John Denver died 10 years ago today...

[KansDem]

John Denver

I wasn't much of a fan* but did respect his views, particularly his views on the environment.

I wonder what he would be thinking about today with all the events of the last 10 years.

Incidentally, Denver's music has been the target of censors:

1972
Radio stations across the country ban John Denver's hit song "Rocky Mountain High," fearing that the song's "high" refers to drugs.

1980
In October, Youth Minister Art Diaz organizes a group of local teenagers who conduct a record burning at the First Assembly Church of God in Des Moines, Iowa, including albums by the Beatles, Ravi Shankar, Peter Frampton, and the soundtrack to the movie Grease. A similar burning takes place a few months later in Keoku, Iowa, where a church group burns the work of The Carpenters, John Denver, and Perry Como.

1985
At the urging of the Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC), the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation holds hearings on music lyrics and proposed systems to rate or sticker albums that contain violent or sexually-themed lyrics on September 19th. Representatives from the PMRC and National PTA, Senator Paula Hawkins, and Dr. Joe Stuessy speak in support of regulating music, while three musicians - Frank Zappa, Dee Snider (of Twisted Sister), and John Denver - speak in defense of popular music.

Parental Advisory

No doubt he'd be saluting President Gore's accomplishment today!

________
*My wife, however, has every record he ever recorded.

[2Design]

1. when I heard of the plane death and his despair over not being

with his wife and child - I always felt it was suicide by plane - just my hunch

[BootinUp]

12. I don't think so

I read and article written by a pilot familiar with his plane. According to this article Denvers plane had a modified fuel control system that required one to turn around facing the back of the plane to switch tanks. He described a scenario where Denver was at low altitude and waited too late to switch tanks as the likely cause.

[Ezlivin]

49. I had read that the switch was installed backward

Denver expected to reach over his shoulder and twist counterclockwise to switch tanks, but it was installed so that he had to twist clockwise.

Let me use the power of the internets and look in the pipes....

According to the designer of the airplane and the drawings issued to the builder, the fuel selector is to be located just aft of the nose wheel position window between the pilot's legs. The accident airplane's fuel selector handle was positioned by the builder on the bulkhead behind the pilot's left shoulder. The selector valve was installed inside the engine firewall 45 inches aft of the selector handle. The handle and valve were joined by steel and aluminum tubing, connected by a universal joint.

According to the designer and the seller, this type of airplane has two 26-gallon fuel tanks in the wing roots that contain usable fuel. The fuel quantity is determined by viewing non-linear sight leave gauges located in the rear cockpit at the wing roots. The sight gauges show an amount of actual fuel supporting a red float. Postaccident examination of the airplane disclosed that the sight gauges were not marked or calibrated for quantity.

The maintenance technician who helped the pilot move the airplane out of the hangar before the accident flight mentioned that the fuel sight gauges were only visible to the rear cockpit occupant. The pilot then asked the technician about the quantity of fuel shown. The technician told the pilot that he had "less than half in the right tank and less than a quarter in the left tank." The technician said that he estimated the fuel quantity based on the assumption that the gauge presentation was linear. The technician provided a shop inspection mirror to the pilot so that he could look over his shoulder at the fuel sight gauges. The mirror was recovered in the wreckage.

According to other pilots who were familiar with the airplane and/or had flown it, to change the fuel selector a pilot had to: 1) Remove his hand from the right side control stick if he was hand flying the aircraft; 2) Release the shoulder harness; 3) Turn his upper body 90 degrees to the left to reach the handle; and 4) Turn the handle to another position. Two pilots shared their experiences of having inadvertently run a fuel tank dry with nearly catastrophic consequences because of the selector and sight gauge locations.

The fuel selector handle location was discussed with the seller and other pilots who had flown the accident airplane. The seller reported that he had asked the builder why he had located it behind the pilot's left shoulder. The builder responded that he did not want fuel in the cockpit area. The seller said that when he changed tanks inflight he would engage the autopilot, allowing his right hand to reach behind his left shoulder to the selector handle. The seller said that at the time of the accident, the handle was "firm to turn with good detents." He also said that the checkout pilot had removed the selector valve for cleaning and lubricating some time ago. The checkout pilot said that the seller attempted to work on the valve in early 1996, but that he (the checkout pilot) ended up finishing the repair in April 1996. He also said that he had removed the two rivets that were drilled through the brass valve shaft and the he had replaced one of the two torque tubes.

The checkout pilot was asked about the selector. He said that he had simulated changing tanks using the selector on one occasion on the ground and that he was not pleased with the location. Because of the difficulties of using the selector, he said that he had never used the selector in flight. AVWeb

When I was flying I subscribed to a compendium of accident reports in an effort to understand the root cause of most GA accidents. Basically, remove the pilot for a perfectly safe aircraft. :)

[CottonBear]

2. I miss John Dnever! I grew up in the 1970s and his music was a big part of that time!

He was a true environmentalist. I loved his Calypso (I think that's the name) song about Jacques Cousteau. :)

[KansDem]

8. Calypso was one of his best.

One of the few pop tunes written in another meter besides 4/4.

I grew up in the 1970s and his music was a big part of that time!

Ain't that the truth! My favorite is "Leaving on a Jet Plane." Whenever I hear it I think about one particular evening with one particular young lady in 1974. No hanky-panky, mind you...just a wonderful evening.

Ahhh, Nancy...Nancy...if I only knew. Wherever you are...I wish you the best...

:daydream:

[CottonBear]

25. He was great in the movies and on his TV show too! I miss him! n/t

[OzarkDem]

34. He donated all royalties from that song

to Jacques Cousteau and his environmental work, in perpetuity. A generous man who put money into the causes he believed in.

[monktonman]

3. Is there any truth to this?

Was John Denver a pilot in Viet Nam?
Someone once told me he was a pilot during the war
and he racked up a pretty impressive count of confirmed kills.
Is this true? anyone know?

Not to bring him down or anything, I just always wondered about that.
His music was pretty ok and I'm well aware of his
environmental leanings.
Seemed like a pretty much all around good guy and
what a smile!

[niyad]

5. none at all--his father was an air force office and flight instructor. denver was not, to

my knowledge, ever in the service.

[monktonman]

21. Sounded a bit fishy to me as well

Had a hard time believing a guy who wrote such gentle and beautiful music
could have happily served in that war.
then again what do I know.

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

6. This is not true

His father was an Air Force flight instructor, but Denver himself never served in the military.

[Land Shark]

43. a complete lie (vietnam stuff)

[niyad]

4. ten years? hard to believe it has been that long. have you ever seen the pbs

special "john denver: a song's best friend"? excellent, talked a lot about his environmental work.

[Ishoutandscream2]

44. No kidding. Where has time gone?

I was thinking 5 or 6 years. Jeez, it's startling to really realize that time is simply a blink of an eye.

[Bjornsdotter]

7. I'm dating myself here

...he was also a member of the Chad Mitchell Trio during the 60's.

I saw him in concert in the mid 70's, it was one of the best concerts, just him center stage with his guitar....he spoke with the audience about his concerns about our world.

Cheers

[KansDem]

11. Same here. Saw him here in Kansas City...

What? Late 1980s? Early 1990s? Don't quite remember the exact year, but was impressed with his performance. I remember he also talked to the audience. He spoke about the environment and said something about remaining vigilant with regard to corporations. He received a huge applause.

Man, if he only knew...

[Booster]

9. I still get teary eyed when I think of John. I had the pleasure of

working on his tv show way back when and he was one of the nicest people I have ever met. I bought 3 DVD's of his concerts so that I would never forget what a great man he really was. I think John loved life too much to take his own - he found joy in everything. I know he's smiling about Gore today and saying "FAR OUT".

[Manifestor_of_Light]

10. John Denver was quite talented.

He got his big break when Chad Mitchell left the Chad Mitchell Trio, and Denver replaced him. This was in the early 60s during the hootenanny/folk craze.


For Baby (For Bobbie) by John Denver

I'll walk in the rain by your side,
I'll cling to the warmth of your hand,
I'll do anything to keep you satisfied
I love you more than anybody can.

And the wind will whisper your name to me
little birds will sing along in time,
leaves will bow down when you walk by
and morning bells will chime

I'll be there when you're feelin' down
to kiss away the tears if you cry,
I'll share with you all the happiness I've found
a reflection of the love in your eyes.

And I'll sing you the songs of the rainbow,
the whisper of the joy that is mine
leaves will bow down when you walk by
and morning bells will chime

I'll walk in the rain by your side,
I'll cling to the warmth of your tiny hand,
I'll do anything to help you understand
I love you more than anybody can.

And the wind will whisper your name to me
little birds will sing along in time,
leaves will bow down when you walk by
and morning bells will chime


:cry: :cry: :cry:

[Bobbieo]

14. I remember John as ten year old boy riding his bike on Silverlake Road in Tucson.

His parents were Air Force friends of ours.

[kestrel91316]

19. Hi from another AF brat here!!

[DuckBurp]

36. He attended high school at Arlington Heights in Fort Worth.

[halobeam]

24. Yay thanks!

I just sang along w/ the lyrics, haven't heard that song is so very long.

When I think of his writing, and the story of his life, I can feel the depths of his emotions in his writing. What a sweet soul he was, and so sensitive to what can be a cold, hard world. He brought me smiles and tears, passing the "pipe around"..uhh I mean, passing to us..the smiles and tears that life brought him, only giving us the sweeter side.

on edit: I loved, Rhymes and Reasons..

So you speak to me of sadness
And the coming of the winter
Fear that is within you now
It seems to never end
And the dreams that have escaped you
And the hope that youve forgotten
You tell me that you need me now
You want to be my friend

And you wonder where were going
Wheres the rhyme and wheres the reason
And its you cannot accept
It is here we must begin
To seek the wisdom of the children
And the graceful way of flowers in the wind

For the children and the flowers
Are my sisters and my brothers
Their laughter and their loveliness
Could clear a cloudy day

Like the music of the mountains
And the colours of the rainbow
Theyre a promise of the future
And a blessing for today
Though the cities start to crumble
And the towers fall around us
The sun is slowly fading
And its colder than the sea

It is written from the desert
To the mountains they shall lead us
By the hand and by the heart
They will comfort you and me
In their innocence and trusting
They will teach us to be free

For the children and the flowers
Are my sisters and my brothers
Their laughter and their loveliness
Could clear a cloudy day

And the song that I am singing
Is a prayer to non believers
Come and stand beside us
We can find a better way

[BootinUp]

13. A great singer and song writer that left too soon. n/t

[pitohui]

16. but not soon enough to avoid perpetrating the horror that is "sunshine on my shoulders"

i know, i'm a terrible person

[rubberducky]

15. My favorite folk singer of all time!

I cried for days when he died. Have everything he recorded. But, ten years?? The older I get the faster time goes! Miss him still.

[bahrbearian]

17. In memory..

:loveya:

[abq e streeter]

18. Couldn't stand his music, with a few exceptions,but

he seemed like a decent guy who cared about the earth and his fellow human beings, and yes its sad that he lost his life this way. Enough room in the world for different musical tastes, and even if my tastes didn't include his music, he was still, from what little I know, committed to making this a better world .

[janx]

29. Agreed. By the way, I like your screen name...

(I'm in ABQ). :hi:

[mwb970]

50. The "Rocky Mountain High" album was great.

I remember playing that one a lot in the Ancient Days.

[FtWayneBlue]

20. I was impressed with hisanti-war song: Let Us Begin (What Are We Making Weapons For?)

Let Us Begin
This song was first released on the one world album. it is the only album it
appears on.

I am the son of a grassland farmer
Western oklahoma nineteen forty three
I always felt grateful to live in the land of the free
I gave up my father to south korea
The mind of my brother to vietnam
Now there’s a banker who says I must give up my land
There are four generations of blood in this topsoil
Four generations of love on this farm
Before I give up I would gladly give up my right arm

What are we making weapons for
Why keep on feeding the war machine
We take it right out of the mouths of our babies
Take it away from the hands of the poor
Tell me, what are we making weapons for

I had a son and my son was a soldier
He was so like my father, he was so much like me
To be a good comrade was the best that he dreamed he could be
He gave up his future to revolution
His life to a battle that just can’t be won
For this is not living, to live at the point of a gun
I remember the nine hundred days of leningrad
The sound of the dying, the cut of the cold
I remember the moments I prayed I would never grow old

What are we making weapons for
Why keep on feeding the war machine
We take it right out of the mouths of our babies
Take it away from the hands of the poor
Tell me, what are we making weapons for

For the first time in my life I feel like a prisoner
A slave to the ways of the powers that be
And I fear for my children, as I fear for the for the future I see
Tell me how can it be we’re still fighting each other
What does it take for a people to learn
If our song is not sung as a chorus, we surely will burn

What are we making weapons for
Why keep on feeding the war machine
We take it right out of the mouths of our babies
Take it away from the hands of the poor
Tell me, what are we making weapons for

Have we forgotten
All the lives that were given
All the vows that were taken
Saying never again
Now for the first time
This could be the last time
If peace is our vision
Let us begin

Have we forgotten
All the lives that were given
All the vows that were taken
Saying never again, never again
Now for the first time
This could be the last time
If peace is our vision
Let us begin, let us begin

Words and music by john denver
Let Us Begin

[Manifestor_of_Light]

22. I've been a musician for 47 years; I think he was a great songwriter.

I took lessons in classical music on two instruments for 12 years on piano, 10 years on violin and grew up listening to Top 40 Radio in the 60s as well.

John Denver was an excellent musician.

Right up there with Peter, Paul and Mary in the folk realm, IMNSHMO.

[nam78_two]

23. The only one of his songs I can remember is "Annie's song"

Yes he was known for his love of nature. I liked him.

Edit: Actually I can think of another one I really like "Colorado Rocky Mountain High"-at least I think that is the name.

[Flabbergasted]

51. Country Road...A favorite of mine....when I was a kid.

[d_b]

26. Dang.

Time flies.

R.I.P. John

[oregonjen]

27. Miss him terribly

His music means more to me than any other artist. I treasure the gifts he gave us and hope that one day we will learn to find peace.

[Red Poet]

28. John Denver is my All-Time Favorite Singer

And many of his songs are among my all-time favorite songs. I just love most of his songs - I think my favorite is Windsong. I was an avid fan of his music during my High School years back in the late 1970s. To this day, I associate his music with some of the best times of my life. I still listen to his music quite often - whenever I want to hearken back to the more peaceful and more hopeful times of my late adolescence.

[Forkboy]

30. "Thank God I'm a nutsack!"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdYMexHq3FM

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

31. 27 years ago I saw him in concert on Cape Cod. The temperature must have been over 100 degrees in

venue. Hotter down on stage with the lights. About half way through John sent his musicians off-stage and performed by himself, even if it was brutal. I loved him and his music before that but loved him even more afterwards.

[LWolf]

32. I grew up a fan of John Denver, and still love his music today.

It's positive. It's uplifting.

He was a Poet Laureate in 1977.

I was listening to his early work with The Chad Mitchell Trio just yesterday. ("I was born 10,000 years ago.")

A favorite of mine, outside his better known work, is "Matthew's Song."

The chorus, from memory, goes:

Joy was just a thing that he was raised on;
Love was just a way to live and die
Gold was just a windy Kansas wheat field,
And blue was just a Kansas summer sky.

It was written, as I recall, about a cousin or uncle.

Those first two lines are a prescription for healing the planet and the species.

[OzarkDem]

33. Great antiwar video of John Denver - must watch

He was an uber liberal, very bright, who worked his a** off and spent millions of his own money to advance liberal causes.

RIP John Denver, you were a great man and a great activist.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jBcwAJZGXsk

[emmadoggy]

35. Love John Denver and thought it was so sad when he died.

He died the same year as my Dad, who also died too soon.

I don't have any of his CD's, but have several of my favorite John Denver songs downloaded from iTunes. His music always brings feelings of peace, serenity, happiness and beauty.

[Rhythm]

37. The "National Anthem" of Morgantown WV

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DC8nDdPM_Qk

The quickest way to get any group of people to come together here at WVU is to play "Country Roads"...
Many will be singing with tears in their eyes, including the football players.

[Festivito]

38. From "Blow up your TV" to BANNED "Whose garden was this"

(He always seemed to display the best of leftiness.)

Blow up your TV,
Throw away the paper,
Plant a little garden, ...
Eat a lot of peaches ...

(GOOD ADVICE.)

(Whose garden.. was released in Canada, but not in US as I recall. Too radical, OMG!)

Whose garden was this
It must have been lovely
Did it have flowers
I'VE SEEN PICTURES OF FLOWERS
AND I'D LOVE TO HAVE SMELLED ONE

Whose grey sky was this
Or was it a blue one
you say there were breezes
I've heard records of breezes
AND I'D LOVE TO HAVE FELT ONE.

Whose river was this
you say it ran freely
blue was its color
I'VE SEEN BLUE IN SOME PICTURES
AND I'D LOVE TO HAVE BEEN THERE


Tell me again
I need to know
The forests had trees
The meadows were green
The oceans were blue
and birds really flew
CAN YOU SWEAR THAT IT'S TRUE

(...from bad memory...)

[graphixtech]

39. Denver's "The Wildlife Concert" CD is superb

Denver's "Wildlife Concert" is awesome, especially for nature lovers. My favorites are Eagles and Horses, Fly Away, Annie's Song, Calyspso. Denver is of my personal favorite musicians because of this beautiful cd.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B000002AAG/ref=pd_bbs_sr_olp_1/002-4994260-7828058?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1192283815&sr=8-1

edit: Shortly before his accident, John Denver was the passionate host of an enviromental show (pbs?) in the Alaska wilderness, which showed the beautiful caribou in their native environment (in the planned ANWAR area if I recall correctly). Does anyone else remember this show?

Also, JD's voice became more beautiful and powerful as he grew older, which is clear in this acousitcal cd's music and messages.

[Greylyn58]

40. Wow, has it been that long ago.

He has always been a favorite of mine. I was fortunate enough to see him in concert twice in the '70s.
My boyfriend at the time and his family all went to see him. He did a show in the round and it was awesome.

Some of my favorite songs are "Grandmaw's Feather Bed, Country Roads, Cool, Green and Shady, and Eagle and the Hawk.

I miss him too. Would love to see what kind of music he would be doing now.

[Roon]

41. My Aunt used to live in Aspen and would run into Denver every once in awhile

I saw him at the airport once. One thing I remember hearing about John Denver is he had a triangle shaped swimming pool at his house.

[Land Shark]

42. I was a long time fan, a great man, who sang his heart out

and if you're doing THAT, there's really nobody that has any call or cause to complain. It would be like razzing someone singing a lullaby to their own child --- it might happen because someone is too stressed to appreciate the moment, but in the final analysis, even if the lullaby is out of tune, the lullaby singer is RIGHT to express their feelings and we can only feel sorry for those too stressed out or unable to shift emotional frames to get into the beautiful music that someone like John Denver created.

I developed the above theme into a short essay and even got a response from a relative of John Denver's, which was cool. It's called

"In Defense of the Heart"

and it's located here:

http://shorl.com/nupaprapebidu

[earth mom]

45. I liked John Denver...then the media began to dismiss him and then I did too.

Recently, I saw a special about him on PBS, and it brought me to tears. I asked myself what had I been thinking?! Because he was amazing!

His music is very much like my all time favorite Dan Fogelberg, who is extremely under appreciated also.

[John Kerry VonErich]

46. I know this is wrong.....

But now everytime I think of John Denver, I think of the South Park episode with a carnival ride called "The John Denver Experiance"

[Land Shark]

47. You know this is wrong, so then why did you do it?

No huge deal, but it's an interesting question to ask yourself, don't you think?

I'm truly just curious, since my own ideas about John Denver are fairly well anchored in this tribute I wrote ten years ago, that also explains, indirectly, why any negative reactions don't really matter that much in the end.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=2038509&mesg_id=2038509

Best,
Land Shark

[John Kerry VonErich]

48. Like you never had wicked thoughts?

That South Park episode was a funny one. Just wondered if anyone else remembered it. No beef:)