Auld Lang Syne - Dan Fogelberg

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I meant to get this posted yesterday, the last day of 2007, to complete my trilogy of acknowledgments of departed musicians. The saddest "celebrity" loss of this year for me would have to be Dan Fogelberg. He died just a couple of weeks ago after a pretty long fight with cancer.


My history with Dan Fogelberg goes back to my adolescence, when my friend Lisa (dubbed "the cakaholic" by my brother Chuck) and I used to play the Souvenirs album incessantly, singing along to Mornin' Sky like we had been born in bluegrass territory, and whispering the lyrics to "Song from Half Mountain" as if every word was a song unto itself. And oh, was he a cutie.

Just for the record, this took place long before Dan became a household name for pop hits like "Longer," "Run for the Roses," or the song highlighted in this post. His music then was less layered, more acoustic, but the lyrics were no less complex or thoughtful....maybe just a little less accessible in the pop music sense.

I remained a fan through those popularity spikes, but in many ways enjoying his alternative albums even more - Twin Sons of Different Mothers with Tim Weisberg, and the bluegrassy High Country Snows.

I remained a fan even after seeing him perform at the Telluride Bluegrass Festival in 1993, seemingly overly drunk or stoned or something and pouting about the sound...leaving the stage once or twice, and putting on a crapola show.

I remained a fan despite the groan that emanates from my partner any time she hears his name, or any song he sings. (Do you detect a bit of a theme in these posts?). It's been tough, at moments, to stay true to my love of Dan over the years in this household, but I have managed.

I remain a fan. Why? Because I think he had a great gift for songwriting.
Oh, and he was a cutie.

Bye Dan. Hello 2008.

"More Than a Feeling"' - Boston

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more than a feelin...

My second of three tribute selections in the last three days of the year. This one to Brad Delp, lead singer of Boston. He committed suicide earlier in the year. Bummer. The thing about Boston was that nobody really knew who any of the individuals were - including me. But what the members of the Class of 1976 at St. Clare's knew was that this was a great song at a dance. Totally easy to sing along to, and with that great clapping bridge about 3/4 of the way through? C'mon, it doesn't get much better than that.

Debbie HATES Boston. But it turns out she's in interesting company. Wikipedia reports that

"More Than a Feeling" is #2 of pop songs that respondents were too embarrassed to admit that they liked

Ha Ha.

But it's still a great song to clap along to when you are at a dance.

The Theme - Oscar Peterson Trio

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Many famous people left us in 2007. Among them, just recently, was Oscar Peterson, a virtuoso of the piano.

I somehow came across Oscar Peterson because of the album "Side by Side" done with Itzak Perlman. I love love love listening to it when I want high quality background music. On a rainy Sunday morning, on a long flight, or a long train ride. He was revered by his contemporaries. Duke Ellington called him "the maharajah of the piano." Nice praise from the Duke.

I have to confess that I am not a HUGE jazz fan, but as I get older I find myself gravitating to the traditional, sort of roots oriented jazz of the 40s, 50s, etc. About a week ago I downloaded a bunch of songs of the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, and more and more I find myself listening to folks like Ella Fitzgerald, Joe Henderson, Django Reinhardt, and other legends.

Peterson was Canadian, and came to be known in the US when he played an unbilled set at the Carnegie Jazz at the Philharmonic session in 1949ish. And he kept playing, all over the world, until a few years ago. A legend for sure.

So long Oscar.