Dan Fogelberg and the Father Behind “Leader of the Band”
Our American Stories
iHeartPodcasts
4.6 • 817 Ratings
🗓️ 7 May 2026
⏱️ 9 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
On this episode of Our American Stories, in the canon of personal songs, “Leader of the Band” is one of the most treasured. The song is Dan Fogelberg’s heartfelt tribute to his father, Lawrence, a high school band director who shaped both his life and his music.
As part of our Story of a Song series, Dan Fogelberg himself, along with our own Greg Hengler, share the story behind the song and the man who inspired it.
Support the show (https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate)
Support the show: https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | This is an I-Heart podcast. |
| 0:02.6 | Guaranteed Human. |
| 0:04.3 | Hey, this is Robert from the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast. |
| 0:07.7 | Joe and I are both lifelong Star Wars fan, so we're celebrating May the 4th with a brand |
| 0:11.8 | new week of fun, thought-provoking Star Wars-related episodes. |
| 0:15.5 | Join us as we tackle science and culture topics from a galaxy far, far away, such as the |
| 0:20.3 | biology of taunons and wampas |
| 0:22.2 | on the ice planet hot, or the practicality and corporate business sense of the Sith rule of two. |
| 0:28.3 | Listen to Stuff to Bo Your Mind on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your |
| 0:33.5 | podcasts. |
| 1:02.4 | Music It's your podcasts. This is Lee Habib, and this is Our American Stories, the show where America is the star and the American people. |
| 1:10.5 | If you search for the Our American Stories podcast, go to the Iheart Radio app to Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. |
| 1:16.9 | In a canon of personal songs, leader of the band stands out as Dan Fogelberg's most treasured. |
| 1:18.7 | It's a loving tribute to his musician father, Lawrence Fogelberg. |
| 1:23.2 | Released in late 1981, it peaked at number nine on the Billboard Hot 100 chart |
| 1:29.3 | and hit number one on adult contemporary. |
| 1:33.3 | Here is Dan Fogelberg with the story of his love song to his father. |
| 1:39.3 | If I think I could only have written one song in my life, |
| 1:42.3 | it would have been leader of the band. |
| 1:45.0 | Because what that meant to my father and to me, |
| 1:50.0 | there's no way I could quantify that or even explain it. |
| 1:54.0 | My father passed away over 10 years ago now, |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from iHeartPodcasts, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of iHeartPodcasts and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.