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R.I.P. Dan Fogelberg


Jahfin

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By NEKESA MUMBI MOODY

NEW YORK - Dan Fogelberg, the singer and songwriter whose hits "Leader of the Band" and "Same Old Lang Syne" helped define the soft-rock era, died Sunday at his home in Maine after battling prostate cancer. He was 56.

His death was announced Sunday in a statement by Anna Loynes of the Solters & Digney public relations agency, and was also posted on the singer's Web site.

"Dan left us this morning at 6:00 a.m. He fought a brave battle with cancer and died peacefully at home in Maine with his wife Jean at his side," it read. "His strength, dignity and grace in the face of the daunting challenges of this disease were an inspiration to all who knew him."

Fogelberg discovered he had advanced prostate cancer in 2004. In a statement then, he thanked fans for their support: "It is truly overwhelming and humbling to realize how many lives my music has touched so deeply all these years. ... I thank you from the very depths of my heart."

Fogelberg's music was powerful in its simplicity. He didn't rely on the volume of his voice to convey his emotions; instead, they came through in the soft, tender delivery and his poignant lyrics. Songs like "Same Old Lang Syne" — in which a man reminisces after meeting an old girlfriend by chance during the holidays — became classics not only because of his performance, but for the engaging storyline, as well.

Fogelberg's heydey was in the 1970s and early 80s, when he scored several platinum and multiplatinum records fueled by such hits as "The Power of Gold" and "Leader of the Band," a touching tribute he wrote to his father, a bandleader. Fogelberg put out his first album in 1972.

Fogelberg's songs tended to have a weighty tone, reflecting on emotional issues in a serious way. But in an interview with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel in 1997, he said it did not represent his personality.

"That came from my singles in the early '80s," he reflects. "I think it probably really started on the radio. I'm not a dour person in the least. I'm actually kind of a happy person. Music doesn't really reflect the whole person.

"One of my dearest friends is Jimmy Buffett. From his music, people have this perception that he's up all the time, and, of course, he's not. Jimmy has a serious side, too."

Later in his career, he would write material that focused on the state of the environment, an issue close to his heart. Fogelberg's last album was 2003's "Full Circle," his first album of original material in a decade. A year later he would receive his cancer diagnosis, forcing him to forgo a planned fall tour.

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By NEKESA MUMBI MOODY

NEW YORK - Dan Fogelberg, the singer and songwriter whose hits "Leader of the Band" and "Same Old Lang Syne" helped define the soft-rock era, died Sunday at his home in Maine after battling prostate cancer. He was 56.

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Oh no !! :o

I loved that album he did with Tim Weisberg....

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A cool mix of jazz and folk....damn...

RIP Dan......I had no idea he was sick....:(

:(

R.I.P. Dan

That was a very cool album.

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I heard "As The Raven Flies" on the way to the coffeeshop this morning and it brought a tear to my eye......dang.....

I see the raven’s made

Her nest in your eyes

She’s got you thinking that

Her love is a prize

And you’ll go under from

The weight of her lies

As the raven flies

As the raven flies

She’ll bring you stories

That just never sound true

She’ll bring you secrets

That were never meant for you,

And just as you come round

She’ll send you back through

She’s in love with you

She’s in love with you.

Darker, darker

Don’t let her talk her way

Into you.

Lonely, lonely

You know she’s only

No good for you.

I see the raven’s made

Her nest in your eyes

She’s got you thinking that

Her love is a prize

And you’ll go under from

The weight of her lies

As the raven flies

As the raven flies

As the raven flies

As the raven flies.

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http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseacti...logID=338727966

Hey Jahfin, Kitty had this to say on her blog Sunday night.

Sad news,soothing music.I'm sure that he will rest in peace!

Thanks for the link, Rolling Stone posted Jackson Browne's thoughts on Fogelberg earlier today:

Jackson Browne stopped by the Rolling Stone offices this morning to talk about his thirty-year battle against nuclear power, and afterwards he shared memories of his friend and collaborator Dan Fogelberg, who died yesterday of prostate cancer. The two first sang together on Browne’s 1974 album Late For The Sky. “He was beautiful, an angel,” Browne said. “People either don’t know it or don’t remember it, but he had the highest harmonies. He sang above Don Henley and J.D. Souther on those tracks. My favorite song of his [”Same Old Lang Syne”] was about running into an old lover in a supermarket on New Years – I shouldn’t admit it, but it made me cry. It encapsulated the passing of time and the revisiting of former hopes and dreams. He was a really emotional songwriter and a beautiful singer.”

Andy Greene

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