John Denver

John Denver and the Muppets:
A Christmas Together

John Denver (December 31, 1947 - October 12,1997), born Henry John Deutschendorf, was an American singer, songwriter and musician.

Overview

Denver had a successful singing and songwriting career and a minor career as an actor, his most notable acting credit being in the film Oh, God! opposite George Burns. In 1994 Denver wrote an autobiography entitled Take Me Home. He was born in Roswell, New Mexico, lived most of his adult life in Aspen, Colorado and died off the coast of Monterey, California while piloting a Rutan"Long Ez", an experimental glassfibre private plane. Denver's plane had the fuel tank alternator switch located behind his seat and it is believed he lost control while trying to engage the secondary fuel tank.

John Denver was recognized not only for his musical ability but also for his humanitarian work. He worked extensively on conservation projects and helped to create the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska. He also founded his own environmental group called the Windstar Foundation. Denver had a keen interest in the causes of and solution to hunger and visited Africa during the 1980s to witness first-hand the suffering caused by starvation and also to work with African leaders towards a solution.

He recorded two Muppet specials, John Denver and the Muppets: A Christmas Together and John Denver and the Muppets: Rocky Mountain Holiday.

Related Artists

Denver started his recording career with the Chad Mitchell Trio; his distinctive voice can be heard where he sings solo on Violets of Dawn. He recorded three albums with the Mitchell Trio, replacing Chad Mitchell himself as lead singer. His group Denver, Boise and Johnson released a single before he moved on to a solo career.

Bill Danoff and Taffy Nivert appeared as singers and songwriters on many of Denver's albums up until forming the Starland Vocal Band in 1976. The band's albums were released on Denver's Windstar label.

Denver's early solo success was largely due to a recording of his Leaving, on a Jet Plane which was recorded by Peter, Paul and Mary. It became a number 1 hit for the group.

Denver recorded songs by Tom Paxton, Eric Anderson, David Mallet, and many others in the folk scene.

Discography

On RCA Records:

• Rhymes & Reasons - 1969 ^†
• Take Me To Tomorrow - 1970
• Whose Garden Was This? - 1970
• Poems, Prayers, and Promises - 1971 ^†
• Aerie - 1972
• Rocky Mountain High - 1972 ^†
• Farewell Andromeda - 1973
• Greatest Hits - 1973 ^††
• Back Home Again - 1974
• An Evening with John Denver (live) - 1975
• Windsong - 1975 ^†
• Rocky Mountain Christmas - 1975
• Spirit - 1976
• Greatest Hits Vol. 2 - 1977
• I Want To Live - 1977
• John Denver (JD) - 1978
• A Christmas Together (with The Muppets) - 1979
• Autograph - 1980
• Some Days Are Diamonds - 1981
• Seasons of the Heart - 1982
• It's About Time - 1983
• Rocky Mountain Holiday (with The Muppets) - 1983
• Greatest Hits Vol. 3 - 1984
• Dreamland Express - 1985
• One World - 1986

On Windstar Records:

• Higher Ground - 1989
• Earth Songs - 1990
• The Flower That Shattered the Stone - 1990
• Christmas, Like a Lullaby - 1990
• Different Directions - 1991

† Albums widely considered to be among Denver's most important works.

†† The first "Greatest Hits" album is important historically because it contains new, revisionist recordings of several hit songs. After its release these versions were used for airplay despite differing in subtle but important ways from the original versions; generally, they are more polished.

Songs of Note

• Annie's Song
• Rocky Mountain High
• Thank God I'm a Country Boy
• Leaving, On a Jet Plane
• Take Me Home, Country Roads
• Sunshine on My Shoulders
• Calypso - A muscial tribute to Jacques-Yves Cousteau and his crew

External Links

• Rocky Mountain High Fan Club - http://www.rockymtnhigh.org/
• JohnDenver.com (official site) - http://www.johndenver.com/

Referenced By