For Father’s Day–one of my favorite Dan Fogelberg songs. He wrote this for his father, and I read in an interview with him that if he could have only written one song this would have been it.
Leader of the Band by Dan Fogelberg; performed by Pete Marcantel
Boy from the Country by Michael Martin Murphey
performed by Pete Marcantel
photos by Pete Marcantel
I’ve always really liked this song. I first heard it performed on the banjo by Steve Martin in a small show on a college campus back in the 70’s–this was before he was STEVE MARTIN. Later I heard it on a John Denver album and decided to learn it. I heard somewhere that Murphey’s inspiration for the song was St. Francis of Assisi, but I haven’t been able to verify that. Makes sense, though.
It’s a great song that carries an even more urgent message now than it did forty years ago. Happy Earth Day!
Pete Marcantel–Notes On Life 