Nov 23rd in Pop History
On this day, November 23rd in…
(1979 • 42 years ago today)
Dan Fogelberg released the single Longer.
Daniel Grayling Fogelberg (August 13, 1951 – December 16, 2007) was an American musician, songwriter, composer, and multi-instrumentalist. He is known for his very big 1980s hits, including Longer (1979), Same Old Lang Syne (1980), and Leader of the Band (1982). Longer became a # 2 pop hit in 1980. This LP eventually sold two million copies. It was followed by a Top 20 hit Heart Hotels.
Fogelberg was born in Peoria, Illinois. He was the youngest of three sons born to Margaret (Irvine), a classically trained pianist, and Lawrence Peter Fogelberg, a high school band director at Peoria's Woodruff High School. Dan'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. Dan often related his memory of his father allowing him to "conduct" the school band when he was only four years old. At the time, Fogelberg senior was band director at Bradley University in Peoria.
Dan Fogelberg’s heyday 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.
In May 2004, Fogelberg was diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer. After undergoing therapy, his cancer went into partial remission. In August 2005, Fogelberg announced the success of his cancer treatments. However, his cancer returned, and on December 16, 2007, Fogelberg died at home in Deer Isle, Maine, at the age of 56.
Survivors include his wife, Jean.
And of course his masterful catalog of music.
Dan Fogelberg has always been one of my favorite artists. His songs are works of art, the products of excellence in wordsmith creativity. And the melodies and arrangements are as good as anything out there. He represents the sort of “good old days” when authentic song writing was still an art form. Unlike much of what I hear on today’s Top 40. But alas, there’s nothing I can do about that. Except maybe to introduce your ears and sensibilities to the likes of Fogelberg. Here are a few examples. Hope you enjoy it:
Dan Fogelberg on Spotify:
Leader of the Band
Same Old Lang Syne
Longer
The Very Best of Dan Fogelberg
Attached below are several videos of Dan Fogelberg classics:
Here is Dan Fogelberg doing Leader of the Band (a story about his Dad):
Here is Fogelberg doing Same Old Lang Syne (a romantic Christmas time song):
Here is Dan doing Longer (a very beautiful song - the only live version was fuzzy and grainy, so this is a slideshow put together by his wife shortly after he lost his battle with cancer):
Here is a great cover version of the song Rhythm of The Rain:
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Also, on this day, November 23rd, in…
• 1963 - The Beach Boys' Be True To Your School enters the Billboard Top 40 on its way to # 6. The song was written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love as a tribute to their own Hawthorne High School, but features the melody of the University Of Wisconsin's fight song, On Wisconsin
• 1963 - Dale & Grace reached # 1 on the Easy Listening chart with I'm Leaving It Up To You. While on tour in support of this hit, they were in Dallas, Texas, and report that on the day before (Nov 22), they had been watching President Kennedy's motorcade go by, just moments before the historic tragedy
• 1968 - The Beatles tied the existing Rock Era record (held by Bobby Darin's Mack The Knife) with a ninth week at # 1 for Hey Jude
• 1968 - Mary Hopkin celebrated four weeks at # 1 on the Adult chart with Those Were The Days
• 1970 - Cat Stevens releases his fourth album, Tea For The Tillerman. It's his big breakthrough in the US, where Wild World becomes his first hit
In courtrooms on this date in 1976:
• 1976 - Police arrested Jerry Lee Lewis outside the gates of Graceland (in Memphis) after he showed up for the second time that night and made a scene by shouting, waving a pistol and demanding to see Elvis Presley
• 1899 - The world's first jukebox, then known as a "nickel in the slot machine," was installed at San Francisco's' Palais Royal Hotel. It had been created by simply adding a coin slot to an Edison phonograph. The machine had no amplification and patrons had to listen to the music using one of four listening tubes. In its first six months of service, the machine earned over $1000
