"Leader of the Band" is a song written by

Dan Fogelberg Daniel Grayling Fogelberg (August 13, 1951 – December 16, 2007) was an American musician, songwriter, composer, and multi-instrumentalist. He is known for his 1970s and 1980s songs, including " Longer" (1979), " Same Old Lang Syne" (1980), and ...

from his 1981 album ''

The Innocent Age ''The Innocent Age'' is the seventh album by American singer-songwriter Dan Fogelberg, released in 1981. It was also one of his most successful albums; three of his four Top 10 singles on the ''Billboard'' pop chart (" Hard to Say" (no. 7), "Sam ...

''. 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. Lawrence died in August 1982, but not before this hit song made him a celebrity with numerous media interviews interested in him as its inspiration. Released as a single at the end of 1981, the tribute peaked at #9 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart in March 1982. It became Fogelberg's second #1 song on the '' Billboard''

Adult Contemporary chart The Adult Contemporary chart is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and lists the most popular songs on adult contemporary radio stations in the United States. The chart is compiled based on airplay data submitted to ''Billboard'' by sta ...

, following his 1980 hit "

Longer "Longer" is a song written and recorded by the American singer-songwriter Dan Fogelberg and released in 1979 by Full Moon Records and Epic Records. The song can be found on Fogelberg's 1979 album '' Phoenix''. It was also included on his 1982 gre ...

".Hyatt, Wesley (1999). ''The Billboard Book of #1 Adult Contemporary Hits'' (Billboard Publications) On the Radio & Records charts, "Leader of the Band" peaked at #2 on the CHR/Pop chart, and hit #1 on the AC chart.

Charts

Other versions

*The

Mercey Brothers The Mercey Brothers were a Canadian country music group active from 1957 to 1989. The brothers were seven-time Juno Award winners for "The Top Country Group" and were inducted into the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame. Early life All three M ...

recorded this song in 1984 for their completion album ''Latest and Greatest Volume 1''. It would peak at number nine on the Canadian Country Music chart and at number 21 on the Canadian Adult Contemporary chart. *

Lucie Arnaz Lucie Désirée Arnaz (born July 17, 1951) is an American actress and singer. She is the daughter of actors Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. Early life Arnaz was born at Cedars of Lebanon Hospital in Los Angeles, California, the daughter of act ...

has performed a version of the song as a tribute to her late father,

Desi Arnaz Desiderio Alberto Arnaz y de Acha III (March 2, 1917 – December 2, 1986) was a Cuban-born American actor, bandleader, and film and television producer. He played Ricky Ricardo on the American television sitcom '' I Love Lucy'', in which he c ...

. This is heard in the lyrics as it was changed from ''A cabinet maker's son'' to ''A mayor's son.'' Desi's father, Desiderio Alberto Arnaz y Alberni II; served as mayor of Santiago de Cuba from 1928 until 1932 and was also the youngest mayor of that respected city. *

Regine Velasquez Regina Encarnacion Ansong Velasquez ( ; born April 22, 1970) is a Filipina singer, actress, and record producer. She is considered one of the most influential figures in Philippine popular culture and is known for her vocal range and beltin ...

recorded this song in 2008 for her album ''

Low Key Low key as a term used in describing paintings or photographs is related to but not the same as low-key lighting in cinema or photography. A photographic image, painting or movie can be defined as "low-key" if its dominant values are black, dark ...

'', and she also performed the song to her father, Gerardo Velasquez, while he was still alive. *

Zac Brown Zachry Alexander Brown (born July 31, 1978) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and co-founder and lead singer of the country–rock Zac Brown Band, as well as electronic dance music group Sir Rosevelt. In 2019, Brown released a pop su ...

recorded this song in 2017 as part of a tribute album to Dan Fogelberg. He also dedicated it to his father.

References

1981 singles Dan Fogelberg songs Songs written by Dan Fogelberg 1981 songs Full Moon Records singles Songs about fathers Epic Records singles {{1980s-pop-song-stub

Charts

Other versions

See also

References