Original name, Henry John Deutschendorf Jr.; born December 31, 1943, in Roswell, NM; died in a plane crash, October 12, 1997, in Pacific Grove, CA. Singer, songwriter, and actor. Many of the songs Denver wrote or recorded, especially "Rocky Mountain High" and "Thank God I'm a Country Boy," became fixtures in American culture and made him one of the most popular singer/songwriters ofthe 1970s. Though his record sales and popularity waned in the 1980s, Denverstill packed stadiums with loyal fans and played a concert a week before hisdeath. Never pretending to be trendy or hip, Denver's songs matched his clean-cut image--peace, happiness, and loving the outdoors. The son of an Air Force pilot, Denver wasn't really interested in music until Elvis Presley hit the scene. Denver dropped out of Texas Tech University and moved to Los Angeles, where he took a day job and sang in lounges at night. During this time, atthe suggestion of a record producer, he changed his last name to Denver.
He caught a break in 1965 when he was chosen over 250 other musicians to be the lead singer for the Chad Mitchell Trio, a folk group. He toured with the band and recorded the album That's the Way It's Gonna Be with them. In 1969 wrote the song "Leaving on a Jet Plane," which was recorded by Peter, Paul andMary and became a smash hit. Once he had a foothold in the music scene, Denver cut the albums Rhymes and Reasons (1969) and Take Me to Tomorrow (1970), and scored another hit with the single "Take Me Home, Country Roads," which sold a million copies. The next year, he recorded "Rocky Mountain High," an autobiographical song that became his signature and spoke of his love of the land. A string of hit albums continued in the early 1970s including Poems, Prayers and Promises (1971), Aerie (1972), Farewell Andromeda (1973), and Back HomeAgain (1974). The 1975 pressing of John Denver's Greatest Hits eventually sold ten million copies, one of the best-selling albums in RCA Records' history. That same year, he was named Entertainer of the Year by the Country Music Association.
While critics sometimes chided Denver's music and image for being too bland or too wholesome, his popularity soared because his feel- good songs struck achord with people who wanted music to make them happy. And Denver performed with a range of artists from other musical genres including opera tenor Placido Domingo, violinist Itzhak Perlman, and Kermit the Frog from The Muppets. Denver received a great deal of mail from fans who said his music helped them through tough times in their lives. In 1977, he crossed over into movies whenhe starred with George Burns in Oh, God!, in which he played an ordinary manchosen by God (Burns) to carry his message. He appeared in scores of television specials during the 1970s. Denver's other recordings in that decade include An Evening with John Denver (1975), Windsong (1975), Live in London (1976),Spirit (1976), I Want to Live (1977), John Denver (1979), and A Christmas Together with the Muppets (1979).
Denver remained popular in the early 1980s with the albums Autograph (1980),Some Days Are Diamonds (1981), Perhaps Love (1981), Seasons of the Heart (1982), It's About Time (1983), and Collection (1984). The late 1980s presented some difficulties for Denver, however; he was arrested for drunk driving and his record sales dropped. He devoted himself more to social causes such as Friends of the Earth, Human/Dolphin Foundation, Save the Children Foundation, and UNICEF; he sailed with famed marine biologist Jacques Cousteau. He was alsoactive in promoting space travel, and he was a member of the National SpaceInstitute and the European Space Agency. Denver continued to record and released the albums Dreamland Express (1985), One World (1986), The Flower That Shattered the Stone (1990), Earth Songs (1990), Different Directions (1991), and Higher Ground (1991). Denver always enjoyed flying and was known as sort ofa daredevil around Aspen, Colorado, where he maintained one of his residences. Denver died when an experimental small plane he was flying crashed into Monterey Bay off the California coast.
November 9, 2005: Almost Heaven: Songs of John Denver, a musical based on Denvers autobiography Take Me Home, was conceived by Harold Thau and opened in New York at the Promenade Theater on November 9, 2005. Source: Playbill Online, www.playbill.com, October 31, 2005.November 9, 2005: Almost Heaven: Songs of John Denver, a musical based on Denver's autobiography Take Me Home, was conceived by Harold Thau and opened in New York at the Promenade Theater on November 9, 2005. Source: Playbill Online, www.playbill.com, October 31, 2005.
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