John Denver- A Forgotten Talent

October 12, 1997 is probably not a date that very many remember. We don’t remember where we were when we heard the news and may not have even heard it at all. It was on that day that Henry John Deutschendorf, Jr., better known as John Denver, died in the crash of an experimental aircraft that he was piloting over the Pacific Ocean.

I remember the first concert that I went to when he had just released "Take me Home, Country Roads". He came to New Mexico State University and played his music not in the large Pan Am center arena but in a small room in the student union building. We all sat on the floor and enjoyed the show of a true entertainer. He was an entertainer, by definition. He said something to the effect of “I can play songs all night but that doesn’t make me an entertainer. A true entertainer can JUGGLE!” He immediately launched into a juggling act. His show was funny, touching, and poignant. Nowadays I suppose he could be considered a pioneer in green thinking. His message was consistently to save the earth and its preserve its beauty.

It’s interesting having lived in Colorado and Texas in large markets (Denver and Dallas) that you cannot find an oldies station that plays his music regularly. I guess it isn’t cool. Stating that they play the hits from the 60’s and 70’s and glazing over popular artists such as John Denver (and Barry Manilow) who had so many huge hits is just sad. In 1974 John’s “Back Home Again” album won album of the year from the Academy of Country Music and in 1975 the CMA voted him Entertainer of the Year. In 1975 he was also voted the Favorite Pop/Rock Male Artist at the American Music Awards and won an Emmy for his TV special “An Evening with John Denver”. He won Grammys in 1997 and 1998. Now he is a member of the songwriters Hall of fame. Certainly, with all that he deserves some play time in places other than the Public Broadcasting Stations.

So what happened? Maybe all of it was a fad. Maybe it was his later lifestyle and battles with alcoholism and open admissions to using drugs that destroyed his image. Maybe the songs aren’t flashy enough to endure. We saw him two more times in the 1980s at Red Rocks Amphitheater and at Fiddler's Green in Colorado. The larger venue at Fiddler's Green allowed him to show slides in the background of his recent Russia tour. His love, though, was Red Rocks. He simple loved the natural setting of the amphitheater at Red Rocks and the view as far as you could see. It fit his love for the outdoors. As usual the concerts were excellent but even as a fan I remember a reaction at the end of one of his concerts. As he announced the last song he asked everyone to clean up around their seats and take the trash to the trash cans because “A John Denver fan would never litter.” I must admit that what immediately came to mind was his reckless behavior having twice been arrested for DWI. I thought, what a hypocrite. I guess we all have faults.

John tried to revive his career several times. In 1985 he tried to get into the list of star performers singing “We are the World” but was turned down for fear that he would hurt the image of the production. I’m thinking it was somewhere around 1988 that he released a new album in Australia that shot to number one. He was ecstatic at the concert that year.

In the end, John Denver left this world a better place than he found it. His environmental stands and work for conservation of resources including helping to create the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska reflecting a love for that state. He hosted a number of programs and made us aware of the work of Jacque Cousteau and the Calypso and the wonders of the sea. He made children smile with his appearances with the Muppets and his children’s books. Upon his death, Governor Roy Romer of Colorado lowered flags to half staff and in 2007 his song, "Rocky Mountain High" become a co-official song of Colorado. Maybe someday his music will be cool again. Meanwhile I will turn off the radio once in a while and pop in one of the many CDs that I dug out of the rack. I really believe he lived up to the verses of one of his most popular songs right up until the time that that aircraft dove into the ocean.

I want to live. I want to grow.

I want to see. I want to know.

I want to share what I can give.

I want to be. I want to live.

Enjoy your Treasured Pasts and always, ALWAYS, look for the good.

Stuart