19 Yrs Today Since John Denver Left Us

Subject: 19 Yrs Today Since John Denver Left Us
From: Lizzie Cornish 1
Date: 12 Oct 16 - 08:33 AM

...and as I've missed him almost every day since, for he coloured my life hugely when I was young, with his songs of Nature and Love, I thought it was a GOOD day today to remember a GOOD man, a writer of some of the most beautiful songs ever, a brilliant musician and a man who cared about the planet, about us, about Nature, with his heart and soul.

Here, his friends and family remember John, with some lovely words from Annie, his first wife...

John Denver Remembered

He took me out of my teenage bedroom, to fly with his beloved Eagles, over those Catherdral Mountains, and down into the oceans with Jacques Cousteau....

I'd be a poorer person in my nature without John Denver's music and personality surrounding me in my younger days.


John Denver - On Being Human


John's last song - 'Yellowstone - Coming Home'

Anyway, hope you enjoy the videos and remember John today, with Love in your hearts

With love
Lizzie :0) xx

Subject: RE: 19 Yrs Today Since John Denver Left Us
From: Jack Campin
Date: 12 Oct 16 - 08:54 AM

I didn't realize Annie was a real person.

Could somebody please go back in time and kill her?

Subject: RE: 19 Yrs Today Since John Denver Left Us
From: Lizzie Cornish 1
Date: 12 Oct 16 - 09:01 AM

What a horrible thing to say...

I feel pity for you to have such nastiness in your soul.

Subject: RE: 19 Yrs Today Since John Denver Left Us
From: Jeri
Date: 12 Oct 16 - 09:49 AM

Jack, after their divorce, Denver cut their bed in half with a chain saw. Maybe that helps you feel better?
I've always liked a number of his songs, but I share that fact with folks the same way I share the fact I own a Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass album... or "Slayed". Whatever, Denver did write some classic soft rock songs.

Subject: RE: 19 Yrs Today Since John Denver Left Us
From: Dave Hanson
Date: 12 Oct 16 - 09:56 AM

He was well known as a wife beater.

He preached about saving the environment while secretly having giant diesel tanks built at his house in Aspen.

And he was a crap pilot.

Dave H

Subject: RE: 19 Yrs Today Since John Denver Left Us
From: leeneia
Date: 12 Oct 16 - 11:13 AM

Hi, Lizzie.   Ignore the human horseflies.

Thanks for the your memories of John Denver. I loved his music too, and I even went to one of his concerts - a rare thing for me.

It doesn't seem like 19 years, but it has.

Subject: RE: 19 Yrs Today Since John Denver Left Us
From: punkfolkrocker
Date: 12 Oct 16 - 11:45 AM

What, only 19 years.. seems much longer.. i'm losing sense of time...

These days folks have gotta choose the artists they gush over sentimental about very carefully...

i still really like Gary Glitter's greatest hits..
but....

Some folks might even have thought Hitler was a good painter and found his landscapes an aid to relaxation and contemplation....???

As for John Denver, I couldn't stand him back in the punk rock 70s..

Now I'm knocking on 60 and finding more enjoyment in artists I detested in my youth,
I keep meaning to buy a cheap Denver compilation to at least listen and reevaluate...

or maybe just have a quick look in on Youtube....

Subject: RE: 19 Yrs Today Since John Denver Left Us
From: Jeri
Date: 12 Oct 16 - 12:08 PM

The "wife-beater" thing is bullshit. He did have a problem with alcohol, which is why he wasn't legally supposed to be flying. I don't think that takes anything away from his music, though.

Subject: RE: 19 Yrs Today Since John Denver Left Us
From: Jack Campin
Date: 12 Oct 16 - 12:29 PM

Hitler was pretty good as a painter, though rather limited in what he could do. If they'd had LPs and needed a supply of cover designs in the 1900s, or if Doring Kindersley had been publishing travel guides then, he'd have had a steady source of employment and the world would have been a different place.

Subject: RE: 19 Yrs Today Since John Denver Left Us
From: Lizzie Cornish 1
Date: 12 Oct 16 - 01:12 PM

He cut their bed in half after Annie had cut down a whole pile of his beloved trees. I think her desecration was worse than his. John was one with Nature, so seeing the trees 'murdered' like that would have sent him spiralling down so deeply.   But, hey,they made it up, became friends again. I don't think he ever really got over not being with Annie.

Some terribly unwell comments on here. I try not to get upset, because I realize there are some very mentally sick people on the internet, but geez, some of the comments here are beyond belief.

I feel thankful for kind folks tho', like leeneia xxx

And yes, in agreement with Jeri, he did NOT beat women up.

Oh, Dave, you may want to read this, about the fake story concerning the gas tanks.

Dispelling myths about John Denver's gas tanks - From The Aspen Times

I'm TRULY sorry that you guys are so filled with BITTERNESS and CRUELTY, that you have to spew this out on the internet.

I hope you all recover...but I don't hold out much hope.

Subject: RE: 19 Yrs Today Since John Denver Left Us
From: Mrrzy
Date: 12 Oct 16 - 01:12 PM

Loved him too as a young'n... now he seems a little Treacly Sweeter. Someone get the reference.

Subject: RE: 19 Yrs Today Since John Denver Left Us
From: Lizzie Cornish 1
Date: 12 Oct 16 - 01:17 PM

And, Dave, as well you know, he was an excellent pilot, as was his father, but was flying a test plane at the time of his death.

I expect you rejoice in how he died too...such is the sickness in your comments. YOU have to live with that, not me.

John Denver was a good, kind man and he was dearly loved by those who knew the REAL person behind the image. Oh..and WATCH the video in the first link, for you'll see Annie speaking about John with much love and tenderness....

If you made your comments just to upset me, because this gives you some kind of really sick enyoyment, then maybe it's time you got yourself checked out, professionally, to find out what the cause of your obvious emotional and mental unwellness is.

Thanks...

Subject: RE: 19 Yrs Today Since John Denver Left Us
From: Reinhard
Date: 12 Oct 16 - 01:28 PM

he wasn't legally supposed to be flying

I hate such euphemisms and whitewashing. He was forbidden to fly by the FAA because of his alcoholism.

Subject: RE: 19 Yrs Today Since John Denver Left Us
From: Jeri
Date: 12 Oct 16 - 01:44 PM

Pretty much works out to the same thing.

Subject: RE: 19 Yrs Today Since John Denver Left Us
From: Lizzie Cornish 1
Date: 12 Oct 16 - 01:45 PM

Well, this thread's going well, isn't it, in usual Mudcat fashion....

You start a thread in rememberance of someone's life, someone who gave so much to so many...and out come all the liars, the smearers and the pedants...

I'll remember John my own way, thanks...and I'll leave you all to it in here.

By the way, Reinhard, there was NO trace of alcohol or drugs whatsoever at the autopsy.

http://articles.latimes.com/1998/jun/23/news/mn-62708

Enjoy yourself spewing out your various hatreds.

Subject: RE: 19 Yrs Today Since John Denver Left Us
From: GUEST,HiLo
Date: 12 Oct 16 - 01:49 PM

Mr. Hanson was very nasty on the Cilla Black obituary thread. Seems he is just a nasty little man, ignore him.
I enjoyed a lot of John Denvers music, he was a talented musician and songwriter who gave us many good songs. If someone sings country roads at a houseparty, everyone joins in, all seem to know it. Not many songwriters manage to write songs that appeal to so many.

Subject: RE: 19 Yrs Today Since John Denver Left Us
From: punkfolkrocker
Date: 12 Oct 16 - 02:15 PM

When he first came to my attention through his UK TV shows, I was still a young teenage Donovan fan.
I didn't own a guitar until xmas 1973,
when I started trying to teach myself simple folk style finger picking.

I'm pretty sure I watched nearly every John Denver TV show,
as I devoured any 'live' pop/folk/rock music program broadcast...

However.. glam rock, folk rock, then punk soon enough became more relevant and appealing
and corny syrupy acts like John Denver became the 'enemy'....

[though I still secretly bought every new Donovan LP right though till the late 70s...]

Nowadays, I endeavor to listen to any music without prejudice, to at least see what I can find to like in it, or learn from it...

Subject: RE: 19 Yrs Today Since John Denver Left Us
From: GUEST,bubblyrat
Date: 12 Oct 16 - 03:36 PM

I sat in the pub (the Oxenham Arms ) two days ago and listened to "Leaving On A Jet Plane " and thought how beautiful and how timeless it was / is. Still, those whom the Gods love ......

Subject: RE: 19 Yrs Today Since John Denver Left Us
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 12 Oct 16 - 04:40 PM

Ahhh memories...

Uncle Duke & JD

Dandelion break. The more it changes...

Subject: RE: 19 Yrs Today Since John Denver Left Us
From: keberoxu
Date: 12 Oct 16 - 04:44 PM

...and no one has mentioned Placido Domingo.

Subject: RE: 19 Yrs Today Since John Denver Left Us
From: GUEST,.gargoyle
Date: 12 Oct 16 - 06:26 PM

Ahhh Lizzie, it is that time of year.

Mudcat had a wonderful joke thread at the time regarding Henry John Deutschendorf, Jr.

I guess that John Denver ran out of gas towards the end of his career.

Here are some classics; I could not find the thread:

What weighs 10 pounds and won't be plucked at Thanksgiving?
John Denver's guitar.


John Denver bought his airplane on a Saturday (gas not included)
The next day he bought the farm.


Why did John Denver crash?
He wanted a smash hit in the 90s.

What was John Denver's last hit?
The Pacific Ocean.

How does John Denver like his drinks?
On the rocks.


What key does John Denver sing in?
Sea-Flat

What was John Denver smoking?
Sea Weed

What was the last thing through John Denver's mind before the crash?
The prop.


What have John Denver's music and his crash got in common?
They were both light weight, but down to earth.

Sincerely,
Gargoyle

I have not had this much fun since "below the line" became a members only club. (For Which I Am Thankful)

Subject: RE: 19 Yrs Today Since John Denver Left Us
From: GUEST,Gerry
Date: 12 Oct 16 - 07:49 PM

I saw John Denver in 1967, when he was still with The Mitchell Trio. I think the albums "That's the Way It's Gonna Be" and "Violets of Dawn" the Trio did with him were excellent.

Subject: RE: 19 Yrs Today Since John Denver Left Us
From: GUEST,keberoxu
Date: 12 Oct 16 - 08:16 PM

Something about John Denver brings out the dark side of the Cafe. And it gets me to thinking:
does not Mudcat have an alter ego or two lurking in the shadows? For example, unless I was dreaming or something, I thought I stumbled across a Celtic music forum that was like Mudcat's evil twin, they even looked much the same. And I am wondering if the thread with the "jokes" was woven into the tapestry of the alter-ego Mudcat. Unless the whole bleepin' thread in question was deleted? I confess that just now I went hunting for said thread here....and found one post that corresponds to the description, on a thread that mostly does not.

Subject: RE: 19 Yrs Today Since John Denver Left Us
From: Andrez
Date: 12 Oct 16 - 08:56 PM

Hold on to your memories LIzzie, they are clearly special to you as other artists of the times are special to me regardless of what other people think. Thank you for sharing your thoughts and the video clips. There are some mudcatters out there who can hear where you are coming from.

Cheers,

Andrez

Subject: RE: 19 Yrs Today Since John Denver Left Us
From: GUEST,Roger Knowles
Date: 13 Oct 16 - 04:30 AM

He could sing and play very well. His choice of music was impeccable.
His flying was challenged due to the fact that his father was an award winning USAF pilot.
I miss him.

Subject: RE: 19 Yrs Today Since John Denver Left Us
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 13 Oct 16 - 06:43 AM

We are all flawed human beings and getting rich and famous merely encloses the flaws within a bubble. It doesn't extinguish them. Pfr is right. Enjoy what you enjoy. I do have a red line that has occasionally been stepped over by a few of "the greats." I won't listen to any music composed by Wagner or anything conducted by Herbert Von Karajan. I'm horribly influenced by what I know about them, so much so that I hear nothing but inflated ego in their music. It's impossible to listen to anything if you're always looking for negatives. My loss, maybe. John Denver certainly doesn't fall into that category. It's just that I don't like his songs much.

Subject: RE: 19 Yrs Today Since John Denver Left Us
From: GUEST,Aussie Paul
Date: 20 Aug 19 - 09:13 AM

Even though this thread may be past its use by date John Denver sang from the heart....Sure he had some problems the same as some posters have on this thread

I will always listen to John Denver...he had soul despite the alcohol

I hope I am allowed to listen to Michael Jackson as well even though he also had some issues as well

Subject: RE: 19 Yrs Today Since John Denver Left Us
From: GUEST,Ray
Date: 20 Aug 19 - 12:22 PM

There is something which has always beset the “folk” scene in the UK insofar as it has always enjoyed having a “hate figure”; usually someone or some-thing (a song perhaps) that is famous and which people must not like if they’re going to get along with the clique.

John Denver and his songs is/was such a figure, perhaps because he wasn’t miserable enough. I’m sure those who have grown up with the UK scene over the last 40 or so years will be able to think of many artists they dare not admit to liking or songs they would never dare to sing.

Subject: RE: 19 Yrs Today Since John Denver Left Us
From: GUEST,Tinker from Chicago
Date: 20 Aug 19 - 01:26 PM

People mock John as being too light and shallow, but he's the only songwriter I know of who documented the slow collapse of his marriage for all the hear. Listen to "Goodbye Again" and "I'm Sorry" and "Seasons of the Heart" and "The Game Is Over," and then tell me he wrote nothing but cotton-candy songs.

A piece of my heart died when that plane went down.

Subject: RE: 19 Yrs Today Since John Denver Left Us
From: Mrrzy
Date: 21 Aug 19 - 03:19 PM

I love his music. Gargoyle, thanks for the snickers.

Subject: RE: 19 Yrs Today Since John Denver Left Us
From: Bonzo3legs
Date: 21 Aug 19 - 03:40 PM

He was a superb singer.

Subject: RE: 19 Yrs Today Since John Denver Left Us
From: Big Al Whittle
Date: 21 Aug 19 - 10:27 PM

Well his songs have put food on many a musician's table.

I always admired him. Loved the way he always finished with. Its a sin to tell a lie. His mother's favourite song - my mother's too. Folksong that doesn't go back as far as your parents is pretty sus in my book.

I suppose he represented the enemy to a generation who were trying to say that English folk music had a distinctive voice which should he our first point of reference.

the thing is there are no moral imperatives in folk music - it is the music of the people, and far more English people dig John Denver than Martin Carthy. That's the way it is, and tough shit if you can't get your head round it. The traddies fought and won a lot of battles, but the result of the war was a foregone conclusion.

Subject: RE: 19 Yrs Today Since John Denver Left Us
From: Mrrzy
Date: 22 Aug 19 - 12:15 AM

Um, demise of marriage songs surely include 40 (?) Ways To Leave Your Lover and Diamonds on the Soles of Your Shoes (she comes back to tell me she's gone, as if I didn't know that, as if I didn't know my own bed...)? But Denver's songs were so *upbeat* usually. Sunny. Lovely.

Subject: RE: 19 Yrs Today Since John Denver Left Us
From: rich-joy
Date: 22 Aug 19 - 08:03 PM

I confess to being a big John Denver fan back-in-the-day (and James Taylor, too!) but that didn't preclude my great love of trad and contemporary Folk music.

Coming from Perth, West Aussie (that most remote of capital cities), we didn't get many pop bands or artists - authorities reckoned we didn't have a big enough venue (or, they just didn't want the hassle??) - I mean we didn't even get The Beatles when everyone else did!!

Anyway, once The Entertainment Centre was built (and since demolished - Perth developers are amongst The Best in the world for destroying old buildings), well, we finally saw absolutely fabulous shows from Wings (one Beatle at least!) - and Queen - and John Denver!! His was a great concert with a big sound-and-light show, includung pictures! - new to us, and all VERY special.
John was a great entertainer and showman, as well as his lovely voice and songs.

Just a shame that on Aussie flashback radio, you only hear the same few tired "hits" of his and not some of the other beautiful songs he sang so well....


R-J