Same Old Lang Syne - Dan Fogelberg (1980) 12/31/20

On Christmas Eve in 1975, Dan Fogelberg was visiting his parents in his hometown of Peoria, Illinois, when he volunteered to run down to the local store to get some whipped cream for Irish coffee. Not far away, Jill Anderson was visiting her parents when they ran out of egg nog, so her mother sent her to buy some.

Jill arrived first, and Dan saw her as soon as he walked in the door.

Dan and Jill had dated throughout high school in Peoria, and graduated together in 1969. They kept the relationship going for a while afterward, but slowly drifted apart. They hadn't seen or spoken to each other in a few years, and what happened next became a “Great Song of 1980!”

Shortly after “Same Old Lang Syne” was released, Jill was driving to work when she heard the song on the radio and not only recognized Dan's voice...but knew immediately the song was about her! (Dan had made some alterations, however. Jill's eyes were green, not blue, and her husband at the time was a Phys-Ed teacher, not an architect.)

She was flattered, but on the other hand, she decided to keep it a secret because even though their encounter was innocent, her husband and Dan's wife might take issue.

As for Dan, he admitted the song was autobiographical, but always refused to identify the woman—most likely for the same reason. We'll never know for sure because Dan died in 2007, a victim of prostate cancer at the way-too-young age of 56.

At that point, however, Jill (now divorced and remarried) was urged by a few friends (who were in-the-know) to tell her side of the story. She decided she owed it to Dan and his fans, so she contacted the Peoria newspaper and that's how we know “rest of the story.” To this day, Jill considers it an honor to be a small part of popular music history.

The song itself was at Top 10 hit on two Billboard charts: Adult Contemporary (#6) and the Hot 100 (#8). You hear it on the radio every Holiday season—especially on Christmas Eve--and because of the title and the saxophone solo at the end, on New Year's Eve.

That's why I've chosen to highlight the song today. Yes, it was a “Great Song of 1980,” but because the story took place in 1975, I'm counting it as a “Great STORY from the '70s!”

FUN FACT #1: The convenience store in Peoria where the story took place is STILL IN BUSINESS, and can be seen at the beginning and end of the video.

FUN FACT #2: Dan lifted part of the melody from Tchaikovsky's “1812 Overture!” Listen to him sing the first few bars, and you'll hear it!

“Same Old Lang Syne:”