John Denver

John Denver (December 31, 1943 – October 12, 1997), born Henry John Deutschendorf, Jr., was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. Denver died at the age of 53 off the coast of Monterey, California while piloting a Rutan Long-EZ, an experimental fiberglass airplane.

Career

Denver had a successful singing and songwriting career, and a minor career as an actor—his most notable film credit being in 1977's Oh, God! opposite George Burns. In 1994 Denver wrote an autobiography entitled Take Me Home. He moved to Aspen, Colorado in 1970 following his first solo success with song "Leaving on a Jet Plane".

Related Topics:
Career - Actor - 1977 - Oh, God! - George Burns - 1994 - Autobiography - Take Me Home - Aspen, Colorado - 1970

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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. Denver testified alongside Frank Zappa and Dee Snider on the topic of censorship during a PMRC hearing in 1985.

Related Topics:
Humanitarian - Conservation - Arctic National Wildlife Refuge - Alaska - Windstar Foundation - Hunger - Africa - 1980s - Frank Zappa - Dee Snider - PMRC

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After an enjoyable experience as a guest on The Muppet Show, he recorded two Muppet television specials: ' (1979) and ' (1982).

Related Topics:
The Muppet Show - Muppet

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Defying all conventional labels, John Denver held a singular place in American music: a songwriter whose immensely popular work was suffused with a deep and abiding kinship with the natural world. Songs such as 'Take Me Home, Country Roads', 'Leaving on a Jet Plane', 'Rocky Mountain High' are popular the world over. His songs are characterised by their sweet melodies, elegant guitar-strumming and his soulful rendition of the lyrics. He became one of the few western singers widely known in the non-European world including Africa, India and South-East Asia.

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In the months just prior to his death in a plane accident in 1997 at the age of 53, Denver was filming an episode of the Nature series, centering on the natural wonders that inspired many of his best-loved songs. The result is a poignant and melodic film that 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.

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