70s Artist watch:John Denver

 The 70s music legend John Denver was born in 1943 as Henry John Deutschendorf, and in 1969 he stopped singing with a band and went his solo way. He already had a few hits under his belt in the late 1960s  including, "I'm Leaving On A Jet Plane", which was a minor hit for his band  The Chad Mitchel Trio, but a bigger hit for Peter,Paul and Mary.

The album  "Poems,Prayers and Promises" featured one of his first, and probably his best solo hit.
"Take Me Home Country Roads", which was written whilst he was in hospital having his thumb repaired. It became a million seller and a great country hit for 70s music.
Lyric to "Take Me Home Country Roads"

 

In 1972 John Denver had his next big hit with "Rocky Mountain High", and happens to be one of the official state records for Colorado. The word "High" got the record banned from some radio stations, who assumed he was promoting the use of drugs. An absolute problem associated with 70s music.

Lyrics to "Rocky Mountain High"

More hits in the mid 1970s including "Sunshine On My Shoulders", and the huge worldwide smash hit "Annie's Song". This song went to number one in the US and was his only number one in the UK. The record was all about his then wife called Annie.
Lyrics to "Annie's Song"

 

John had huge hits in the American charts, especially the Country charts for obvious reasons. But the next worldwide hit would be "Calypso". The song refers to the name of a boat owned by the TV underwater explore Jacques Cousteau, who had huge TV ratings worldwide with his documentaries of the time.

Lyrics to "Calypso"


John Denver was a very competent pilot, but was killed in a light plane crash in 1997.

Here is John in an 1978 TV interview.