Leader of the Band

"Leader of the Band"
Single by Dan Fogelberg
from the album Greatest Hits
B-side "Times Like These"
Released 1981
Format 7"
Genre Pop, Pop-Folk
Length 4:21
Label Full Moon Records
Writer(s) Dan Fogelberg
Producer Dan Fogelberg, Marty Lewis
Dan Fogelberg singles chronology
"Hard to Say"
(1981)		 "Leader of the Band"
(1981)		 "Run for the Roses"
(1981)

"Leader of the Band" is a song written by Dan Fogelberg from his 1981 album The Innocent Age. The song was written as a tribute to his father Lawrence Fogelberg, a musician and the leader of a band, who was still alive at the time the song was released. [1] Released as a single at the end of the year, it peaked at number 9 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart[2] in March, 1982.[3] It became Fogelberg's second #1 song on the Billboard adult contemporary chart, following his 1980 hit "Longer".[4]

Lucie Arnaz performs a version of the song as a tribute to her late father, Desi Arnaz.

It was used in a montage at the end of the 1985 CART season, in tribute to the Unser racing family.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Dan Fogelberg Official Website Frequently Asked Questions (As answered in 2003)". 2003. http://www.danfogelberg.com/faqs.html. Retrieved 2010-07-11. ""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." 
  2. ^ Whitburn, Joel (1996)
  3. ^ http://books.google.com/books?id=SCQEAAAAMBAJ&printsec=frontcover&lr=#v=onepage&q&f=false The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits, 6th Edition (Billboard Publications)
  4. ^ Hyatt, Wesley (1999). The Billboard Book of #1 Adult Contemporary Hits (Billboard Publications)