Wednesday, October 12, 2005

Remembering John Denver (1943-1997)...

It was on this date in 1997 that we lost, in my view, the most underrated singer-songwriter of his era when John Denver's experimental plane fell out of the sky and into the sea off the coast of Monterey, California...

Consider the legacy of hits that Denver left us with: "Leaving On A Jet Plane", "Take Me Home Country Roads", "Sunshine On My Shoulders", "Rocky Montain High", "Annie's Song", "Calypso", "Thank God I'm A Country Boy" and "I'm Sorry". The only song he didn't write was "Thank God I'm A Country Boy" which topped the charts along with "I'm Sorry". "Country Roads" went top 3. Three of his singles ("I'd Rather Be A Cowboy", "Sunshine" and "Annie's Song" (written for wife Annie) were all million sellers. In all, Denver had 14 gold and eight platinum albums in the U.S. alone. According to SONY Records, John Denver is one of the 5 top-selling artists in the history of the music industry. Pardon the pun but that record speaks for itself...

Maybe it was his "gosh", "golly", "far-out" folksy demeanor that was dismissed by music critics to not take John Denver seriously as one of our greatest singer-songwriters. The record buying public knows better...

More October 12 Memories...

1492) Columbus reaches the New World when he sights a Bahamian Island believing he has reached East Asia...

1920) Construction of the Holland Tunnel begins (when will it be finished ?)...

1920) Man o' War wins a match race with Sir Barton to finish with a record of 20-1...

1938) Filming begins on "The Wizard of Oz"...

1957) Little Richard publicly renounces "Rock 'n' Roll" and embraces Christianity...

1960) Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev pounds his shoe at the podium during a UN dispute...

1964) Manfred Mann tops the charts with "Do Wah Diddy Diddy"...

1967) Red Sox pitcher Jim Lonborg comes back after only 2 days rest in an attempt to beat the Cardinals in the 7th & final World Series game at Fenway Park. In a game I was fortunate enough to witness, Lonborg runs out of steam, the Red Sox lose 7-2...

1968) John Sebastian leaves the Lovin' Spoonful to go solo...

1970) "Jesus Christ Superstar" opens on Broadway...

1971) Early rocker Gene Vincent dies at 36 from a ruptured stomach ulcer...

1975) Rod Stewart appears with Faces for the last time before going solo...

1978) Sid Vicious is arrested for the murder of girlfriend Nancy Spungen. Vicious (Sex Pistols) dies of a heroin overdose before his murder trial begins...

1986) One strike away from the World Series, Angel pitcher Donnie Moore gives up a game-tying 2 run homer to Dave Henderson of the Red Sox who win in 11 innings and win the AL pennant by winning the next 2 games against the Angels (Moore would commit suicide a few years later)...

1991) Steven Spielberg and Kate Capshaw say "I do"...

1997) John Denver is killed in a plane crash at 53 (feature story)...

1999) NBA Hall of Famer Wilt Chamberlain dies at 63...

2000) 17 crewmembers die when U.S. Navy destroyer USS Cole is attacked by terrorists in Yemen...

2001) An NBC assistant to Tom Brokaw tests positive for anthrax after opening a letter addressed to Brokaw...

Happy Birthday To...

1932) Dick Gregory...

1935) Sam (Sam & Dave) Moore...

1935) Luciano Pavarotti...

1950) Susan Anton...

1968) Hugh Jackman...

Commentary...

In addition to an exceptional career in the music business, John Denver accomplished several other things including writing the autobiography "Take Me Home". His TV career included frequent appearances on "The Muppet Show" and several specials. Denver worked extensively on conservation projects, founding the Windstar Foundation. He also had a keen interest in the causes of and solution to world-wide hunger...

Denver received critical acclaim for his acting role opposite George Burns in "Oh God!" and at the time of his death was filming an episode of the "Nature" series which centered on the natural wonders that inspired many of his best-loved songs. The special records his final journeys into the wilderness and contains his last song, "Yellowstone, Coming Home", composed while rafting along the Colorado River with his son and young daughter...

John Denver was 53...