Sunday Music – Back Home Again

Posted on Sun 12/06/2009 by TonyfromOz

Today’s music video is ‘Back Home Again’ from John Denver.

This video was posted to You Tube by bondhallow1

Henry John Deutschendorf Jr. changed his name to the Capital of his favourite State, Colorado, when he set out on his musical career in 1964 at the age of 20. He played in a band for a few years and in 1969, set out on a solo career. His first big hit under his own name was ‘Take Me Home Country Roads’ from his fourth album, released in 1971, but he already had a song whose Royalties would have given him a comfortable life, even had he not had another hit. That song was ‘Leaving On A Jet Plane’ from his first album, a song that did nothing much for him, until it was picked up and made into a Number One Smash Hit for Peter Paul and Mary.

Following his personal success with that big hit in 1971, his career then became huge as he crossed over into mainstream music.

Next came ‘Rocky Mountain High’ now one of the State songs of Colorado, and a string of other hits five of these going to Number One. He wrote what has become a wedding standard now, ‘Annie’s Song’ in ten minutes on a ski lift after a run down the slopes exhilarated him to make the song for his first wife.

His bright personality was his trademark, and this song is one of my favoutites of his, even though it was not as successful as most of his other songs were. He had 23 Studio albums, a series of specialty and compilation albums, and released 44 Singles, with 5 Number Ones and another 4 reaching the Top Ten.

He received 2 Grammy Awards, and also an Emmy for his music special ‘An Evening With John Denver’ in 1975. He sadly is no longer with us, tragically taken when his experimental aircraft crashed in 1997.

The music of John Denver will always be with us, and as John was so often prone to say in those early years ….. “Far out!”