John Denver 1943 - 1997

Photo taken by Debbie Wood, and can be found on the Cold nights in Canada, John Denver fan club. Homepage

"Music does bring people together; it allows us to experience the same emotions. People everywhere are the same in heart and spirit. No matter what language we speak, what color we are, the form of our politics or the expression of our love and our faith, music proves: We are the same."

Henry John Deutschendorf Jr.
aka, John Denver.

For over two decades, John Denver has gained international acclaim as a singer-songwriter, actor and humanitarian. Looking at some of the results of his record sales, 14 gold albums and 8 platinum (in the US alone), just hint at quite how popular he has been.

He began his long career back in the 1960's,singing in clubs of Los Angeles. He was the son of an Air Force officer, and he took his performing name from the premier Rocky Mountain City - in the state where he eventually made his home.

His first (major) break came when he was chosen from around 250 hopefulls to be lead singer for the Chad Mitchell Trio - who he stayed with for 2 years. First recognition of his songwriting skills came when Peter, Paul and Mary recorded his "Leaving on a Jet Plane" - Which became their first number one hit.

Table listing some of the sources which have been used in the production of this tribute.

Webpages about John Denver
Rocky Mountain Hight The Internet Fan Club	www.sky.net/~emily/
Cold Nights in Canada The John Denver fan Club	www.cadvision.com/ timco/denver
The John Denver Ftp Site	www.austin1.com/JD/

In less than 2 years later, John had a succession of hits - with such songs as "Take me Home, Country Roads", "Rocky Mountain High", "Annie's Song", and many many more. Many of his songs revealed his growing concern - and appreciation of the environment - a subject which continued with major importance throughout his life.

He was the first American artist to perform in the USSR (as was) back in 1984 (since the suspension of cultural exchanges between the Soviet Union and USA) - after being invited to perform by the Soviet Union of Composers. He returned a second time, in 1987, to perform a benefit concert on behalf of the victims of Chernobyl.

John was also the first Western Artist to do a multi-city tour of mainland china in 1992. He was surprised, but pleased, to discover how popular - and how well known his songs were over there with the Chinese. He was told that "Take me Home, Country Roads" was the most famous song written in the west. Denver always hoped to return to China and Southeast Asia.

"My music and all my work stem from the conviction that people everywhere are intrinsically the same. When I write a song, I want to take the personal experience or observation that inspired it and express it in as universal a way as possible. I'm a global citizen. I've created that for myself, and I don't want to step away from it. I want to work in whatever I do - my music, my writing, my performing, my commitments, my home and personal life - in a way that is directed towards a world in balance, a world that creates a better quality of life for all people."

This, among other dedications, led to the establishment of the Windstar Foundation, a non-profit environmental education and research center co-founded by Denver in 1976 that works toward a sustainable future for the world.

Denver's many past tributes and awards include acknowledgements as the Number One recording artist in the U.S., Favorite Music Performer, People's Choice Awards, AGVA Singing Star of the Year, Yamaha Music Award and recognition from many governments for his concern about global hunger problems. In the summer of 1993, Denver was the recipient of the prestigious Albert Schweitzer Music Award, given to him "For a life's work dedicated to music and devoted to humanity." It was the first time a non-classical music artist had been so honored.

John had two passions that most people knew about: flying, and outerspace. As well as being licensed to pilot his lear jet, he was also an aerobatic pilot as well as being licensed to fly gliders. In the past, he has flown Air Force F-15 Fighters and the Space Shuttle Simulator. He was awarded the public service medal from NASA for helping "increase awareness of space exploration by the people of the world." - which John loved... although his greatest wish was to one day ride in the space shuttle.

John Denver Died, October 12th 1997 while flying an 'experimental' plane he had bought only a few days previously. He was a great influence to many, and will be greatly missed.

Copyright © Neil and Bill Productions, 1997.

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