At first glance, John Denver, the popular country singer and conservationist, may seem to have more to do with his beloved Colorado than Hollywood. In actual fact, having made countless movies and TV appearances, he can certainly be included among the stars who have walked the Los Angeles boulevards in search of fame and fortune.
Born Henry John Deutschendorf Jr on New Year’s Eve, 1943, John was a military forces’ child, moving around the country with his parents as a result of his father’s job. The child was shy and retiring, and he had very few friends due to the fact that the family were never in one place for more than a little while. So instead of putting his energies into making friends with people to whom he would soon be saying goodbye, the boy decided to spend time concentrating on his love for music, learning to play the guitar and singing a great deal.
His love for music resulted in Denver being a member of the Tucson Arizona Boys Chorus for several years, though another school move put paid to that. He then harboured dreams of becoming a successful singer, and during high school decided to take himself off to Hollywood in order to begin his career. This was news to his family, however, who immediately ordered him back from the city in order to finish his highschool education, much to his dismay.
After joining and leaving several bands in Texas during the 1960s, the young man took off once again to Hollywood, this time ignoring his family’s pleas to come back home. He changed his last name to Denver after the capital city of his favourite state and set about making a living by singing in Los Angeles folk clubs. He then won a place with the Mitchell Trio, which was a real turning point in his life and enabled him not only to record albums but also to write songs and practise his craft while being paid for what he loved to do best. By the time the band split, several years later, John Denver had acquired a huge amount of experience; he had also seen his song “Leaving on a Jet Plane” recorded by music heavyweights Peter, Paul and Mary, and was beginning to receive a great deal of acclaim for his solo work. However, there was still much more to do and Denver embarked on a tour which saw him play free concerts in schools, cafés and anywhere that would let him play.
Perhaps the most interesting thing about this part of John Denver’s career was the fact that nobody had suggested that he should go on tour; he had done it on his own initiative, seemingly just for the love of playing and meeting new fans. He often turned up at radio stations in order to play and talk, and he would also sell his albums before and after other artists’ gigs. It was a gamble that paid off, and the tour was so successful that his record company, RCA, then decided to invest more money in his album, Rhymes & Reasons, which then led to an extension of his recording contract.
John Denver’s peak was in the 1970s and it was during this period that he wrote some of his most famous songs, including “Annie’s Song”, which went to number one in the USA during 1974. This song has remained one of the quintessential Denver records, and was featured on a television commercial in the UK in late 2012, leading the single to appear once again in the charts, almost forty years since its first release. What is astonishing is that the track was actually written by Denver in about ten minutes while on a ski-lift in 1973. He later explained that he was caught up in the moment, enjoying the nature around him when inspiration suddenly took over. As soon as he had finished skiing he headed straight home and wrote the song down, dedicating it to his wife, Annie.
Annie and John had married in late 1967 but the marriage had been thwarted by problems, particularly insecurities from both sides which were related to John’s burgeoning career and travel commitments. When they had first met, the singer was a nobody; a fledgling singer with a band that was not huge in any way. However, by the 1970s he had become almost legendary and Annie just did not know how to handle the sudden fame and everything that went with it. She later complained that she had no idea who she was at this time, which is understandable given the sudden brush with fame she had encountered.
As a result of their problems, the pair had recently separated and the singer moved out of their new home in Aspen to get his head together. Soon, however, the couple decided they really were deeply in love with each other and it was after this reconciliation that “Annie’s Song” was born. The 1970s also saw John and Annie becoming parents to Zach and Anna Kate whom they adopted when it was thought that John was sterile. A nomad at heart, Denver was given a stability by the children he had rarely known and also awakened a side of him that he had not explored very often – being happy.
The movie industry called on Denver when they were in need of a good song, and his music has been featured in many films and series including The Simpsons (1994). As an actor John’s work in Hollywood saw him star in television shows such as McCloud in 1974 and The Muppet Show in 1979. His appearance in the TV movie The Christmas Gift (1986) allowed him to play a slightly more serious role as a widowed father of one, but perhaps his most famous part came nine years earlier, when he starred alongside George Burns in Oh, God!
John often portrayed hippieish, laid-back and happy-go-lucky characters. This reflected the man in some ways, as he had a deep affinity with nature and never ceased promoting conservation and humanitarianism until the day he died. However, deep inside, in the privacy of his own soul, he was an insecure person who often wondered what he was doing and where he was going with his life. He freely admitted to having “incredible lows”, and once said that when he got depressed, “I question whether life is worth living.” This surprising negativity often presented itself in drug-taking, infidelity and even suicidal tendencies, but fatherhood balanced him somewhat – at least for a while.
During the late 1970s John Denver became known for his many television appearances, which included acting as a host for the Grammy’s in 1978 and 1979. However, while things had appeared rosy with Annie for a time, their troubles began once again, partly because of his touring schedule but also his inability to completely turn off from work. John later told an interviewer that he would often be at home physically, but his mind would still be on the road. This was understandable given the amount of time he was away, but it didn’t help matters, particularly when he arrived back at the house in the hope of being lavished with attention from his family, only to find that Annie needed to look after the children instead of him.
As the 1970s turned into the 1980s things only got worse, and the couple separated and later divorced. The separation threw the singer into a deep depression. After discovering that his ex-wife had cut down his favourite trees at their home, he lost his temper, picked up a chainsaw and proceeded to saw through the kitchen table and the former marital bed. He apparently only stopped when the blades got jammed by the sheets, which forced him to cease his destructive endeavour.
It would seem that the divorce from Annie was the beginning of a particularly sad downturn for John Denver, during which time he lost his father and wondered where he was going in his life. It was also during this time that he wanted to fulfil a dream of being the first civilian in space, and after taking and passing examinations at NASA, it looked certain that he would be included in the mission. In the end, however, John was not part of the programme and he did not get his wish to head off into the solar system. This would turn out to be a bittersweet development, as the shuttle intended for John’s trip was Challenger, which exploded during take-off in 1986, shocking the world. John was devastated by the tragic events and wrote a song entitled “Flying for Me” about the ill-fated shuttle and the astronauts who lost their lives.
Still, in spite of the sadness recently experienced in his life, John did manage to find temporary happiness when he went to Australia and fell in love with a young singer called Cassandra, who was almost twenty years his junior. She travelled back to the United States with him and became one of his backing singers, going on the road and even writing songs with him. Two and a half years later they married, and despite a previous diagnosis of being unable to have children, John shortly after became a father to a baby girl, Jesse Belle.
The three settled down to a peaceful family life together; for a while at least, until – as had happened with Annie before – John and Cassandra started rowing regularly, which resulted in them eventually separating. Describing divorce as “just the most awful thing in the world”, he told a British newspaper that he wasn’t sure he’d ever get over it and couldn’t imagine getting married again. There then followed a period of great sadness for Denver, as his record sales plummeted, he lost his recording contract and entered a period of psychoanalysis in order to figure out, once and for all, who he really was. Unfortunately, while he seemed determined to settle down and still remain a good father to his little girl, scandal dogged him from many corners. His ex-wife Cassy once told an interviewer that John Denver was a bully who drank every night, threatened her and was determined to take their little girl away.
The two fought for custody, and though Cassy ultimately won, it cost millions of dollars finally to get the situation under control. Denver retaliated to Cassy’s claims by saying that during the marriage she had managed to “make a fool of me from one end of the valley to the other”. There was no going back romantically for either of them, but by the time John died in 1997, they were apparently back on speaking terms, with John buying a home close to hers and seeing his daughter as often as his touring schedule would allow.
In 1993 John hit the headlines when he was pulled over after his 1963 Porsche was seen weaving across the road. He was breathalyzed and found to be over the limit, later pleading guilty to a drink-driving charge which shocked his fans around the world. Until that moment in time, John Denver had always been known as something of a peace-loving hippy who had never been in trouble in his life. It was only after the publication of his autobiography, Take Me Home (1994), that fans got to find out that he had dabbled with drugs during his early days.
As a result of the charge he undertook community service and saw his driving licence suspended, but this was nothing compared to a year later, on 21 August 1994, when he was once again charged with driving under the influence after he accidentally crashed his car into a tree. Witnesses claimed that the singer had been drinking whisky in a bar as if it were lemonade, and while the physical injuries were minor, the whole incident was enough to send the singer into rehab. “I wasn’t really an alcoholic,” he later told a British newspaper, “but I was losing control.” The trial for this particular misdemeanour resulted in a hung jury in 1996 and was still being sorted out by the time he passed away a year later.
John Denver was a keen pilot and his father taught him how to fly in the mid-1970s. For both men this had been a cathartic experience, something they could finally relate to and understand. The singer became known for flying himself to concerts and investing in a series of planes which included a Christen Eagle aerobatic model, and two Cessna 210s. However, it would be this love for planes that ultimately cost Denver his life, when on 12 October 1997 he crashed into the water at Monterey Bay, California.
That morning the singer told friends he was in for a great day, as he would be firstly putting in a few rounds of golf, and secondly taking out his new experimental Rutan Long-EZ plane in order to fly up and down the California coast. He was excited to pick up the plane and, after practising a few takeoffs and landings, he then headed off at 5.12 p.m. for what he planned to be a one-hour flight. Not long afterwards, however, the airport control tower told the singer they could not track him very well and suggested he change to a different radio frequency. He did as he was told and asked the operator, “Do you have it now?” These would be the last words ever spoken by John Denver.
After it had been flying for a short while, witnesses saw the plane doing manoeuvres that they took to be some kind of aerobatic display. The plane also made noises as if it were back-firing, and then suddenly it began going up and down, then side to side, before finally nose-diving, crashing into the sea with a tremendous noise. Pieces of the plane shattered around the once calm water, and witnesses froze in terror at what they had just seen before rushing to their homes to telephone for medical assistance. Sadly, it was not only impossible to save Denver’s life but also, because of the nature of the accident, it was initially difficult even to ascertain that he was the pilot. However, after a brief investigation by police, identification was made and an official announcement came that the singer had, indeed, sadly died.
Over the days, weeks and months ahead, there would be many rumours as to how or why John Denver’s plane crashed. Some cited pilot error; others said that he should not have been in the air in the first place as he no longer had the medical certificate that was required for such flights. Then others said there must have been something technically wrong with the plane for it to have crashed so suddenly; and when a gun was said to have been found in John’s car, others wondered if the accident had been a deliberate attempt to kill himself.
However, putting aside the wilder rumours and conspiracy theories, it would seem that it is possible that the accident could be linked to John Denver’s inexperience of flying this particular style of plane. The craft was said to have been built with the critical fuel control valve behind the pilot, rather than in the more common position in front. According to one theory, it is possible that at some point the plane started to splutter as if it were running out of gas and Denver tried to reach behind to get to the fuel control valve, which he was apparently unable to see without looking over his shoulder. While the details of his last moments can only be guessed at, it would make sense that in order to get to the valve, Denver may have released the plane controls for a moment as he turned around to reach over his shoulder, losing control of the aircraft as he did so.
The aftermath of John Denver’s death showed the same effect as the deaths of other musicians: an increase in his record sales and various tributes paid, listing his accomplishments and the positive impact he had on the music industry as a whole. Just a few years before, John had spoken candidly about his lack of a record deal and his soured relationship with the industry; of the sadness felt when DJs refused to play his records. After his passing, some of the same people who had treated him as a has-been such a short time before were proclaiming their admiration for his talents now; it took his death for some people to realize just how much John Denver had given to the world of music.
Throughout the course of Denver’s life, a strong theme of flying, nature, water and adventure was always present. He sang of leaving on a jet plane; of sunshine, eagles, mountains, and sky; he wanted peace in his life by living in the country and being at one with nature. Perhaps it is fitting that the man who always wanted to fly and experience the natural world to the full passed away doing exactly what he loved. It may have been untimely; it may have been tragic; but it was a strangely prophetic way to go and, for some, this makes his music even more meaningful.