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How fucking great was John Denver?

OWLVIS

By OWLVIS
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oSuJeff97

oSuJeff97 3435

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21 minutes ago, 4th&Five said:

Almost Heaven, West Virginia...yeah, I'm stumped as to why they'd use that.

I think the part in question was what John Denver's connection to West Virginia was as the song writer, not why WVU would use that song, which is pretty obvious.

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GhostOfTomJoad

GhostOfTomJoad 9323

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On 10/14/2022 at 10:25 AM, jimmyjazz said:

I never really understood the "West Virginia" angle.  I don't think he ever lived there.

Trvia answer:  he attended Texas Tech

And he wrote some of his first big hits (Annie's Song, Country Roads, Leaving on a Jet Plane) while living in Edina, MN with his first wife, Annie Martell.

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DougO

DougO 5243

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Before he was famous he wrote Leaving On A Jet Plane, which is a pretty amazing song. He probably made a few bucks o that one.

Yeah, first songs I learned on guitar from the hippie giving me lessons at the music store were John Denver tunes. I dug him back in the day, and he seemed like a pretty cool dude. 

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Chad Fuck

Chad Fuck 17658

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I remember them playing "Thank God I'm a Country Boy" during the 7th inning stretch at Arlington Stadium back in the late 70s/early 80s.  I could stomp the bleachers as hard as I wanted and make a ton of noise and no one chastised me.  It was awesome watching the peanut shells bounce with the whole crowd going.  So if for nothing else, I always have that. 

But man he was a hell of a song writer.  

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troph

troph 24781

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Never understood his music fully until I hung out in his part of Colorado. Sunshine on my shoulders makes perfect sense in that part of Colorado, especially at elevation. Even in the summer the cold mornings, cold nights, add winters and those summer afternoons when the sun is blessing you with its rays are a god send.  I became a pay attention fan only a few years ago as opposed to a casual fan as before. Incredible music, highly underrated in the cannon of the greats.

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atomheartbevo

atomheartbevo 89623

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On 10/14/2022 at 10:25 AM, jimmyjazz said:

Trvia answer:  he attended Texas Tech

More trivia: He had a dorm room that was either a few doors down, or the same one (conflicting stories) as John Hinckley Jr, obviously separated by a decade or more.  In the 90s, a friend had the same dorm room as Hinckley, and was arrested by the Secret Service, so that dorm room is jinxed.  Advantage: John Denver.

Also, I know a shitload of people who have bought John Denver albums, but have never known a single living person who bought a John Mayer album.  Advantage: John Denver,

Also, John Hinckley Jr’s YouTube channel has a few tens of thousands of subscribers, and his music videos have been watched around a million times. John Denver Youtube channels have millions of subscribers across multiple channels, and his more popular songs have tens of millions of views.  Advantage: John Denver.

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Al Bundy's Napoleon Hand

Al Bundy's Napoleon Hand 13570

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On 10/14/2022 at 5:18 AM, Bojack said:

Black Francis has always been a big fan. This song is about John Denver.

 

 

I did not know that. My dad was a huge JD fan. My older sister bought him concert tickets, iirc, a week or two before his death. My dad, also a pilot, felt JD's death was a suicide (not really sure what was the eventual consensus on that). His voice, even in a TV studio, was operatic.

 

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mininghorn88

mininghorn88 2277

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On 10/14/2022 at 9:03 AM, Surly Bevo said:

At West Virginia if they win they play the John Denver version of Country Roads.  If they lose the band plays Country Roads.  I've seen both (unfortunately)

Yep, me too. I have always enjoyed going to Morgantown. That was always my Texas “away game” to attend.

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Carl Spackler

Carl Spackler 3479

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On 10/14/2022 at 6:51 AM, Shoxthemonkey said:

I appreciate him more than I did when he was with us. CSB, one of his uncles was the HS music teacher in our small town. He was telling all of us how great his nephew was and how he was going to be a bigshot. Yeah, yeah, sure thing Bob. A couple years later, boom, there it is.

 

Wait a minute -- the uncle's name was "Bob"?  

Wasn't this guy by chance?

image.jpeg.8d8c4bdd1d2056f014cfc6fa2e0d42db.jpeg

 

[Yes, I know "John Denver" was a stage name.]

In all seriousness, John Denver had a terrific voice.  He showcases it pretty well on this song.

 

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Luv2win

Luv2win 27

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Back in early '80s was attending a business conference in San Francisco. Company provided first class entertainment for after dinner activities. John Denver was performing. Venue was a small auditorium that seated approx 150 people. I sat on third row about 12' from stage. When it was showtime, he walked out on stage and said "good evening how is everyone this evening" and began to play his 12 string (believe it was his Guilds Jumbo). He played for 2 hrs straight without stopping to take a extra breath. Still one of the best live concerts of pure talent I've enjoyed to this day. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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HouTex

HouTex 1866

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On 7/6/2023 at 9:11 AM, Braff Zacklin said:

I never realized how excellent his voice was until focusing on this song. Kind of a male Mama Cass, imo.

He even held his own with Placido Domingo in Perhaps Love.  I recall one of his (or his only?) TV (Christmas?) specials filmed in Aspen in the 70’s or early 80’s.  I’ve always loved Colorado and I have to play Rocky Mountain High before each trip.  

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Dennis Taylor

Dennis Taylor 18808

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Must admit he's not in my wheelhouse but Leaving on a Jet Plane showed up on whatever Sirius xm channel it was on this past weekend driving back home. I'm sure I haven't heard that song in 40 years but Holy shit it was awesome  ..amazing voice and you feel the emotion 

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59 Burst

59 Burst 434

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On 10/14/2022 at 11:25 AM, jimmyjazz said:

I never really understood the "West Virginia" angle.  I don't think he ever lived there.

Trvia answer:  he attended Texas Tech

It was written by a duo who went by the name Fat Tuesday. Believe it or not I learned that from the movie Logan Lucky. I had to Google their names, Bill Danoff and Taffy Nivert 

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jimmyjazz

jimmyjazz 45880

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5 hours ago, 59 Burst said:

It was written by a duo who went by the name Fat Tuesday. Believe it or not I learned that from the movie Logan Lucky. I had to Google their names, Bill Danoff and Taffy Nivert 

Huh  . . . I assumed he had written it.

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Catpfish

Catpfish 618

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On 12/7/2023 at 10:50 AM, Carl Spackler said:

 

In all seriousness, John Denver had a terrific voice.  He showcases it pretty well on this song.

 

This song was featured in last episode of season 7 of Magnum PI (the good one, not the bastard remake).  This is the episode where Magnum was shot (I believe it was supposed to be the finale, but they brought it back for a partial season) and was walking through the clouds with this song playing.  I've always thought that it was one of the best pairings of songs and scene I've ever seen. After rewatching, maybe not as good as I remembered, but still pretty good.  Song comes in around 1:25

 

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Chewbacca

Chewbacca 7766

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We went to a John Denver night at the Denver Symphony just before Christmas.  I listened to him growing up as my parents loved him.  It was a really fun night.  The symphony played along with the music and a few members of his band were there to play and sing backup as well.  Would definitely do it again.

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