It wasn't singing sappy pop songs (though I loved some of those songs).
It was flying airplanes.
Posted on 01/13/2018 9:46:22 AM PST by SamAdams76
Most likely people under age 40 have no idea who John Denver was. He had a string of pop hits. Then he died in a airplane crash in some sort of experimental plane? He might have been a goofy granola-eating liberal but he did write some pretty good songs in the "folk-rock" style back in the 1970s.
His first big success was writing a song called "Leaving On A Jet Plane" which was a big hit for Peter, Paul & Mary, another group of granola eating liberals.
His real life name was Henry John Deutschendorf Jr.
Yikes, that's a mouthful.
I remember him in a movie with George Burns. I think it was called "Oh God" or something like that. Back in the late 1970s. Not a bad film.
It's just weird that he dropped off the face of the earth. Nobody remembers him.
"Annie's Song" is my favorite song from him. I remember hearing that song on the radio the day that Richard Nixon resigned the presidency. I will always associate that song with Richard Nixon resigning.
Yes.
Saw him live at the old fieldhouse at the U of U in 70. The place was packed. What a voice.
Rocky Mountain High!
If I recall correctly, he ran out of gas over Monterrey Bay.
...
It was theorized that he lost control while switching fuel tanks in one of Burt Rutan’s death traps.
he had come to the Monterey Peninsula in order to buy and a very efficient and novel looking experimental plane called a longEZ.
he had briefly visited Clint Eastwood, who lives in Carmel, in that time. In his final flight he buzzed the house of Clint Eastwood several times in fact.
this particular plane had a jury-rigged fuel tank switching system and switching the tanks involved manipulation of valve that was Far Behind the Pilot’s head.
the body movement required would likely result in stronger pressure by one leg forward. this meant he unwittingly pushed the tail rudder strongly, a risk that he had been apprised of by the previous owner.
he crashed into the ocean off of Pacific Grove California.
his head came off and they never found it.
As a young man, I used to make fun of John Denver
Then I met my (future) wife, who loved his music. So for the sake of our relationship, I did not give voice to my (unfounded) opinions.
Then my opinion of him began to change.
A perfect of example of why the Bible instructs that if you want to improve your thinking, first control what comes out of your mouth.
My best friend flew out of the same airport. He showed me the exact model of place that he died in. He ran out of fuel and the auxiliary fuel selector switch, which would have prevented the crash, was located behind the right shoulder in virtually impossible location to reach comfortably.
Sad, he was a gifted singer and nice guy.
It wasn't singing sappy pop songs (though I loved some of those songs).
It was flying airplanes.
He was a born-again Christian who got off the track in the “EST” cult in the seventies-eighties.
I thought some of his songs were pretty good although somewhat repetitious themes.
I was looking for the image of John Denver as a scoop of melting ice cream but couldn’t find it.
Grew up in Denver in the late 60s and early 70s He was a fixture. He died in the plane crash long after his recording career was over
One of the all time great songs....
As a WV Mountaineer Love the sentiment...but I wish he would have looked at a map!
That’s a glider. Post 17 has a pic of the type of plane that John died in.
He didn’t drop off the face of the earth, he dropped to the face of the earth.
Take me home country roads is a great song.
Or... “Thank, God I’m an ocean buoy!”
Of course!
I remember when his plane crashed in Monterey.
Went scuba diving where he crashed many times.
But he was rebuilding his life when he crashed into the Pacific Ocean in an experimental aircraft. He was the son of an Air Force father and loved to fly.”””
Denver was test-flying a plane he wanted to buy. The builder/owner of the plane was a man taller than Denver.
Denver had moved the seat forward. When he needed to switch over to the reserve fuel tank, he could NOT REACH the lever. The TALLER man had built the plane to HIS specifications-—not for a small/shorter person.
That was the findings of the NTSB.
I miss Denver very much. A couple of ads use his music for background, and it makes me sentimental to hear his voice.
I remember him well. I’m 50, and I attended one of his concerts in May 1997.
Unfortunately, yes.
Great story - thank you for sharing. He was Americana to me - so good to hear a first hand account of John D.
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