I worked with Dan Fogelberg twice in my career, and each time there were precious little things that happened that illustrated his affable, genuine character. As I think back on the ways his music touched my life, I’m drawn to some cherished little memories.

I was just getting into the production side of our events in 1984 and was excited about working with Dan Fogelberg. I’d always loved his work and in fact sang many of the tunes from his albums for vocal practice. While standing center stage during the sound setup and spotlight work, one of the union members quipped, “are you gonna sing up there?” I shot back, “Keep threatening me and I’m gonna sing Auld Lang Syne…badly!” As the crew laughed, I turned around and faced…Dan. He chuckled. “There are days,” he said, “when I don’t sing it so well myself.”

Dinner at Waikiki Shell used to be served in the stage-right wing as a buffet setup with rows of tables. In order to recognize who needed to be fed, the cast and crew were handed meal tickets to use at the buffet. I happened to be moving through the area when I heard Wendy, at the starting end of the buffet, ask Dan for his meal ticket. He didn’t have one. “You don’t have a meal ticket?” she asked, with all the verve of a salad nazi. “No,” he shrugged. I did an O.J. Simpson over the tables, flailing at her as she asked, “Are you with the show?” I bit my lip. Dan laughed, “I am the show. That’s my face on your cake.” Wendy was mortified but Dan’s smile and easy-going nature put her at ease. I thought to myself, “that’s what you get for shaving the beard, dude!”

In 1993 we promoted Dan on Maui and in Honolulu. It was a rough tour for many reasons. I was having a lot of trouble trying to convince the production manager that we didn’t own the damned sound company as he had been told; the story is much longer but the point of it is, as I was arguing with the guy in the production office, Dan was on stage having his own terrible time. I heard him start “Leader of the Band,” then stop. Then start it again. Then stop again. Then he said to the audience, “Shit. I can’t believe I forgot the words. And I wrote the damned song!” His chuckles and the laughter from the audience cracked the tension in the office and I was able to finish the settlement and get out of the room.

His music touched so many people with poignant prose and indelible melodies. Friends like Jerry Hey (who started his career with Seawind) and Tim Weisberg were a welcome part of his repertoire. Typical of most of his recordings are these credits from 2003’s “Full Circle” album: Dan Fogelberg: all guitars (electric, acoustic, lead, rhythm, and otherwise), mandolin, bass, piano, keyboards, percussion, lead and background vocals.

So…in memorium…my favorite of all his beautiful, beautiful songs.

Along the Road
Words and Music by Dan Fogelberg

Joy at the start
Fear in the journey
Joy in the coming home.
A part of the heart
Gets lost in the learning
Somewhere along the road.

Joy at the start
Fear in the journey
Joy in the coming home.
A part of the heart
Gets lost in the learning
Somewhere along the road
Somewhere along the road
Somewhere along the road.


Thanks must go to tedlieb on YouTube for putting together this lovely tribute video.