John Denver book

[Cougar]

So I'm down at the little Clark Fork library getting a new book to read. They have a box out front with several books in it. Says everything in the box is free. I glance through it. Jeez, there is John Denver's book Take Me Home, An Autobiography.

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I don't know what the heck that blue guitar is, but I definitely took THAT home, and I've been slowly rolling through it. Really interesting reading if you like John Denver. He obviously got a big boost when Peter Paul and Mary sang his Leavin' on a Jet Plane....

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I was surprised he was not the sole author of Country Roads. During a late-night get-together at friends Bill and Taffy Danoff's after a gig, Bill brought out a song he'd been working on that he didn't think was going anywhere and asked John if he might have some thoughts on what to do with it. Obviously he did -- it went gold in 1971 and platinum in 2017. In 2023, the song was selected by the Library of Congress for inclusion in the National Recording Registry.

 

[Rocky]

The "blue" guitar is a National. It's actually nickel plated brass.

 

[tonepoet]

I found that book in a thrift store, but it's still in my "To Read" stack.

My Dad was the one who brought John Denver music into the house. It was a 45 single of "Country Roads", when it first came out. Then he went out and started bringing his albums home.

I think what John Denver's career suffered from was over exposure. Back at that time, you suddenly couldn't get away from him. He was on the radio and TV shows and hour-long John Denver specials on TV every few months and then movies.

I still have a few of his albums on vinyl. And I think "Rocky Mountain High" is a one of the great songs and recordings of that era.

Hard to believe that this is 52 years ago now.....

 

[Cougar]

I think what John Denver's career suffered from was over exposure....

It wasn't that way at the beginning. He was definitely a folkie, and when he first came out to L.A., the Byrds and similar music was starting to take over. He retreated to Arizona.

It's a bit of a long story, those first years. Then his first album was kind of a bust. He was short on money for a long time.

But obviously he was good. And you can't keep a good man down!

 

[Opsimath]

Big John Denver fan here, exactly why I came to Guild - but the Guilds I have don't sound anything like the ones Mr. Denver played. I think it's operator error.

 

[Christopher Cozad]

I think it's operator error.

That was Croce. He told the operator to never mind.

 

[chazmo]

That was Croce. He told the operator to never mind.

In all seriousness, though. If there's any crooner from that period that is sorely missed, my opinion is that it's Croce. Truly a genius in his short time.

No knock to JD though. That guy sure did know how to spread himself out there. And, of course, his version of Seeger's "Bells of Rhymney" on the F-612 is an indelible, incomparable song.

 

[Opsimath]

Concerning Mr. Croce, yes, he was an excellent story teller and it was a shame to have lost him. My sister leaned to Mr. Croce and she had his albums; I tended to buy Mr. Denver's work. Fortunate for me, I got to frequently hear both.

I read it was Mr. Denver's manager who turned to TV to introduce him to the masses. His first two albums, according to what I read, were not particularly successful and he had a three-record deal. If the third one didn't do better he would lose his recording contract so the manager turned to TV exposure, and it seems to have worked.

I worked with a lady whose husband went to school with Mr. Denver in Montgomery, Alabama, and he recalls Mr. Denver being a bit "weird". Well, being a "military brat" I would guess there was little opportunity to form lasting friendships, and perhaps music filled that void. According to biographies, when a teacher asked him to bring his guitar and play for the class he acquired a level of acceptance. I am going to guess, based on no particular information other than what I've read and what I've seen in movies, that the audiences he enjoyed during his music career helped to some level to soothe the loneliness of a sensitive boy growing up with few friends.

I am sorry he's gone, but happy for him that he enjoyed the level of success that he did. I would have liked to have been his friend, particularly when he had few. Everyone should have friends.

 

[tonepoet]

He was definitely a folkie, and when he first came out to L.A., the Byrds and similar music was starting to take over.

@Cougar I recall a story that Denver was asked to be in the Byrds as the band was forming. I recall Denver thinking Crosby's personality was a bit much and that some of the Byrd members thought Denver was "too square".

 

[Opsimath]

That was Croce. He told the operator to never mind.

... And she got to keep the dime.

 

[Cougar]

@Cougar I recall a story that Denver was asked to be in the Byrds as the band was forming. I recall Denver thinking Crosby's personality was a bit much and that some of the Byrd members thought Denver was "too square".

Yes, I believe that's true (I'd have to look back in the book). He didn't like Crosby -- I forget the reason but there was a reason. And yeah, John was definitely square, especially in those early years. But I think that's a reason he was so well liked throughout his career.

 

[Cougar]

@Cougar I recall a story that Denver was asked to be in the Byrds as the band was forming. I recall Denver thinking Crosby's personality was a bit much and that some of the Byrd members thought Denver was "too square".

So yeah, he had sung with Roger McGuinn, Guy Clark, and David Crosby a couple of times. One night he went to hear Crosby at "a little club across the freeway from Westwood." They got into an argument "about something." John said Crosby "was the most arrogant, obnoxious person I'd ever met and totally disdainful of my cultural naivete." That "as much as anything put me off the scent of this group we were forming."

 

[Christopher Cozad]

...the Guilds I have don't sound anything like the ones Mr. Denver played...

... And she got to keep the dime.

See? You are well on your way, Cynthia.

 

[Opsimath]

See? You are well on your way, Cynthia.

If only!