This Day In Country Music – John Denver Dies

There were some who never thought John Denver really belonged in the country music family. When Charlie Rich announced Denver's name at the CMA Awards and the proceeded to light the envelope on fire that was quite evident. John Denver's music never really had a category that it fit comfortably into. He had hits on the Pop charts and the Country charts. He was branded a folk singer and a hippie too. What the music industry struggled to define music lovers embraced.

John Denver was a writer. He was a poet that used a guitar to bring his words to life. Some of his most amazing pieces were about very simple things. He wrote of the joy of being in love. He wrote about the amazing world that was all around us. He wrote of family and friends and the joy of those relationships.

John Denver was also a pilot. It was his love of flying the ultimately took him to a place that was higher than his beloved Rocky Mountains. Denver died in a crash this day in 1997. Denver was piloting an experimental aircraft and the plane lost power. There are some discussions as to whether the plane ran out of fuel or Denver made a mistake at the controls. Regardless of how he died, what he did when he was living was share a very unique gift. His words and music live in our hearts in place that we can only categorize as wonderful.

Here are some of John Denver's biggest hits:

Take Me Home Country Roads-1971

Rocky Mountain High- 1972

Annie's Song-1974

Sunshine On My Shoulders-1971

Thank God I'm A Country Boy -1974