THE VERY BEST OF DAN FOGELBERG

LETS HIS LIGHT SHINE ON 17-SONG COLLECTION

FIRST-EVER TO SPAN HIS CHART YEARS ON EPIC, 1974 TO 1993

Includes major hits "Part Of the Plan," "Longer," "Heart Hotels,"

"Same Old Lang Syne," "Hard To Say," "Leader Of the Band,"

"The Language Of Love" and more, plus album tracks.

Set to arrive in stores July 3rd on Epic/Legacy, in advance of 12-city U.S. tour which kicks off July 5th

"Over the course of nearly 30 years and 20 albums, Dan Fogelberg has celebrated the beauty of spirit and soul, rivers and romance, everyday trial and transcendent joy.   In a lifetime of music he's soared past trends and aimed for timelessness.  That takes courage.   And that courage makes classics.

From the liner notes written by Paul Evans
for
THE VERY BEST OF DAN FOGELBERG

A freshly-compiled anthology by the Colorado-based singer-songwriter whose angelic vocals and panoramic detail provided the setting for some of the most deeply personal songs to grace the charts in the 1980s, THE VERY BEST OF DAN FOGELBERG represents the most extensive single-CD compilation of his career.

It is also the first collection to span some 20 of his productive years at Epic Records, from 1974 to 1993.  
The 17-song disc has been scheduled for July 3rd in-store date on Epic/Legacy, a division of Sony Music.

THE VERY BEST OF DAN FOGELBERG lives up to its title, as it ranges in time from his career-making debut hit, "Part Of the Plan" (featuring Graham Nash on harmony vocal and producer Joe Walsh on lead guitar) off the 1974 album Souvenirs, all the way through his two final chart albums for Epic, 1990's The Wild Places (with "Rhythm Of the Rain") and 1993's River Of Souls (with "Magic Every Moment" and "A Love Like This").

Along the way are the 9 consecutive top 30 hits (released 1979 to 1984) 
without which this anthology would be considered incomplete: 

"Longer" 
"Heart Hotels" 
"Same Old Lang Syne" 
"Hard To Say" 
"Leader Of the Band" 
"Run For the Roses" 
"Missing You" 
"Make Love Stay" 
"The Language Of Love"

This marks the first time that any single-disc collection has included every one of Fogelberg's biggest hits, and as such, it surpasses the previous Greatest Hits (of 1982) and Love Songs (of 1995). Only Portrait, the 4-CD, 62-song boxed set of 1997 matches the new release in its scope and depth.

Two days after THE VERY BEST OF DAN FOGELBERG hits stores, he will open a highly-anticipated 12-city tour of the West and Midwest, beginning at Pier 6263 in Seattle on July 5th, then continuing at Konocti Harbor Resort in Kelseyville, CA (7); Villa Montalvo in Saratoga, CA (8); Humphrey's in San Diego (10); Sun Theatre in Anaheim (11); House Of Blues in Las Vegas (13); Pike's Peak Center in Colorado Springs (15); Paramount Theatre in Denver (16); Belterra Casino in Vevay, IN (19-20); Meadowbrook in Detroit (23); Michigan Center For the Performing Arts in Interlochen (24); and wrapping up at the Mondavi Winery in Napa, CA (28).

In 1971, Dan Fogelberg was introduced to Clive Davis (by manager Irving Azoff) in the blush of singer-songwriter signings that eventually brought Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel, Eric Andersen, Tom Rush, Loudon Wainwright and others to the label. Born in Illinois, Fogelberg had come to the West Coast a year and a half earlier at Azoff's suggestion. After woodshedding in the hills of Laurel Canyon, he was ready to record his first album for Azoff's Full Moon/Epic label. Working in Nashville with producer Norbert Putnam, Home Free (1972) may not have been a commercial success but won Fogelberg the admiration of fellow musicians - once his "idols," these various members of the Byrds and Buffalo Springfield (and hence the Eagles) were now his neighbors and collaborators.

Fogelberg's next album, Souvenirs (1974), produced in Los Angeles by Joe Walsh, proved to be a breakthrough. When "Part Of the Plan" reached the top 40, Fogelberg was elevated to headliner status on-tour. He quickly recorded and released his next album in less than a year, Captured Angel (1975).  His success enabled him to move from L.A. and settle in Colorado, in a home overlooking the Continental Divide that he bought from fellow musician Chris Hillman. There, Fogelberg took his time composing the haunting song-cycle of Nether Lands (1977), his next best-seller.

As a follow-up, he chose to depart from popular expectations by collaborating with flute player Tim Weisberg. The result was Twin Sons Of Different Mothers (1978). It was Fogelberg's first LP to be certified RIAA platinum during its stay on the charts (in 1979).

The stage was set for (what would turn out to be) the two biggest albums of Dan Fogelberg's career. Phoenix, released Thanksgiving week 1979, launched the #2 single "Longer" and its follow-up "Heart Hotels" (#21) which, between them enabled the album to stay on the Billboard album chart for 39 weeks and reach #3. The next album, the unprecedented double-LP The Innocent Age, which featured guest appearances by musical inspirations Joni Mitchell, Emmylou Harris and Chris Hillman, was timed for Labor Day 1981 release.

Both Phoenix and The Innocent Age went on to reap double-platinum.  At that point, 7 albums and a decade into his recording career, the time was right for a Greatest Hits LP (1982).  It was an easy platinum entry in Fogelberg's discography, distinguished by the fact that it contained two previously unreleased tracks, both subsequently issued as successful top 30 singles, "Missing You" and "Make Love Stay."  It also bought the artist the time he needed to craft his next album, Windows and Walls (1984), a conceptually adventurous outing which nevertheless contained two chart singles, "The Language Of Love" and "Believe In Me."

Stepping outside the rock-and-folk milieu, Fogelberg fulfilled a long-time dream with his next album, the one-off bluegrass project High Country Snows (1985) featuring Doc Watson, David Grisman, Chris Hillman, Vince Gill, Ricky Skaggs and others.  The next release was Exiles (1987).  Reflecting the breakup of Fogelberg's marriage, it is represented here by "Lonely In Love" and "She Don't Look Back."

Dan Fogelberg could never play the role of the complacent star. To the contrary, he used his voice to decry the environmental outrages of the Reagan and Bush era over the course of his next two albums, The Wild Places (1990) and River Of Souls (1993), his final Full Moon/Epic release. Since then, he has recorded one album for Azoff's Giant Records (No Resemblance Whatsoever, and two albums on Morning Sky/Chicago Records (First Christmas Morning in 1999, and last year's Dan Fogelberg Live, Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed And Some Blues).