“This was obviously done by people who had never seen or been to the Rocky Mountains,” Denver said. “People who had never experienced the elation, celebration of life or the joy in living that one feels when he observes something as wondrous as the Perseid meteor shower on a moonless, cloudless night, when there are so many stars that you have a shadow from the starlight, and you are out camping with your friends, your best friends, and introducing them to one of nature’s most spectacular light shows for the first time.”
Denver started writing “Rocky Mountain High” during the Perseid Meteor Shower, which occurs every month of August. While camping with his friends at the tree line at Williams Lake near Windstar, there were suddenly countless shooting stars. Denver noticed “The shadow from the starlight” – hence, the line from the song. The inspiration struck the talented singer quickly.
Tune in below and watch John Denver’s breathtaking performance of “Rocky Mountain High.”