A MOVING PIECE FOR THIS TIME

A note by a friend and talented artist--Rik Palieri was sent to a group of radio hosts and I felt this so apt and so important I am posting it here:


Dear Friends & Folk DJ , Erik Darling, banjoist and 12 string guitar player , who played with the Weavers & Roof Top Singers , sent me this very moving video he just posted on You Tube.

If you take a look on the right the video Rik speaks of is viewable. His link did not work so I thought the best thing was to post the actual video here. (You will find that it does not play---you may, however, click on the title of the song below the panel that does not play and you will see directly on You Tube)

Please do tell your acquaintances about it since Erik Darling is a brilliant musician and songwriter and this piece really has something to say to us all---and especially to those who think there are no singer/songwriters that anything meaningful to say in this time we are living in.

Memorable Moving Moments--Dan Fogelberg

photos: Jean Fogelberg

As the year winds down it seems almost eerie to lose the writer of Same Old Lang Syne at this time.

Dan Fogelberg died this past week at the age of 56. Sadly, he joins those who have left us way to early---Harry Chapin, Kate Wolf, Phil Ochs, Steve Goodman and, surely, many more.

A full and moving obituary can be read in the NY Times of December 17,2007 . For that reason I thought I would spend just a few moments with some personal thoughts---not reminiscences since I never met the man. Yet he made me reflect on things and for that reason some thoughts rather than an "obit" seems appropriate.

My musical tastes are eclectic and range from Classical, Semi-classical, Light Opera, and tend to focus on what can be termed "folk". That said I have to admit my appreciation of the newer artists have to be attributed to my daughter who introduced me to the music of Dan Fogelberg and Harry Chapin and opening my ears and mind to many other artists.

My original thought was ---"another rocker". But--No---those words really made one take notice. Insights about life and well told stories to a beat might be an apt description. In fact his writing was more than that. In many ways it was--as I had said many times in regard to Harry Chapin---an entire novel done musically in a few minutes.

The song that comes to mind that has always seemed to me to be his most touching is Leader of The Band. While it was written for his father it has a wonderful metaphorical sense. The listener can relate it to one's own feelings of an older generation and, then, can relate it to one's self--as one ages. I know I do.

Artists who practice what they preach really do stand out and in the later years Dan Fogelberg's involvement with environmentalism and writing music to that end is the type of thing that makes a person meaningful and not just of the moment.

On the right there are a few videos---and Leader of The Band is one of them.

Not ever having met Dan Fogelberg is my loss---discovering him in his heyday is my gain.