Musical Career
Fogelberg's second effort was much more successful---the 1974 Joe Walsh-produced album Souvenirs. The song "Part of the Plan" became Fogelberg's first hit. After Souvenirs, he released a string of gold and platinum albums, including Captured Angel (1975) and Nether Lands (1977), and found commercial success with songs such as "The Power of Gold". His 1978 Twin Sons of Different Mothers was the first of two collaborations with jazz flutist Tim Weisberg. 1979's Phoenix reached the Top 10, with "Longer" becoming a #2 pop hit (and wedding standard) in 1980. The track peaked at #59 on the UK Singles Chart---his sole entry on that chart. The album reached #42 on the UK Albums Chart, likewise his only entry there. It was followed by a Top 20 hit "Heart Hotels".
The Innocent Age, released in October 1981, was Fogelberg's critical and commercial peak. This double-album song cycle included four of his biggest hits: "Leader of the Band", "Hard to Say", "Run for the Roses", and "Same Old Lang Syne". He drew inspiration for The Innocent Age from Thomas Wolfe's novel Of Time and the River. A 1982 greatest hits album contained two new songs, both of which were released as singles: "Missing You" and "Make Love Stay". In 1984, he released the album Windows and Walls, containing the singles "The Language of Love" and "Believe in Me".
Fogelberg released High Country Snows in 1985. Recorded in Nashville, it showcased his and some of the industry's best talent in bluegrass. Vince Gill, Ricky Skaggs, Doc Watson, Jerry Douglas, David Grisman, Chris Hillman, and Herb Pedersen contributed to the record. In a world he defined as "life in the fast lane," Fogelberg described the music as "life in the off-ramp." In late 1985, he switched gears and took to the road with a group of musician friends, including Joe Vitale and Rick Rosas, playing blues in small clubs throughout Colorado as Frankie and the Aliens, covering songs by Cream and Muddy Waters, among others. 1987 heralded a return to rock with Exiles, an album that contained "What You're Doing", a throwback to the old Stax Records sound made famous in Memphis during the 1960s. While touring in New England early in 1988, he came across an issue of Nine-O-One Network Magazine which was published in Memphis, and he called the publisher, James L. Dickerson, and an interview resulted that landed him on the cover of the April 1988 issue. Known for his many relationship songs, he confessed that he hadn't had a lot of relationships and wrote based on his observations of other people's relationships.
River of Souls, released in 1993, was Fogelberg's last studio album for Sony Records. In 1997, Portrait encompassed his career with four discs, each highlighting a different facet of his music: "Ballads", "Rock and Roll", "Tales and Travels", and "Hits". In 1999, he released a Christmas album, First Christmas Morning, and in 2003, Full Circle showcased a return to the folk-influenced 1970s soft rock style of music.
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