Posted on 01/13/2018 9:46:22 AM PST by SamAdams76
Most likely people under age 40 have no idea who John Denver was. He had a string of pop hits. Then he died in a airplane crash in some sort of experimental plane? He might have been a goofy granola-eating liberal but he did write some pretty good songs in the "folk-rock" style back in the 1970s.
His first big success was writing a song called "Leaving On A Jet Plane" which was a big hit for Peter, Paul & Mary, another group of granola eating liberals.
His real life name was Henry John Deutschendorf Jr.
Yikes, that's a mouthful.
I remember him in a movie with George Burns. I think it was called "Oh God" or something like that. Back in the late 1970s. Not a bad film.
It's just weird that he dropped off the face of the earth. Nobody remembers him.
"Annie's Song" is my favorite song from him. I remember hearing that song on the radio the day that Richard Nixon resigned the presidency. I will always associate that song with Richard Nixon resigning.
He died in a plane crash.
He would just climb into a plane and go up into the sky. The one time, he did not come down safely.
Far out!
If I recall correctly, he ran out of gas over Monterrey Bay.
It only takes one time not to come down safely to die.
He died in an experimental plane he was flying that crashed into the ocean in Calif. Hi songs were awesome.
That’s “Monterey” with one r. “Monterrey” is in Mexico.
He had a lot of other good music. "Farewell, Andromeda" and "Cold Nights in Canada," for example.
He was heavily into "est," the self-actualization system devised by Werner Erhard, and it seemed to work for him ... for a while. He fell out of favor and started drinking, divorced his wife (the subject of "Annie's Song") and hit a low point.
But he was rebuilding his life when he crashed into the Pacific Ocean in an experimental aircraft. He was the son of an Air Force father and loved to fly.
October 1997
I remember watching his Christmas specials as a kid. Beautiful scenery and wonderful music. He had an easy unforced voice like James Taylor.
John Denver...he would just get into an airplane and fly up into the sky! That's how he rolled.
I wasn’t a fan, but I saw him at the Forum in the late 70’s. It was an amazing concert. The concert was in the round. His band took a break but he continued to play and sing until they returned.
Not a favorite of mine, but he could write. Rocky Mountain High, Thank God I’m A Country Boy, Country Roads, Fly Away (with ONJ), Calypso and my favorite of his set Shanghai Breezes. All big bits off the top of my head with no Internet search.
No, but I remember Henry John Deutschendorf, Jr.
“Oh, God! I’m an ocean buoy!”
I met him in the late 60s when he was a student at Texas Tech in Lubbock, TX. My aunt was the choir director at Pioneer Methodist Church in Lubbock and John sang in her choir. He was also a regular at her dinner table and always brought his guitar for after dinner. He was a nice guy and always had time to talk with the kids....red
“Almost heaven, West Virginia.
Blue Ridge Mountains, Shenandoah River.
Life is old there, older than the trees
Younger than the mountains, blowing like a breeze.”
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