“Death is there to keep us honest,
and constantly remind us we are free.”

I’ve been a follower of Dan Fogelberg since I started listening to popular music in 1980. I can hear the chuckling now. Fogelberg has long been associated with over-thought lyrics and retro-Victorian imagery. But still, his music spoke to me, and his simple approach to his music stood out in the era of over-produced synthesizer and metal dominated rock. Granted, some of his lesser known pieces have elements of heavy synthesizer and growling metal guitar {check out his dissonant solo riff in “Ghosts”}, but even then, he kept the basic structure, well, basic. Poke fun at him if you like, but he knew his craft.

He was a personal inspiration for me in many ways. When I started teaching myself guitar, his flat-pick style was one I tried to learn. When I tried my hand at songwriting, I looked at his lyrics for guidance. Like any musician, even a hack like me, I eventually developed my own unique style of playing (sort of), but Dan’s influence is evident. As for my song lyrics, well, the less said about those the better. But Dan inspired me to give it an honest try.

Dan was diagnosed with advanced Prostate cancer in 2004. He strongly encouraged every man to undergo the necessary testing as early as age 40. Most doctors’ say age 50, but Dan suggested 40 to be on the safe side. I’ll be turning 41 in two months, so I guess I should go through that delightful procedure. Lucky me. I’ll have to be careful what I have for breakfast that day…

Dan essentially retired after being diagnosed. In an open letter to his fans he thanked them for their support over the years. He had no plans to return to music, but he kept the door open. His cancer had been in remission for much of the last two years, but apparently it made resurgence earlier this year. He died peacefully at home; that’s the best way to go.

I have almost all of Dan’s albums, mostly on cassette and vinyl. I regret having never seen him perform live. My sympathy goes to his wife, Jean, and the rest of his family and friends. Sleep well, Dan, and thanks for the music.

This girl's not chuckling, Richard. I, too, have loved Dan Fogelberg's music since his early beginnings. His tunes are laced through my early years of first love, and the joys and loss and yearning of all that. I cannot listen to his first four or five albums (all mine are vinyl) without entirely losing an afternoon..it's delicate territory for me.
The man had everything necessary to tug at that inner deep which is sometimes difficult to reach. Dan Fogelberg will be missed.

****

from http://www.danfogelberg.com/news.html

Good wishes, prayers, and condolences can be posted at:
http://www.thelivinglegacy.net/wishes.html

Dan's own words to men everywhere:

"To each and every man....

I cannot encourage you strongly enough to get a DRE (Digital Rectal Exam) and a PSA (Prostate Specific Antigen) test EVERY YEAR.

The medical community suggests this for men over 50, but men with a family history of prostate cancer should start getting tested at age 40.

The PSA test is a simple blood test...it only takes a minute or two. The DRE, okay, every man squirms at the thought of this exam, but hey, it too takes only a minute or two, and IT COULD SAVE YOUR LIFE.

Prostate cancer can be very slow growing or very aggressive, but detected early while it is still confined to the prostate gland, it can usually be treated and cured successfully.

Once it spreads beyond the prostate it is called Advanced Prostate Cancer (PCa). At this point it becomes imminently more life threatening and harder to treat. Do yourself and your loved ones a huge favor and GET CHECKED REGULARLY. I promise you, you DON’T want to go through what I’m going through if you can avoid it.

Education and awareness are key, I urge you to follow the link below to the Prostate Cancer Foundation web site and read up on how best to protect yourself and reduce your likelihood of contracting this terrible disease."

For more information:
http://www.prostatecancerfoundation.org

J.D. "Cast" King (1926-2007)

locustmusic.com/castking.html
http://www.myspace.com/castking

J.D. "CAST" KING 1926 - 2007

Cast King passed away at his Old Sand Mountain home in Alabama On December 13th. He will be missed.

From Locust Music http://www.myspace.com/locustmusic :

"Cast taught himself to play guitar when he was a 10-year-old boy on Sand Mountain. In 1955 King recorded fewer than a dozen songs with his Honky- Tonk band, The Country Drifters, at the legendary Sun studios in Memphis. Five decades later, he recorded his debut for locust music with local producer & musician Matt Downer at the age of 79.

To many of you, this single album release - Saw Mill Man - became a household favorite, a taste of something raw & unadulterated from a musician few had heard of but whose rough and ready confidence & knack for song garnered praise in Rolling Stone, No Depression, Arthur, Mojo, Harp, Spin, Playboy, The Wall Street Journal and numerous other publications. Filmmakers started emerging out of the woodwork from all over wanting to tell Cast's story. No documentary was ever made but Cast's music graces the closing credits of Gus Van Sant's Paranoid Park which is expected for theatrical release in the U.S. in 2008. Promoters far and wide tried their best to bring Cast to New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and a number of European Cities throughout 2005 & 2006 but, having never flown in an airplane, he didn't see reason to begin now. "

Some of the best mellowed-out stuff I heard in the 1970s was from Dan Fogelberg. I still have most of it, booted from a Providence RI FM station that once upon a time was the best...they played whole albums two nights a week, and that was my first listen to Twin Sons of Different Mothers with Tim Weisberg...great stuff...somewhere out there is a great Fogelberg live at Red Rocks or somewhere in that part of the country show on DVD - poke around eBay, it's there. It's a great show from the early or mid 1990s and features a Weisberg guest shot. And if you're really lucky you might find a bootleg copy of his PBS Soundstage show.

I will miss the man and his music, as I do anybody or anything that made that period in my life the great and happy time that it was. Thank you, Dan, for what you gave us all.

And, all of you guys, take the prostate cancer blood test. Honestly it's a lot easier than what they do to us to check for cervical cancer and there is a good cure rate if caught early.

The DRE and the PSA test are so easy there is really no excuse not to have them done on a annual basis. Please listen to all the posts.

I saw him in concert in the seventies and met him once
or twice at a ranch where we kept our horses in Boulder.

He was very nice in person and its hard to believe he is
actually gone. He was always very good at doing privacy
disappearing acts and its hard to imagine he is really
not with us. He lives in the wind and the trees and on
horses and I feel Boulder was his true home.