Artist:John DenverSong:Annie's Song
Album:The Essential John Denver
John Denver was one of the most popular recording artists of the 70s and Annie's Song was one of his biggest hits in 1974. But it took a decade of struggling in the shadows before he broke through as a singer. It almost looked like it would never happen and then when he became popular he was criticized for being over exposed. He was born Henry John Deutschendorf Jr. Dec. 31, 1943 in Roswell, NM. He was an Air Force brat so his family moved a lot. He went to high school in Fort Worth, TX. While studying architecture at Texas Technical College in Lubbock, he had the folk group The Alpine Trio. New Christy Minstrels leader Randy Sparks suggested Deutschendorf change his name to something that would fit on a marquee. John loved Colorado so he called himself John Denver. He moved to Los Angeles and joined The Chad Mitchell Trio which was renamed The Mitchell Trio and then Denver, Boise & Johnson after Mitchell left. It was here that he met veteran folk music producer Milton Okun. When the group split up in 1969, Denver signed with RCA Records with Okun producing. Meanwhile, his song Leaving On A Jet Plane became a huge hit for Peter, Paul & Mary in 1969. So RCA extended Denver's contract despite the fact that his solo debut Rhymes & Reasons did not sell. His next two albums didn't sell either. But when Hollywood producer Jerry Weintraub became his manager in 1970, he ramped up Denver's career. The result was that Take Me Home, Country Roads reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1972. From there, Denver had a long string of hits including Annie's Song in 1974. I think most people are aware that he wrote it for his wife. Weintraub's aggressive campaign of TV appearances worked and Denver got his own TV specials on ABC. Denver has a falling out with Weintraub in 1975. But he continued to have many hits and had success acting in films too. Denver started to fade in the late 70s. His final top ten hit were Some Days Are Diamonds in 1981. RCA dropped him in 1986 and Denver's label Windstar became an independent label. He became more active as a political activist and his music wasn't a factor in the 90s. This 2CD comp is a good intro to his music. John Denver was an avid pilot and he died on Oct. 12, 1997 at age 53 when his plane crashed into the Pacific Ocean. I liked John Denver's earlier music and songs like Thank God I'm A Country Boy made him a little corny. I think he may have been conflicted about the cost of fame. He admitted to a lot of compromise when he was managed by Weintraub. Here's John Denver performing Annie's Song at the NEC Arena in Birmingham, England 1986. This is available on DVD from Eagle Rock Entertainment.
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