Artist · EveryDisc catalogue

John Denver

John Denver (real name Henry John Deutschendorf Jr., December 31, 1943, Roswell, New Mexico — October 12, 1997, Monterey, California) was an American bard who is the most commercially successful solo performer in the history of folk music. During his career, he recorded more than 300 songs, most of which he wrote himself. At the end of the 1960s, Denver performed as part of the Chad Mitchell trio, but since 1969, he dedicated himself to a solo career. His songs were distinguished by a sense of kinship with nature and attention to environmental problems. The greatest hits album released in 1974 became platinum ten times, and the song written for his wife, "Annie’s Song," reached first place on the Billboard Hot 100. After the triumph of the mid-1970s, Denver began recording much less frequently. He occasionally acted in movies, served as the poet laureate of the state of Colorado, but dedicated most of his time to the fight for the environment. After the Chernobyl disaster, he performed in Kiev and wrote a song about the Piskaryovskoye Cemetery: "Let Us Begin (What Are We Making Weapons For?)". He died in 1997 in a crash of an experimental aircraft that he was piloting. During the Kiev concert, Denver stated: "I want everyone to know that I respect and love the Soviet people. It is very important for me to be here, in the Soviet Union, and to sing for you, and not just to sing, but to share my music with you. I want everyone to know that I feel great respect for the residents of Kiev and the residents of Chernobyl — I respect their courage, their bravery."