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John Denver

 154

John Denver

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John Denver

Not many people can get away or even pull-off having a stage-name "Denver" as a last name but as this poet basically dedicated most of his songs ("Rocky Mountain High," "I Guess He'd Rather Be In Colorado," & "Starwood In Aspen" [just to name a few].) about the mountains, not only did Mr. John Denver pull it off but he also managed to do it while letting his authentic-sunshine-self shine through. Denver was truly one of the first to combine country & pop into one cohesive sound. John was super prolific, beginning with 1966's self-released John Denver Sings all the way up until his last album- 1997's All Aboard!, with Denver dying tragically while piloting a plane just two months after the release, bringing a whole new-dark-perspective-and-dimension to his song "Leaving on a Jet Plane." Twenty-seven albums total! There was also the compilation of unreleased material titled Forever, John released in 1998. 

Denver was born in New Mexico but grew up as a military brat and moved across the country during his upbringing. It wasn't until the 1960's until he found some stability and began playing with folk-groups. By 1974- he would be one of America's best-selling artists. By 1975- he was dubbed "His Royal Highness" and put on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine, an article/interview you can still read here.

It's tough to tell someone where to start with a discography this big. I would recommend The Essential John Denver, which has every hit he ever recorded- or you can't go wrong with the slimmer Greatest Hits [Vol. 1 or Vol. 2]. I am a fan of the B-Side "Calypso." And ANYTHING he did with the Muppets.

Denver's legacy since his untimely death has not only endured- but grown. The only slight is him not being in the Rock 'N' Roll Hall of FAME (I'm sorry- I know he wasn't technically "rock" but neither was Whitney Houston, Biggie Smalls, or Joan Baez- SO LET THE MAN IN!). There is an excellent tribute album from amazing artists covering his songs. West Virginia AND Colorado both have his songs as official state songs. Kurt Cobain even remembered fondly his parents having the Greatest Hits on vinyl and enjoying the pop-sunshine Denver brought to him- here's a funny picture of Kurt recreating the cover of the album. And I'm sure even Queen Swift herself would say she wouldn't be where she is today if not for the stepping-stones Denver laid down for all those to come after him.

When it comes to country + pop = He is the center.

It's...

John Denver

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