The Snow Turned Into Rain
Dan Fogelberg died yesterday and it makes me very sad. I’m not just being goofy when I say that I listened to him a lot as a kid. And it may not be the coolest music in the world for a supposed rock star like me to be into, but he’s always been a big influence. The man wrote a lot of great, singable, heartbreaking songs – he will be missed. Thanks Dan.
December 17th, 2007 at 11:58 am
Hi JoCo, I share in your sorrow at Dan’s passing. Every damn time—and I mean EVERY time I heard Same Old Lang Syne, he had me at “she spilled her purse…” and, well, you know.
On a less serious note, I thought “Longer” would be a lovely addition to my 1997 wedding—instrumental or sung. The entire wedding party vetoed it and to this day, I think they’re unsentimental asshats, while they think I love pure Cheese music. Hey, that’s a sweet song, people. (Groom didn’t like it either; divorced in 2004. ‘Nuff said.)
Anyhow, to lose someone in this day and age to prostate cancer is such a shame. Early detection and PSA tests, please, gents.
Best wishes and keep ‘em coming, Jonathan!
December 17th, 2007 at 12:16 pm
Hear, Hear..
December 17th, 2007 at 12:44 pm
Just heard Old Auld Lang Syne on the radio a couple weeks ago. Made my husband keep it on though he was unsure. Fogelberg was a phenomenal lyricist. A really great singer, too. Very emotional.
I used to work for a urologist, so I must second Ellen’s comments about regular checkups and early detection. Guys tend to be especially embarrassed about this sort of thing, I know (I used to get a male friend to cringe by saying “Vasectomy Fridays,) but what’s worse: a prostate/rectal exam, or dying of one of the most treatable cancers out there?
December 17th, 2007 at 12:59 pm
“Stealthy the hunter who slays his own fright.”
One of the greatest lyrics ever.
Bye, Dan. “Captured Angel”
December 17th, 2007 at 1:12 pm
It’s hard to search for silver linings on the heels of such news, but as I watched that clip it dawned on me that few people in a lifetime can capture a magical moment like that in song and share it with untold strangers. It’s really quite a miracle.
December 17th, 2007 at 2:05 pm
JoCo
This is one of those times where you just can’t say enough about the influence of someone. Same Auld Lang Sine is one of my all time favorite songs. Every christmas I look forward to crying while listening to it. I think anyone who ever had the “one that got away” thinks this way about that song.
December 17th, 2007 at 2:18 pm
Thanks for mentioning this. I didn’t know the news until this morning when I arrived at work. Strangely enough, I heard this song on the radio while out and about on Saturday. It was one of my favorites as a kid, and it still is.
December 17th, 2007 at 3:21 pm
I didn’t even know he was sick, so many thanks for the sad news. I always wanted a former flame to come up to me and have a moment like “Same Old Auld Lang Syne” Watching the video, I totally hear w here “The Town Crotch” comes from (and I mean that sincerely).
*sigh* Rest in Peace, Dan Fogelberg, the soft-rockin’ goes on…
^_^
December 17th, 2007 at 4:29 pm
“Auld Lang Syne” is beautiful and every time I hear it, I have to stop what I’m doing and just listen until it’s done. Given that, it’s amazing that “Leader of the Band” is my favorite Fogelberg song.
Wouldn’t it have been frikin’ cool if Fogelberg had made a cover of Flickr?
Dan, your music captured something so quintessential about human nature that we’ll never need a name for it. Thank you for your gifts and rest well in the knowledge of the significance of those gifts.
December 17th, 2007 at 6:27 pm
Let me add my voice to those who love “Another Auld Lang Syne”, certainly the finest song ever written based on the 1812 Overture. Fogelberg said he started the song as a joke – amazing how it ended up being so emotionally resonant.
December 17th, 2007 at 6:57 pm
My dad listened to him a lot. Not bad stuff. That’s too bad.
December 17th, 2007 at 7:16 pm
Dan Fogelberg was my first concert — EVER. I think I was in 8th grade. My parents took me. Heh. I recall thinking, “ah geez…do we have to see this crap?” and then loving the show.
Very sad news. “Old Lang Syne” is one of my all-time favorites, as is (spending my formative years in Louisville, KY), “Run For The Roses.”
December 17th, 2007 at 7:31 pm
I discovered Dan Fogelburg’s music in college, before he made it big. The Netherlands will always be my favorite song and my favorite album. If his music is cheesy, than I’m a cheese ball.
December 17th, 2007 at 7:37 pm
Jonathan,
Since the Hodge used to introduce you as “a Dan Fogelberg type troubadour,” I had always assumed that this was more than just talk and that DF was a real influence on you. Now I know that I was right and I’m very sorry (not just for you because I also used to listen to him a lot).
December 17th, 2007 at 7:46 pm
“Run For The Roses” was one of the few singles I bought on 45 way back in the day. And then when I got my iPod and started getting all those songs I used to love it was one of the first ones I bought from iTunes. “Leader of the Band” is another of my favorites.
*sigh*
g’bye Dan.
~Sharon
December 17th, 2007 at 8:52 pm
Dan was the Man. Even though he didn’t sing the style of music I typically listened to, He had a prominent place in my record collection.
I was just listening to the best of CD last week.
Who will lead the band now?
December 17th, 2007 at 9:38 pm
Netherlands was my favorite song in middle school. Sad news indeed.
December 17th, 2007 at 9:47 pm
I was stunned to read DF’s obit in the NYT.
I’ve always really liked his cover of “Since you’ve asked.” Yes, I’m a hopeless case.
December 18th, 2007 at 9:35 am
thanks, jonathan, for mentioning dan fogelberg. i don’t think it’s “uncool” to love any type of music that speaks to you. i listened to dan’s “souvenirs” album last night for the first time in a decade or more, and every song still speaks to me. as someone who was born and lived in colorado. and then in st. louis (close to illinois, where he was born), he always spoke to me on several levels. i was shocked to hear he had died, and deeply saddened by it. we miss you dan.
December 18th, 2007 at 12:35 pm
Your music, like Dan’s share true emotion and wistfulness. . it’s what makes “I crush everything” haunting, not silly . . .and its what made me care about the horse in “Run for the Roses.” I referred to you in our interview as “Fogelbergian”, and it was meant as a true compliment. As he was an influence on you, it made you a better songwriter . . .and we thank him and you for it. As a child of the 70’s, I also loved his music. Would you ever consider covering “Leader of the Band?” It would seem fitting if you did . . .
December 18th, 2007 at 3:05 pm
One of the best concerts I ever attended was Dan Fogelberg at the USF Sun Dome in Tampa. A lot of people think his only thing was soft rock, but he cranked some kick-ass music that night. However, “Leader of the Band” is still my personal favorite – the lyrics hit close to home for me, and I still get goosebumps when I hear it.
December 18th, 2007 at 5:27 pm
I knew there was a reason why I love your work.
It hits me in a way that only Fogelberg was able to before.
YOU are now the living legacy.
I would love to hear a tribute song or two, maybe a cover, or even a medley. It’s begging to be done (especially in concert!).
December 19th, 2007 at 9:55 am
I would also love to hear a tribute for Dan from JoCo!
December 24th, 2007 at 1:49 am
Hey JoCo,
It’s “funny” you should mention Dan Fogelberg (RIP) as one of your influences because that’s exactly what I heard in your music about 3 years ago when I first heard you. In fact, I even described you as Dan Fogelberg meets Weird Al when stumped for what else to say when they asked what your music was like.
December 24th, 2007 at 12:55 pm
My friend and I would often play Leader Of The Band, only because we weren’t good enough to play Longer, and I can’t get through Run For The Roses without crying… I’m such a big softie, I guess.
January 6th, 2008 at 4:09 am
I’ve been on vacation for a few weeks, and I’m finally going through my accumulated rss entries. 350+ posts to read, so I’ve been making some cuts. (Don’t worry, you’re still on the list.) And I just stumbled across this.
I have a sort of warm, comforting childhood association with Dan Fogelberg’s songs, and Same Old Lang Syne was always my favorite. It’s nice to know that it — and he — were appreciated by others in our generation.
I don’t know whether to recommend a cover, but I will say that of your songs, your cover of “Famous Blue Raincoat” is one of my very favorites — up there with Code Monkey & etc.
January 29th, 2008 at 11:42 pm
I totally agree with you about Dan. Those songs are touching. May not be “cool,” but who cares?
I sent Ed in BareNaked Ladies your Flickr song and he LOVED it. They are in the studio making a new record, and the whole band freaked. Funny, you mention Terry McBride in another post, and he manages them of course.
I can practically promise he will do that Portal song in their show. Just sent it to him. He’s going to love it.
Thanks!
November 4th, 2009 at 7:26 pm
His music still lives on in us all, one of the best