"Leader of the Band" is a song written by Dan Fogelberg from his 1981 album "The Innocent Age". 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.
Leader of the Band performed well on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart but did not perform so well as an international release until it was covered by a Spanish speaking artist thirty years later.