The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #77221 Message #1375594
Posted By: WFDU - Ron Olesko
09-Jan-05 - 10:07 PM
Thread Name: John Denver - 60's Folk Singer
Subject: RE: John Denver - 60's Folk Singer
"Can you envision Pete Seeger or Woody doing a Christmas Special? with Placeto Domingo no less?"
Yes. If they could get on TV and sold as many records as John Denver. I say that with no disrespect to Pete or Woody. They lived in a different world and to knock John Denver just because he was successful and appeared in several very successful Christmas programs is a silly arguement.
By the way, Pete recorded two Christmas albums in his career, three if you count the very commercial recording he made with the Weavers for the holiday. There was nothing wrong with the music on any of them. John Denver's recordings and TV shows were products of their time.
I find it odd that people choose to remember his work with the Muppets and by and large forget about all the charitable work he did, including his work in various hunger projects with artists like Harry Chapin. Denver was asked to serve as a member of the Presidential Commission on World and Domestic Hunger and he founded The Hunger Project. Denver also devoted much of his energies to environmental causes and wrote a song about Jacques Costeau which helped enlighted his audience to the work that was being done. The Windstar Organization which he founded in 1975 continues to address environmental concerns.
He may have been a friend to Kermit, but he was also a friend to every living creature on this planet.