History Music / JohnDenver

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Thank God I'm a country boy''\\
-- "Thank God I'm a Country Boy"

-->-- "Thank God I'm a Country Boy"

->''"You fill up my senses,\\
Like a night in a forest,\\
Like the mountains in springtime,\\
Like a walk in the rain,\\
Like a storm in the desert,\\
Like a sleepy blue ocean,\\
You fill up my senses,\\
Come fill me again."''
-->-- "'''Annie's Song'''"

* ChristmasSongs: He released several Christmas albums, including one with the cast of ''Series/TheMuppetShow'' (in conjunction with a TV special of the same name).

!!{{Signature Song}}s:

* "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QRuCPS_-_IA Thank God I'm a Country Boy]]"
* "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1vrEljMfXYo Take Me Home, Country Roads]]"
* "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eOB4VdlkzO4 Rocky Mountain High]]"
* "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5ZqJzW8dSI Leaving on a Jet Plane]]"
* "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=diwuu_r6GJE Sunshine On My Shoulders]]"

* "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ykEKjiEtOSQ Rhymes and Reasons]]"

* "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jk1bfOn5Vpg Wild Montana Skies]]"
* "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K23XK15M68g Sweet Surrender]]"
* "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3EE83q6tzw Calypso]]"

Denver's personal life was darker than his music; he was married and divorced twice, and came close to choking his first wife during their breakup but fortunately came to his senses before any harm was done. He also had issues with alcohol in TheNineties, twice being arrested for driving under the influence. Denver continued to write, record and perform the music he loved until his death at age 53, when he crashed his homebuilt airplane into California's Monterey Bay on October 12, 1997.

Denver's personal life was darker than his music; he was married and divorced twice, and came close to choking his first wife during their breakup but fortunately came to his senses before any harm was done. He also had issues with alcohol in TheNineties, twice being arrested for driving under the influence. Denver continued to write, record and perform the music he loved until he died after crashing his plane in California's Monterey Bay on October 12, 1997.

Henry John Deutschendorf Jr. (December 31, 1943 – October 12, 1997), better known as [[StageNames John Denver]], was an American singer-songwriter whose music was a mixture of {{pop}}, {{country|music}}, {{folk|music}}, western, and soft {{rock}} influences. He was also an occasional actor, and -- later in life, inspired by his love of nature -- an advocate for environmental and humanitarian issues. Among other distinctions, Denver was the featured guest-star of more [[Franchise/TheMuppets Muppet]] productions than any other guest, with two prime-time TV specials (and accompanying soundtrack albums) on top of his appearance on ''Series/TheMuppetShow'' in 1979.

One of the best-selling U.S. artists of TheSeventies, Denver's success waned somewhat after the decade's end but he retained a solid fanbase. He also earned the respect of Dee Snider (of Music/TwistedSister), among others, by confounding expectations during his testimony at the PRMC hearings in 1985. The committee obviously expected Denver to side with them, viewing him as a non-rebellious "safe" artist with a very wholesome image and non-threatening persona and music. Denver, very politely but nevertheless forcefully, rebuked the committee's attempts to censor music, stood up for artistic freedom and pointed out that his own song, "Rocky Mountain High" (about his love of nature and the "high" he got from being outdoors in the stunning Rocky Mountains), had in fact been banned on certain radio stations for its supposed endorsement of drug use.

** The narrator of "Leaving on a Jet Plane" (initially titled "Babe, I Hate to Go") is homesick before he even leaves home: the song has him saying goodbye to his lover, promising that he'll return with her wedding ring. While Denver wrote the song and performed it first, the song became the hit that it is now thanks to Music/PeterPaulAndMary's [[CoveredUp rendition]].

* WriteWhatYouKnow: You'd be surprised to learn how many of John's original songs owe their existence to this trope. Some key examples:
** "This Old Guitar" is about his very first guitar, which his grandma had given to him when he was a boy.
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gB9uDFb5C9M "Love Again"]] was written after he met his second wife, Cassandra, following his divorce from Annie.
** "Seasons of the Heart" foreshadows the aforementioned separation; likewise, "Falling Out of Love" deals with the aftermath.

* DeadArtistsAreBetter: He hosted the {{UsefulNotes/Grammy Award}}s six times, but didn't win one until ''All Aboard'' won Best Musical Album for Children after his death.

* AcePilot: Denver was a skilled pilot who could fly both jets and piston-engined airplanes. His fatal crash was attributed to his unfamiliarity with the experimental plane he was flying, an inadequate fuel load and awkwardly placed fuel tank controls.
** [[ItRunsInTheFamily His dad, Henry John Deutschendorf, Sr., was a pilot in the Air Force for a good many years.]] John had a good teacher.

* FriendToAllChildren: From a very early age[[note]]In his autobiography, he recounted how he once went out of his way to give emotional support to a younger schoolmate who was being bullied[[/note]], John was very good with kids. This was especially evident when he started a family of his own, first with Zachary and Anna Kate (both of whom he adopted with Annie), and later with Jessie Belle (who was biologically his). Not surprisingly, in his social activism, he contributed a great deal to causes for children's welfare.

* MilitaryBrat: Denver's father, Henry John Deutschendorf, Sr., was a USAF pilot and the family moved frequently during Denver's youth.

* ScrewThisImOutOfHere: After one move too many, Denver stole his father's car and drove to California to join family friends. His father flew out to retrieve him.

One of the best-selling U.S. artists of TheSeventies, Denver's success waned somewhat after the decade's end but he retained a solid fanbase. He also earned the respect of Dee Snider (of Music/TwistedSister), among others, by confounding expectations during his testimony at the PRMC hearings in 1985. The committee obviously expected Denver to side with them, Denver being seen as a non-rebellious "safe" artist with a very wholesome image and non-threatening persona and music. Denver, very politely but nevertheless forcefully, rebuked the committee's attempts to censor music, stood up for artistic freedom and pointed out that his own song, "Rocky Mountain High" (about his love of nature and the "high" he got from being outdoors in the stunning Rocky Mountains), had in fact been banned on certain radio stations as a drug promoting song.

[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/john_denver_1973.jpg]]

Henry John Deutschendorf Jr. (December 31, 1943 – October 12, 1997), better known as [[StageNames John Denver]], was an American singer-songwriter whose music was a mixture of [[Main/CountryMusic country]], [[Main/FolkMusic folk]], western and folk rock influences. He was also an actor and, later in life, (inspired by his love of nature) an advocate for the environment and humanitarian issues. Among other distinctions, Denver was the featured guest-star of more [[Franchise/TheMuppets Muppet]] productions than any other guest, with two prime-time TV specials (and accompanying soundtrack albums) on top of his appearance on ''Series/TheMuppetShow'' in 1979.

Henry John Deutschendorf Jr. (December 31, 1943 – October 12, 1997), better known as [[StageNames John Denver]], was an American singer-songwriter whose music was a mixture of [[Main/CountryMusic country]], [[Main/FolkMusic folk]], western and folk rock influences. He was also an actor and, later in life, (inspired by his love of nature) an advocate for the environment and humanitarian issues. Among other distinctions, Denver was the featured guest-star of more [[Franchise/TheMuppets Muppet]] productions than any other guest, with two TV specials on top of his appearance on ''Series/TheMuppetShow'' in 1979.

Denver's personal life was darker than his music; he was married and divorced twice, and came close to choking his first wife during their breakup but fortunately came to his senses before any harm was done. He also had issues with alcohol in TheNineties, twice being arrested for driving under the influence. Denver continued to write, record and perform the music he loved until he died after crashing his plane in California's Monterey Bay on October 12, 1997. As usual, [[Wiki/{{Wikipedia}} The Other Wiki]] [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Denver has an extensive article covering his life and career]].

Henry John Deutschendorf Jr. (December 31, 1943 – October 12, 1997), better known as [[StageNames John Denver]], was an American singer and songwriter whose music was a mixture of [[Main/CountryMusic country]], [[Main/FolkMusic folk]], western and folk rock influences. He was also an actor and, later in life, (inspired by his love of nature) an advocate for the environment and humanitarian issues. Among other distinctions, Denver was the featured guest-star of more [[Franchise/TheMuppets Muppet]] productions than any other guest, with two TV specials on top of his appearance on ''Series/TheMuppetShow'' in 1979.

[[quoteright:280:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/john_denver_1973.jpg]]

* TheAlcoholic: Denver had problems with alcohol in TheNineties and was technically disqualified from flying when he died in a plane crash, though alcohol wasn't a factor in the accident.[[note]]He'd been flying a used plane he bought that was built from a kit, but the builder had placed the fuel tank switch in a position that made it difficult to switch tanks mid-air. He couldn't do it successfully and quickly plummeted.[[/note]]

* BerserkButton: Denver was so enraged by the breakdown of his first marriage he [[ChainsawGood took a chainsaw]] to their marital bed and sawed it completely in half.

One of the best-selling U.S. artists of TheSeventies, Denver's success waned somewhat after the decade's end but he retained a solid fanbase. He also earned the respect of Dee Snider (of Music/TwistedSister), amongst others, by confounding expectations during his testimony at the PRMC hearings in 1985. The committee obviously expected Denver to side with them, Denver being seen as a non-rebellious "safe" artist with a very wholesome image and non-threatening persona and music. Denver, very politely but nevertheless forcefully, rebuked the committee's attempts to censor music, stood up for artistic freedom and pointed out that his own song, "Rocky Mountain High" (about his love of nature and the "high" he got from being outdoors in the stunning Rocky Mountains), had in fact been banned on certain radio stations as a drug promoting song.

* "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SneCkM0bJq0 Leaving on a Jet Plane]]"

* AcePilot: Denver was a skilled pilot who could fly both jets and piston engined aeroplanes. His fatal crash was attributed to his unfamiliarity with the experimental plane he was flying, an inadequate fuel load and awkwardly placed fuel tank controls.