Comments on: Dan Fogelberg

By: bill

bill — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 01:15:49 +0000

It’s ok to say you liked Dan, he was a cool breeze, talented, and loved life. Never wanted to leave us all. We will never have another one like him.

By: Joel Serey

Joel Serey — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 03:35:48 +0000

Beyond his poetic songwriting, his lyrics were masterful. I was fortunate enough to see him in 1978, 1989, and 1999 and each time it was a great heart touching experience. Some of his earlier songs and new marked a great transition of life for me. From “part of the plan” to “leader of the band” i covered his music in just about every band I have ever played in. “Changing horses in the midle of a stream” was just as pricless as…The lyric” Saw an old lover in the record store” gives me shivers as it can take me back to the time and place the first time I heard a song of his…I recently saw a live concert on PBS and he did not dissapoint me…it was priceless…especially the last song when he slipped the riff from Derick and the Dominos “Layla” into the song he was playing..he will be deeply missed, but we can keep him alive by playing his music….nice example of slipping the light fandango…..Dan you will always be in our hearts and souls

By: Jackie Geis

Jackie Geis — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 06:56:27 +0000

A true songwriter/musician as Dan is a very huge loss in my heart. I remember in college when a friend introduced me to his Homefree album in ‘73. I was so moved I tried to learn every song on my guitar. Changing Horses is my all time favorite song of his. Living in Nashville the last 20 yrs., it’s hard to find musicians who can measure up to his talent to me. Only Kevin Welch’s Western Beat album comes close. Not to mention Joni Mitchell and Willis Allen Ramsey also back in ‘73. I’ll never get tired of these four artists albums and still play them constantly.
Just part of the fabric of my life. God Bless you Dan.

By: Jesse Duran

Jesse Duran — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 16:49:11 +0000

The name “Fogelberg” may not have been as sexy as Springsteen or Springfield, but he was
just as important to me in the 80’s. It’s not Christmastime until I hear Auld Lang Syne, and have a fit of nostalgia, about the “one that got away”. Longer though, is by far his most beautiful description of true love that never dies. And his music will never die either, because IT IS IN OUR SOUL!!!

By: Peter

Peter — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 01:25:52 +0000

I was recording “Another Auld Lang Syne” off the radio (in the pre mp3 days) when the announcer broke in to say that John Lennon had been shot in New York and had passed away that evening. What a legacy Dan Fogelberg left for us….a lot of great music and great memories. I saw him twice in Atlanta in the early 80’s….remember he closed one of the shows with a cover version of “Paperback Writer” that was really good. I will miss hearing more from him.

By: Stephan P

Stephan P — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 16:46:56 +0000

I still can’t sing along any of his music yet without getting choked up.

I was very young as well when I first listened to him. And I have heard many people who are DF fans say that they felt obscure in some way because they were not listening to the norm at the time. I always felt special. As if I had tapped into something so deep, so meaningful in many ways. The loss has left a permanent void.

I had a dream last night about DF. I woke at that 4am and never went back to bed. I was too distraught…much too shaken over realizing that he was not in our lives anymore.

I wonder if other out there are questioning their own mortality because of our great loss. Now at 51, my teens years and discovering Dan really does not seem that long ago.

I relate to Anie and how all the lyrics just come back when you hear his music. Those words of his were so profound and hit the mark in so many ways.

By: Anie

Anie — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 15:51:26 +0000

I was 12 when I first listened to my sister’s Home Free LP and played “Come the Morning” over and over – it was my favorite song. Even at 12, I knew his music was very special. Over the years I’ve heard his songs on the radio and it was just a given he would be around forever. I am deeply saddened by his passing. Such a beautiful man that touched so many is gone. The day he passed, I bought his Home Free CD online. Last night I heard it for the first time since my youth and…I knew just about every word of every song. I was surpised that when ” Come the Morning” came on…I was 12 again. Haunting lyrics and the voice of an angel…he will be deeply missed.

By: Mark Scott

Mark Scott — Sat, 05 Jan 2008 20:02:35 +0000

Another great musician, Stevie Ray once said…”The only thing we take with us is the love that people have for us…”.
In Dan’s case, he left us all some incredible music/memories and he took an awful lot of love with him.

By: Dee Luther

Dee Luther — Sat, 05 Jan 2008 02:26:47 +0000

My sympathies to all you fellow Dan Fogelberg admirers and fans, and to Jean, his Mom and brothers, his friends, anyone who reads this whose life was touched by his presence and his music and lyrics. It is gratifying to find that there are people who are still needing to voice their sadness at his death 20 days after the fact. I have been searching the Web everyday since December 16th for anything I can find to help me mourn his death. Thanks to everyone for still wanting to chat about Dan. A part of me still can not believe he is gone. His music was, indeed, the soundtrack to my life – more than even I realized. We were truly blessed to be alive when he was, and to hear the Minstrel sing, play, and write. Godspeed, Dan. I will always listen for you.

By: Stephan P

Stephan P — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 15:31:47 +0000

I was raised in the 70’s and there has never been a doubt that Dan Fogelberg had defined a period in my life.

He was the reason I first picked-up a guitar and he was my inspiration to follow the softer side of music.

His words and melodies tap into each and every one of us whether we are aware of it or not. We as humans inherently want peace in our lives and when Dan Fogelberg expressed his art, it gently reminded me of just that.

I suppose it hasn’t quite sunk in yet. I expect that somewhere in the night and the not so distant future, I will awaken with panic and an overwhelming sense of grief. Forgotten memories of the past will rise and that much too familiar feeling of melancholy will overcome me.

I just wish I could have seen him one more time. I wish he had produced one more album. I wish for all of us that he was still here.

I find it confusing how when someone we had never met passes over that we can be left with such a void. Perhaps that is why music is so unique. It is the lanquage that we all understand and it can be a molding force behind the people we become.

So the next time you are alone in your car, feel not inhibited to sing out the notes of your life. You never know who might be listening.

By: Ernie Osborne

Ernie Osborne — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 23:00:43 +0000

How uplifting it is for me to read all of the heartfelt remembrances of Dan Fogelberg here. The most wonderful part is how so many people listened way beneath the hits to songs like Innocent Age, Netherlands and Along The Road. Since I heard of Dan’s death, and after not having listened to it for quite a while, I’ve had the Netherlands album almost constantly in my car stereo (I drive a lot). What can one say about that album except EVERY song is another masterpiece! Another writer here notes that Dan makes making music sound easy–how true!–wow, try hitting one of those falsetto notes and not sounding like an idiot! And there’s never been a more perfect song than Promises Made–except for several dozen other songs Dan authored. When I think of who I consider great contemporary songwriters, people who’ve moved me the most, I think of Joni Mitchell, Jackson Browne… not a whole lot of names come to mind. But wow Dan Fogelberg is up there among the elitest of the elite. Combine Dan’s impeccable songwriting with his angelic voice and mastery of practically anything with strings or keys, and his talent could be called frightening if it weren’t so utterly loveable.

So I send this message out into the universe–Dan, you don’t know how much your being around while I’ve been around has meant to me. Losing you has been a terrible thing to feel–except for that about you we haven’t lost.

Bye bye, and see you on the other side. “We all become Forefathers by and by”, indeed.

By: Chris

Chris — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 15:38:58 +0000

It’s been nearly three weeks now and I’m still as heartbroken as the day I heard the news. Can’t really even find the words. Even though I never met Dan it still feels as if a family member has passed. Knowing about his condition, I’ve tried to keep up but heard no news until his death. His music has been a part of my life for the better part of thirty years and I had the privilege of seeing him in concert five times. Never once did he disappoint. I just don’t see or hear anyone today who even comes close to touching my soul the way Dan’s music did. I guess the thing that saddens me most is the fact that I’ll never have the opportunity to see him again. His music will live forever…..just wish he were still around. I hope he knew how much he meant to people while he was on this earth….