The Story Behind John Denver’s “Thank God I’m A Country Boy”

Advertisement
john denver songs john denver death john denver country roads john denver plane crash john denver rocky mountain high john denver annie's song john denver sunshine on my shoulders john denver greatest hits john denver leaving on a jet plane how did john denver die how old was john denver when he died youtube john denver perhaps love john denver
John Denver

Henry John Deutschendorf, Jr. is hardly the kind of name a disc jockey wants to see on the label of a record. That was pretty obvious from the start of John Denver’s career, but it wasn’t something he relinquished easily. John didn’t like giving up his real name, but on the other hand, he wasn’t going to let it stand in the way of doing what he really wanted to do with his life. He received all kinds of name-change suggestions, but the only one that ever rang true to him was “Denver.”

Advertisement

That name was familiar enough by 1975 that ABC-TV made him the centerpiece of an Emmy-winning special, “An Evening With John Denver.” The title of the program coincided with his two-record live album, recorded at the Universal Ampitheater in Los Angeles. The bulk of the material was credited to Denver, the classic singer/songwriter, but ironically, the lone single was written by a member of the band, John M. Sommers.

Advertisement
Prev1 of 2
Use your ← → (arrow) keys to browse

Advertisement