"Leader of the Band" by Dan Fogelberg

While the Pop Culture Institute has not exactly been the go-to destination for praise of fathers and fatherhood - my own having generously disowned me when he found out I was gay* - I have nonetheless always had a soft spot for this song; because I have, over the years, collected the occasional father figure or two, I've occasionally had reason to plumb these sensitive lyrics with something less than cynicism and come away somewhat healed in the process...

All of which would doubtless give the late Dan Fogelberg (who died on this day in 2007) yet another reason to be proud of his most famous creation - Leader of the Band, taken from his 1981 album The Innocent Age. He's seen here performing it live at the Fox Theatre in St. Louis, Missouri on June 25th, 1991.

*It's okay - he was an abusive self-loathing closet case anyway...
*