Dan Fogelberg

American singer, songwriter with a sweet face and sweet voice. Fogelberg was the youngest of three sons of musical parents. His dad was a musician who taught music and led the school band; his mother was an opera singer by training. He began writing music at age 12 and formed his first band, The Clan, with his young friends. Thinking he'd be an actor, he entered the University of Illinois; then he decided to be an artist. All the while he and his new band The Coachmen were performing to applause at area clubs and coffee houses. Spotted by a scout, his career began blossoming. He took his inspiration from folk singers of the day and from nature. Just barely into his 20s he recorded Home Free in 1972. He made subsequent albums and joined a band in 1974 called Fool's Gold. That year he had his first gold record for "Part of the Plan" released on his "Souvenirs" album. His career was on the upswing. He subsequently released several big hits and best-selling albums and hit his career highs in the later 1970s and early 1980s. He is perhaps best known for his song "Leader of the Band," in tribute to his dad who died in 1982. In all, he had three albums that went platinum and five that went multi-platinum. Fogelberg died at age 56 on December 16, 2007 in Maine. The cause was prostate cancer with which he had been diagnosed three years earlier. Link to Wikipedia biography