He came close to being America's first passenger in space, but his politics were not viewed favorably by the Reagan administration, and instead lost that seat to Christa McCauliffe. He also attempted to become a civilian astronaut he learned some Russian to be able to board the Mir Space Station, but balked when the Soviets wanted $10 million for his ticket. However, he often shied away from acting, choosing to concentrate on activism for causes such as world hunger, ecology, wilderness protection and space exploration.
He starred in the 1977 hit comedy Oh, God! with George Burns and filmed a TV special, John Denver and the Muppets: A Rocky Mountain Holiday, in 1983. 1 hits "Back Home Again," "Thank God I'm A Country Boy" and "I'm Sorry." In 1975, he was awarded the CMA award for entertainer of the year, which prompted Charlie Rich to ignite the envelope revealing him as the winner. Following the successes of "Sunshine On My Shoulders" and "Annie's Song," Denver made regular appearances on the country charts in 19 with the No. Subsequent releases garnered some attention, but it was not until the 1971 release of Poems, Prayers & Promises that the singer enjoyed popular acclaim with "Take Me Home, Country Roads." It marked the first of six gold singles. One of his compositions, "Leaving On A Jet Plane," provided an international hit for Peter, Paul and Mary.
With the departure of the last original member, the Mitchell Trio became known as Denver, Boise and Johnson, but their brief lifespan ended when Denver embarked on a solo career in 1969. He initially joined the Back Porch Majority, a nursery group for the renowned New Christy Minstrels, but, tiring of his role there, he left for The Chad Mitchell Trio where he forged a reputation as a talented songwriter. One of America's most popular performers in the '70s, Denver's rise to fame began when he was "discovered" in a Los Angeles nightclub. 2ġ984 - John Denver's Greatest Hits Vol.John Denver (Decem? October 12, 1997) was born with the name Henry John Deutschendorf Jr. Denver's music appeared on a variety of charts, including country music, the Billboard Hot 100, and adult contemporary, in all earning him twelve gold and four platinum albums with his signature songs "Take Me Home, Country Roads", "Annie's Song", "Rocky Mountain High", "Thank God I'm a Country Boy", and "Sunshine on My Shoulders".ġ990 - The Flower That Shattered The Stoneġ977 - John Denver's Greatest Hits Vol. He recorded and performed primarily with an acoustic guitar and sang about his joy in nature, his disdain for city life, his enthusiasm for music, and his relationship trials. Denver recorded and released approximately 300 songs, about 200 of which he composed, with total record sales of over 33 million. After traveling and living in numerous locations while growing up in his military family, Denver began his music career in folk music groups in the late 1960s. By 1974, he was firmly established as America's best selling performer, and AllMusic has described Denver as "among the most beloved entertainers of his era". He was one of the most popular acoustic artists of the decade and one of its best-selling artists. (Decem– October 12, 1997), known professionally as John Denver, was an American musician, singer-songwriter, record producer, activist, actor, and humanitarian, whose greatest commercial success was as a solo singer, starting in the 1970s.