Non-Technical News: R.I.P. Dan Fogelberg

Sad news today that songwriter Dan Fogelberg has passed away at age 56 after a three-year battle with prostate cancer.

I discovered Fogelberg's music at about the same age my sons are now (14 & 15). My habit in the day was to find new artists to listen to by devouring the liner notes of albums by the artists I admired. I first found Dan Fogelberg listed as a backup musician on Jackson Browne's Late For The Sky album; I soon owned Fogelberg's first three albums, which were followed by many more.

He wrote rock songs, he wrote ballads, he played all of the instruments on several of his albums, and he was an accomplished painter (see the cover of his Captured Angel album for an example). He had an incredible voice with a three-octave range. He was a unique and singular talent.

I saw Mr. Fogelberg once in concert, in a gymnasium at the State University of New York at Stony Brook in 1977. I had tickets to see him in Madison, Wisconsin in 1982, but my boss at the time came up with tickets to a World Series game, so I missed that show. That was the last time I held a ticket to a Dan Fogelberg show.

Rest in peace, Mr. Fogelberg; many humble thanks for the joy you brought to the world by sharing your talents with it.

     -wp