Posted at 3:57 a.m., Monday, December 17, 2007
'Same Old Lang Syne' singer Fogelberg dies
Associated Press
NEW YORK — Dan Fogelberg, the singer and songwriter whose hits "Leader of the Band" and "Same Old Lang Syne" helped define the soft-rock era, has died at his home in Maine after battling prostate cancer. He was 56.His death on Sunday was announced in a statement by Anna Loynes of the Solters & Digney public relations agency, and was also posted on the singer's Web site.
Fogelberg discovered he had advanced prostate cancer in 2004.
Fogelberg's music was powerful in its simplicity. He didn't rely on the volume of his voice to convey his emotions; instead, they came through in the soft, tender delivery and his poignant lyrics. Songs like "Same Old Lang Syne" — in which a man reminisces after meeting an old girlfriend by chance during the holidays — became classics not only because of his performance, but for the engaging story line, as well.
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. Fogelberg put out his first album in 1972.
Fogelberg's songs tended to have a weighty tone, reflecting on emotional issues in a serious way.
Later in his career, he wrote material that focused on the state of the environment, an issue close to his heart. Fogelberg's last album was 2003's "Full Circle," his first album of original material in a decade. A year later he would receive his cancer diagnosis, forcing him to forgo a planned fall tour.
