In memory of Frank Gardner

In 2003 Dan Fogelberg was asked about the origin of the self-written song, "Leader of the Band," and this was his response:

"Leader of the Band" was written for my father Lawrence Fogelberg who was a musician, educator, and band leader. I was so gratified that I was able to give him that song before he passed on. In his final years he was interviewed many times by the national press because of it. He went out in a blaze of glory, which meant a lot to me and my family.

Music speaks to us in a way nothing else can. This song is poignant, a son singing about his father. Virginia's First Lady Maureen McDonnell has said "Leader of the Band" was her dad's favorite song. This is in memory of her father, Frank Gardner ... classic Fogelberg in Houston, 1982....

Leader of the Band

A lonely child, alone and wild
a cabinet maker's son
His hands were meant for different work
and his heart was known to none
He left his home
and went his lone and solitary way
And he gave to me
a gift I know I never can repay.

A quiet man of music
denied a simpler fate
He tried to be a soldier once
but his music wouldn't wait
He earned his love through discipline
a thundering velvet hand
His gentle means of sculpting souls
took me years to understand

The leader of the band is tired
and his eyes are growing old
But his blood runs through my instrument
and his song is in my soul
My life has been a poor attempt
to imitate the man
I'm just the living legacy
to the leader of the band.

My brother's lives were different
for they heard another call
One went to Chicago
and the other to St. Paul
And I'm in Colorado
when I'm not in some hotel
Living out this life I've chosen
And grown to know so well.

I thank you for the music
and your stories of the road
I thank you for the freedom
when it came my time to go
I thank you for the kindness
and the times when you got tough
And papa I dont think I've said
I love you near enough.

The leader of the band is tired
and his eyes are growing old
But his blood runs through my instrument
and his song is in my soul
My life has been a poor attempt
to imitate the man
I'm just the living legacy
to the leader of the band.

I am the living legacy
to the leader of the band...