Dan Fogelberg dies from prostate cancer

December 16, 2007

Singer Dan Fogelberg died Sunday after a three-year bout with prostate cancer. He was 56.

"Dan left us this morning at 6 a.m.," it said. "He fought a brave battle with cancer and died peacefully at his home in Maine with his wife Jean at his side. His strength, dignity and grace in the face of the daunting challenges of this disease were an inspiration to all who know him."

Fogelberg scored a series of light-rock hits in the late 1970s and early 1980s, including the Billboard Top 10 hits "Same Old Lang Syne" and "Longer." The Peoria, Ill.,-born son of a bandleader and an opera singer pursued acting and art at the University of Illinois before telling his father he wanted to drop out to try his hand at music.

His father's support led Fogelberg to write the song "Leader of the Band" as a tribute. The song was another Top 10 single when it was released in 1981.

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