to see him perform, or to meet him? There are maybe a handful of singers that can touch my heart when they sing - You are certainly one - Dan Fogelberg is another. My personal favorite is the album "Nether Lands". The title track is amazing, and the balance of the tracks are great!

Any thoughts?

I'm not sure how he is doing these days. I know he was diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer a couple of years ago. He is quite a talent - I hope he is able to beat it.

Tim

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Dan Fogelberg and I grew up in the same hometown of Peoria, IL in the fifties and sixties. I first knew of him when my 7th grade sister had a big crush on a kid in her dance class named Dan Fogelberg. Dan went to a different high school but joined a local band that played at a lot of the sock hops and dances known as "The Coachmen". They were very good and even cut a few records. Dan then went to the University of Illinois in Champaign to major in art. It was here that he met a recent U of I grad named Irving Azoff. Dan quit college to pursue his musical dreams just like Eric did as well. I wrote in an earlier post over a year ago noting the similarites in Dan and Eric. They have birthdays that are like two days apart although Eric is a couple years older. Yes, I agree Dan has some very good material that I enjoy a lot. He wrote a song about his band teacher father Lawrence Fogelberg called "Leader of the Band". Lawrence taught band at Pekin H.S. and Woodruff H.S. where Dan graduated from in the late sixties. Dan has been living out east recently after having moved from Colorado. I know that the times he has returned to Peoria his concerts have been sold out. And the biggest concern was mentioned earlier about his health. Yes he has had prostate cancer and I am not aware of his health at this time although we all pray for his recovery. Quite a talent to say the least.

Phil

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I'm a very big fan of Dan. I think most people know that he is a brilliant lyricist, but very few are aware of his guitar-playing abilities. It was for this combination that he was asked to join the Eagles.

It was the mid 1970's, Bernie Leadon had quit the band, and Fogelberg's manager, also Eagles manager Irving Azoff, approached Dan about the Eagles. At the time, Dan's solo career was taking off (no pun intended), "Longer" had hit the charts, so he didn't take Azoff up on the offer. Azoff turned to another client, Joe Walsh, and the rest is history.

It certainly would have been interesting to see what might have happened with Dan in the Eagles. His lyric-writing ability would have easily put him on par with Don Henley, but I don't think Henley/Frey would have been able to handle someone else vying for song-writing credits on the albums.

If you have the "Desperado" album, check out the 'outlaws' on the back cover. Among the group of Eagles are, Jackson Browne, JD Souther, and Dan.

Marv

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From DanFogelberg.com:

Is it true you were asked to join the Eagles?

No, I was never asked to join the Eagles, I was considered among many others when they were re-organizing the group before the “On The Border†album. Don Henley asked if I would be interested, and after a long discussion I think we both realized that I wouldn’t be the right choice. They were moving in one direction and I was heading in another. Eventually Joe Walsh got the job.

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There was an excellent Dan Fogelberg concert on Soundstage last fall. I wish I would have thought to tape it. I was flipping through the channels and boom, there it was. Caught me off guard and I never thought of hitting the record button. :(

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The soundstage show may be the last if he never tours again.With his diagnosis he shouldn't be here,but state of the art medicine combined with progressive alternative lifestyle changes have helped such that he claims 100% remission.I would expect to find fans of ec and df together:people who appreciate songcraft and performance.Dan's last public comment,at the death of his bassist Mike Botts from Bread(colon ca.},was if you are male approaching 50 dont be idiot like he was-get a p.s.a. test. Dan's ca would have very likely not be in bone had he not waited til tour insurance required physical.That worked for me-getting test annually now even though hate bloodtest.And if insurance lack delays your test,avg cost is 35.00 You can walk in to most labs and buy test -no order needed.

I have dvd of soundstage-will pass on to any ec.com fan who will pass on next.

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I'd just like to underline the importance of routine blood tests,especially PSA for men 50 and over.Murray was diagnosed with prostate cancer 6 years ago just from a routine test.Thankfully we found it in the early stages,and his treatment has been 100% successful.Praise the Lord he is now officially cancer free.

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Dan Fogelberg....my wife loves him. I absolutely hate his music. If she wants me to leave the house, she puts it on. I sold his Greatest Hits CD on ebay without telling her. She was pretty pissed off. So she bought another copy.

I do agree on the PSA test. My dad and his brother both died from prostate cancer. My dad was a WWII vet (fought in the South Pacific) and like many in his generation, he thought nothing could kill him so he never went to the doctor. Of course by the time he did, it was too late.

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We actually have it pretty easy guys... If you think that the necessary testing is too invasive, just imagine what you need to go through if you don't get tested and you get prostate or colon cancer. Women go through a lot more when they go to a doctor than we do.

I hope that the treatments are going well for Dan Fogelberg. It's hard to find a current update on his condition.

Tim

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I noticed that. And it scares me a little...

By the way, as I've said before, The ultimate Folgelberg non greatest hits CD, other than his boxed set, as I go for the record for commas in one sentence, is the double CD, "The Innocent Age", where Dan took his time and was at his peek in songwriting/producing... Great variety of strong melodic songs! I wonder if he was age 27 in 1980/81.

6 commas, not bad...

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