Artist:John Denver f/Emmylou Harris
Song:Wild Montana Skies
Album:Legends
Though John Denver was not a consistent hitmaker by the early 80s, he was still successful on the country charts. Wild Montana Skies was a top 15 country hit in 1983. And it's the only time Denver recorded with Emmylou Harris. So it's a discography orphan for her fans as it wasn't on one of her albums. Denver's decline coincided with the 1975 #1 hit Thank God I'm a Country Boy. That record turned off a lot of his long time fans. I was one of them. I liked his early records but some of his 70s hits were too commercial. And Thank God I'm a Country Boy seemed like a parody. His album sales declined significantly in the late 70s. And by the early 80s, his albums weren't even turning Gold anymore. His singles were charting in the bottom half of the Billboard Hot 100 though he was still scoring hits in country. So the 1983 album It's About Time came at a time when Denver may not have been too sure of himself. Wild Montana Skies was the first single. It reached #14 on the Country Singles chart. It's notable as Denver's only recording with Emmylou Harris. Other guests on the album were Patti Austin and Rita Marley. The Western Writers of America named Wild Montana Skies as one of the top 100 western songs of all time. The song appears on John Denver's Greatest Hits Vol. 3 which tells you where it is on the pecking order. But you can get it on this 3CD budget comp. It did not appear on an Emmylou Harris album though Reprise included it on the 1990 comp Duets and that is available. The two never performed it live though the song was a regular part of Denver's concerts. He usually performed it as a duet with a female singer, in this case Pat Hawk. And that's guitar legend James Burton playing the guitar solo. Denver hosted the Grammys in 1984 and also appeared on the 1984 Winter Olympics. But he also wanted to appear on We Are The World and was turned down. That had to hurt. Denver continued to tour successfully until his 1997 death. But his later albums did not sell. So I guess it could be said that Wild Montana Skies was his last hurrah. Here's John Denver with Pat Hawk on vocals and James Burton on guitar performing Wild Montana Skies on The Wildlife Concert 1995. The entire concert is available on DVD and can be streamed on the subscription service Qello.
I loved his early music. Your right about his song "Thank-God I am a Country Boy." I did not like it at all. He did indeed fade in the late 70's early 80's. To bad. I have one of his songs, my favorite, "Annies Song." Still listen to it. David.
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