I was on a zoom call during the pandemic with friends. The moderator posed a question that everyone could answer if they wished. She asked, “With what person living or dead would you most like to have dinner?” About half of the friends on the call concurred with me that the person was John Denver.
I spent the summer of 1971 working at a camp in Colorado. I fell in love with the wide-open spaces of the mountains, the music of running brooks, the sighting of wild animals, and the invigoration of hiking. I also fell in love with John Denver. “Rocky Mountain High” was released in 1972 and solidified my love for the mountains as expressed by the folksy singing and inspiring words about nature from John Denver.
A high school friend first heard John Denver in 1970 when she was a senior at the University of Iowa. One evening she was writing a paper at the Student Union. An official told her she would have to leave because a singer named John Denver was going to entertain in that room that evening. She plunked down two quarters and said she was going to stay for whoever this guy was. In the middle of the first song, she stopped working to listen. This guy was good. Months later John Denver had his first hit song.
For 50 years, John Denver’s music has inspired me. For example, in 1974 I went to Turkey for six months as part of an international 4-H staff exchange. The only cassette tape I took was John Denver’s “Rocky Mountain High.” Listening to that tape helped to assuage the loneliness I sometimes felt.
Upon returning home from Turkey, I gave over 70 presentations throughout Iowa to crowds as small as six people to over 2000. I put together a montage of slides with music to show to give a flavor of the experience I had. “Back Home Again” was the lead song that expressed my joy in being back in Iowa as well as to acknowledge my homes in Turkey.
I heard John Denver in concert several times. I drove miles if I knew he was performing. I owned his every recording. I never tired of listening and loved the time of the year when I felt justified in playing his Christmas albums, including the one with the Muppets.
Several years ago, I was asked to write a chapter for a book entitled Making a Difference in Academic Life. I felt flattered to think that I belonged with the other individuals chosen from my field. Not sure how to frame this chapter, I found the phrase “the things that we believe in” from “Poems, Prayers, and Promises” to be a way to describe my commitment to my profession and its future.
John Denver left us too soon. When I heard the news on that October day in 1997, I sat and cried as if I had lost a close friend.
I think about John Denver’s songs as poetry bringing joy, peace, and comfort in my life. His songs bring back memories of good times, especially in the outdoors. Now that I live in Colorado, I get to listen to the recordings while I live the sentiments in the Rockies.
This is so wonderful. I’ve always loved John Denver, but you say things about his music that I totally agree with but would never have thought of. I have to go right now and pull out some of his music and play it. Thanks, Karla. ANNE
Anne, I am so glad we share this common love. I hope you enjoyed listening once again to some of John’s fabulous music!
I saw him at Upper Iowa when he was with Denver, Boise, and Johnson (formerly the Chad Mitchell trio).
Very cool. That must have been several years before he became “famous.” Hope all is well with you.
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