Forget Billy Joel. How 'bout John Denver??

jcaut

Now, if Micah comes in here and says something like "Well, 'Poems, Prayers, and Promises' really rocked, but everything after that was crap", I'll..... well, I don't know..

I'm sitting here at work listening to the "VH1 Behind The Music, John Denver Collection" CD that I found in a big box of my father-in-law's CDs (we've been helping them move). Not necessarily my type of music, but I find that I CAN listen to it and he's not bad at what he does.

I started this as a joke, really, but what's the verdict? Talent / No Talent?

Jason

Spawndn72

Dude, John Denver is my evil vice. I love his stuff even though I hate to admit it. I guess this is my comming out of the closet post. I love John Denver's music and I don't care who knows it.

There I feel better.

jcaut

LOL! I knew I'd get at least one response like that!

Jason

Micah Cohen

I'm staying out of this one, boys. You all just clean up after you're done and turn off the light.

MC

Spawndn72

I'm staying out of this one, boys. You all just clean up after you're done and turn off the light.

This should read "Yep, I love JD's music too, I am just not ready to admit it."

sda2mike

i don't like his music...but it seems he was more prepared entering the studio than a just purchased experimental plane...carelessness cost his ****....flame-suit is on!

Spawndn72

The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause of this accident was the pilot's diversion of attention from the operation of the airplane and his inadvertent application of right rudder that resulted in the loss of airplane control while attempting to manipulate the fuel selector handle. Also, the Board determines that the pilot's inadequate preflight planning and preparations, specifically his failure to refuel the airplane, was causal. The Board determines that the builder's decision to locate the unmarked fuel selector handle in a hard-to-access position, unmarked fuel quantity sight gauges, inadequate transition training by the pilot, and his lack of total experience in this type of airplane were factors in this accident.

sda2mike

he also refused to be 'checked-out' by the owner of the plane before flying home...which, was his last flight....not to knock the dead, but there is a valuable lesson in his passing...the same lesson that jfk jr and countless others gave us....

Danny Tse

John Denver's music not my thing neither. But he's very good at it....good songwriter and good singer. If you only want one John Denver CD in your collection, get "Best of....Live". And if you have SACD player, this is one of the best sounding SACDs out there.

jcaut

Here's my confession: There's a John Denver and the Muppets Christmas album that is always in heavy rotation around my house during the holidays. I got Mom to buy it for me when I was a kid. I remember arguing with my Mom about it: "Oh Jason, you don't need that. It will be so silly!" Now guess what her favorite Christmas record is..

Jason

mhardy6647

I quite like "Country Roads" and "Rocky Mountain High".
Many of you Baltimorons probably tired of "Thank God I'm A Country Boy" from the Memorial Stadium days of the "O's"
Some of his hits were pretty saccharine.

As to the airplane 'situation'... sounds like a case of Natural Selection to me.

audiobliss

When I first starting reading this thread, I couldn't think of who John Denver was. The name doesn't ring-a-bell. However, I know 'Country Roads', 'Rocky Mountain High', and 'Thank God I'm A Country Boy', and now that I know the artist and song names, I'm going to keep my eyes open so I might can get them.










Oh, and Billy Joel rocks!

Cyclesberuff

oh my God next thing I know you guys will be talking about Abba

mhardy6647

allmusic.com is your friend... take a look at Henry John Deutschendorf's (umm, I mean John Denver's) biography and discography.

Abba, you say? "Waterloo" is a great pop song! No wonder they won the Euro-whatever -it-was competition with it in 1953 or whenever it was :-) The ABBA musical "Mamma Mia" is actually unbelievably entertaining (I was dragged to it by my wife and daughter and ended up enjoying it immensely).

I wonder if George Grand (of the New Jersey Grands) is deliberately ignoring these priceless threads... :-)

markmarc

Grew up listening to John Denver as a Colorado native. The guy never got the credit he deserved for his song writing skills, nor his acoustic guitar playing. Yea, some of his songs wre light, but take a listen to "Eagle and the Hawk". The notes he has to hit vocally while playing hard on his guitar is amazing. Plus, he knew how to put on a show.

Sometime for a family movie night rent "Oh God", he's actually pretty good in it opposite George Burns.

Jstas

John Denver ain't bad, his type of music is just not real popular. Folk music is like country music. There are alot of great artists in thier field and some extremely talented musicians but because of some retarded stigma propagated by uninformed popular opinion, these artists rarely get recognized. Now, there are those out there that truely do not like John Denver and there is nothing wrong with that. The stigma comes from people who dislike John Denver without ever auditioning anything from his body work aside from the occasional TV commercial or stadium song.

Two reasons Denver made it to the mainstream. Number one, he hit the charts just as the hippie movement was becoming mainstream and no longer "fighting the power". Because of that, guys like Denver got air time. They also built the "Soft Pop" or "Soft Rock" genre that gets played on all those "Hit's of the 70's, 80's and 90's" stations along with Barry Manilow and Liza Minelli. The reason he stuck around is because his shining star was shining pretty brightly in the folk music realm in the late 60's and early 70's. As lemming-ish as the consumer public is with music, they still do tend to gravitate towards the true talents out there. Long after the teeny boppers and pop princesses are gone, the ones with the real talent and staying power are still there. Denver had talent and it just so happened that his star was shining on the right spot at the right time. His simple tunes made of complex melodies and harmonies combined with his sentimental lyrics struck a chord with many "simple" people who found something to identify with whether it'd be a real life or a dream that they might have. Now, since he has passed on, his music is more of an underground thing and not many people will remember him. Oh sure, they will recognize that blonde guy with the glass or hear a tune on a commercial or at a stadium and wonder who that singer is but not many who didn't know his music when it was knew will know him. That is where his staying power is. The pleasant tunes with a simple message transcend time. They may have a certain flair from the time they were written because popular culture affects artists whether they think so or not but the tunes are timeless. They are relevant to any time period and they are easy to listen to. You don't have to think to listen to John Denver. He puts his message right there in the song. He spells out the metaphor for you. If you listen to the music itself, it is incredibly complicated in the melody with several complex hamornies among all participants in the song. Yet all the complexity makes for an insanely simple song. It's the mark of true talent.

Rarely do you see talent like that in writing and performing. Brian Wilson from the Beach Boys is one. John Phillips from the Mamas and the Papas is another. We can't forget Paul McCartney and John Lennon either. There are many, many more. These people had messages to convey and they sent thier message without the general public realizing they were listening to propaganda. The really popular music from these artists was pretty unabashed but many other songs on thier albums contained deeper meaning that was conveyed through music and lyrics and helped to fashion public opinion at the time. People were more comfortable with it because it wasn't forced down thier throat like say, Rage Against the Machine would do. It was spoon fed and coated with sugar. Even Denver's simple, relatable tunes had politically laced propaganda behind them. He was a born again Christian and a staunch environmentalist and that was readily present in his music and lyrics. He regularly supported events, foundations and people who shared these same ideas. Hence his huge involvement with The Muppets and Jim Henson Productions. Where else is better to foster the seeds of your cause than in the minds and hearts of the children? These people are incredibly intelligent people with an idea and a way to sell that idea. It just so happens that we get to enjoy the side benefits of this intelligence and talent as great music. It is a crying shame that such incredible pop talent that is relegated to the $3.99 shelf 'cause the target market today (kids aged 10-20) wouldn't know real talent if it came up and punched them in the face.


As far as Denver's plane accident, well, I can't say he was stupid for doing what he did. Did he make a mistake? Probably. I'm not a pilot though so I can't say for sure. What I can say is that he passed on doing something that he throughly enjoyed. It wasn't flying that plane that was so great, it was living his life full enough to be able to fly that plane. It was a sad day that he died because it was a passing of great talent and he really did leave a mark on the earth...literally and figurativly!

cfrizz

I happen to like John Denver, Billy Joel & Abba! All 3 are talented in different areas and have entertained many people.

[Deleted User]

Hey Cfrizz,
Nice meeting you, your brother and his betrothed at Mark's event! My wife really enjoyed talking with your brother, as did I. Super nice guy! I hope everyone made it back safely?
Take care, Ken

cfrizz

Hi Ken, it was great to meet you & your wife & we enjoyed talking with the 2 of you as well. We all made it back to the island just fine & I came home on Sunday.

PS. That was the first R2R I have ever seen! Pretty cool!

Take care,
Cathy

mhardy6647

Now, since he has passed on, his music is more of an underground thing and not many people will remember him. Oh sure, they will recognize that blonde guy with the glass or hear a tune on a commercial or at a stadium and wonder who that singer is but not many who didn't know his music when it was knew will know him.

This comment puts me in mind of Bruce Cockburn's song "Tie Me at the Crossroads"

Tie me at the crossroads when I die
Hang me in the wind 'til I get good and dry
And the kids who pass can scratch their heads
And say, "who was that guy?"
Ahh, tie me at the crossroads when I die.

Now Bruce Cockburn... now there's a great talent in that 'folksinger' vein ('cause there is no where else to categorize him). I like Bruce Cockburn a LOT.

Danny Tse

I remember watching some VH1 show on the 80s and Dee Snider of Twisted Sister was commenting on the Tipper Gore-led Congressional hearings on record labeling. Apparently, John Denver was one of the people invited to testify and all the anti-censorship people were nervous about him being one of those "squeaky-clean" people. Turns out JD was on the anti-censorship side....Twisted Sister and John Denver on the same team :eek:

Don't forget those PSAs...."Plant a tree for tomorrow...."

avelanchefan

Jstas,

Nice write up. Could not have said it better myself. What I like about JD is you can have him on in the background playing softly. But you end up humming or singing the tune.

cfrizz

Jstas, outstanding post, and complete on target. It's the songs that get you hooked and if it is sung by talented people, they will endure.

This is precisely why a good many bands & soloists from the 70's are still going strong today.