What Is Dan Fogelberg's Net Worth?
Dan Fogelberg was an American musician, songwriter, and composer who had a net worth of $4 million at the time of his death in 2007.
Dan Fogelberg was popular throughout the late 1970s and into the 1980s. Some of his hits include "Longer," "Same Old Lang Syne," and "Leader of the Band." Though he was nominated for multiple Grammy Awards throughout his career, he never won, though he was the recipient of the Peabody Award and the Country Music Award and was posthumously inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
Dan Fogelberg passed away on December 16, 2007, at 56 years old from cancer.
Early Life
Dan Fogelberg was born on August 13, 1951, in Peoria, Illinois. He was the son of Margaret and Lawrence Fogelberg. His mother was a classically trained pianist, while his father was a band director at Woodruff High School, Pekin Community High School, and Bradley University. Dan was of Scottish and Swedish descent and was the youngest of three sons born to his parents. Fogelberg taught himself how to play slide guitar, and he also learned the piano. At the age of 14, he joined the band The Clan, which covered The Beatles. He attended Woodruff High School and graduated in 1969. He then studied theater arts and painting at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Around this time, he began performing as a solo artist at local coffeehouses.
(Photo by Paul Natkin/Getty Images)
Career
Fogelberg made his first solo recordings as part of a folk festival in 1971. He was discovered by Irving Azoff, who started his music management career promoting another local act, REO Speedwagon. Azoff suggested that Fogelberg move to Nashville, Tennessee, to hone his musical skills. There, Dan became a session musician and recorded his first album with producer Norbert Putnam. His debut album, "Home Free," was released in 1972. While it was met with a lukewarm response initially, it eventually reached platinum status.
A local radio station in Jackson, Mississippi, gave "Home Free" a lot of airplay. Local promoters booked Dan for a concert, which sold out in ten days. At the time, Fogelberg had only been playing clubs with less than 100 people in attendance and was thus in disbelief when he learned the show had sold out, with 2,500 people attending.
In 1974, he released his second album "Souvenirs." The song "Part of the Plan" became his first hit. The Eagles also contributed to the album and he toured with The Eagles during this time. The following year, in 1975, he released "Captured Angel." He promoted the album on tour with The Eagles. In 1977, he released his third album, "Nether Lands."
In 1978, Fogelberg released "Twin Sons of Different Mothers," his first of two collaborations with jazz flutist Tim Weisberg. The album realized commercial success with songs like "The Power of Gold," which reached #42 on the UK Albums Chart. In 1979, Dan released "Phoenix." It reached the top 10 on the album charts, with the track "Longer" reaching #2 on the pop hit charts in 1980.
(Photo by GAB Archive/Redferns)
In 1981, Fogelberg reached his critical and commercial success with the release of "The Innocent Age." The double album included four of his biggest hits: "Same Old Lang Syne," "Hard to Say," "Leader of the Band," and "Run for the Roses." He drew inspiration for the album from the novel "Of Time and the River." In 1982, he released a greatest hits album which contained two new songs: "Missing You" and "Make Love Stay." Two years later, he released the album "Windows and Walls."
In 1985, Dan released the album "High Country Snows," which was recorded in Nashville and featured artists like Vince Gill, Ricky Skaggs, Doc Watson, Jerry Douglas, David Grisman, Chris Hillman, and Herb Pedersen. In 1987, he released a rock album called "Exiles." In 1990, he released "The Wild Places" and then "Greetings From The West" in 1991. In 1993, he released "River of Souls." He released a Christmas album called "The First Christmas Morning."
After his death in 2007, Fogelberg's widow released "Love in Time," a collection of 11 previously unpublished songs that Dan had asked her to release after his death. Fogelberg was inducted into the Colorado Music Hall of Fame in 2017. He was also inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2017. The same year, a musical using the music of Fogelberg called "Part of the Plan" opened in Nashville.
Personal Life and Death
Fogelberg was married three times throughout his life. From 1982 to 1985, he was married to Maggie Slaymaker. From 1991 to 1996, he was married to Anastasia Savage. He later started dating musician Jean Marie Mayer. They married in 2002 and remained married until Fogelberg's death in 2007. Beginning in the 1980s, Dan lived near Pagosa Springs, Colorado, on a working ranch. He built a recording studio there and often used it. He also owned a home in Maine on Deer Isle, which overlooked Eggemoggin Reach, the famed suspension bridge.
In May 2004, Fogelberg was diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer. He underwent therapy, and his cancer went into partial remission. In August 2005, he announced the success of his cancer treatments. Unfortunately, his cancer returned. On December 16, 2007, Fogelberg died at his home in Deer Isle, Maine, at the age of 56. He was cremated, and his ashes were scattered into the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Maine. In tribute to Dan, the city of Peoria in Illinois renamed a street in the city's East Bluff neighborhood Fogelberg Parkway. The street runs right by Woodruff High School, Fogelberg's alma mater.
