J~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~J O R O C K Y M O U N T A I N H I G H O H =============================================== H N The John Denver Internet Fan Club N D D E M O N T H L Y N E W S L E T T E R E N N V A P R I L 2 0 0 0 V E E R Emily Parris emily@sky.net http://www.sky.net/~emily R ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Table of Contents April 2000 * Issue #72 John Denver on TV / Events..........................1 "Take Me Home: The John Denver Story" On TV: April 30, 2000............................3 "Council Proclaims March 25 as 'John Denver Day' Williamson County Sun Times - March 6, 2000 by Mike Eddleman..................................4 Reviews of JD Events: Memories of John Denver Day - Georgetown, TX by Julie McClain...............................4 JD Tribute Concert - Southern California by Susan Savas.................................5 Poetry Corner: "To John" by Deborah Smith Embree.................5 John Denver Question Stumps Guest on "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire"...................6 John Denver Notes...................................6 John Denver Stories / Want Ads......................8 ========================================= J O H N D E N V E R O N T V ========================================= "Behind the Music" - Biography of John April 13, 2000 12:00 pm VH1 / April 16, 2000 7:00 pm VH1 "Foxfire" - Hallmark Hall of Fame Movie starring John April 9th & 12th 9:00 PM & April 13 2:00pm VISN-Odyssey "Oh God" - Movie starring John Denver and George Burns April 1st 4:20 am - HBOF April 5th and April 16th on HBOE April 9, 13, 19, 22, 25, & 28 HBOE3 "Take Me Home: The John Denver Story" - April 30, 2000 CBS World Premiere TV Movie based on John's autobiography "Take Me Home" ======================================= J O H N D E N V E R E V E N T S ======================================= April 1, 2000 JD Gathering in Racine, WI - "John Denver Spring Celebration of Life" Holiday Inn Express 1:00-8:00pm Brian Taylor will perform. (donation & non-perishable food item) Karen http://users.wi.net/~wifjd April 8, 2000 - Orange, MA /Orange Arts Center; 13 S. Main St. Eclipse performing "Beyond Country Roads: A John Denver Tribute" 8:15 pm $5/$10 donation April 22, 2000 - Altadena, CA - Phil Christie "The Earth Day 2000 Concert" with Mike Valentine & other guests. Coffee Gallery / 2029 N. Lake 7:00pm & 9:00 pm Tickets: $6.00 Reservations (626) 398-7917 http://www.philchristie.com April 24-25, 2000 -"Wild Heart looking for Home" convention on Waiheke Island, Auckland,New Zealand April 28, 2000 Power!Talk Radio 2-hour Tribute to John Denver * John St. Augustine & Hal Thau April 30, 2000 * Annapolis, MD - Earth Day Concert featuring the music of John Denver 11:00 am to 3:00 pm / Ram's Head Tavern / Buffet and music: Charlie Zahm, and the Hard Travelers with percussionist David J. Stemple $30.00 Send checks to: Ann Schnitz/601 Charleston Green/Malvern, PA 19355 Info: Ann Schnitz May 13, 2000 Monterey, CA * 8:00 pm * Benefit Concert featuring the music of John Denver; Charlie Zahm will perform. Information: Pat Hough May 19-21, 2000 * PA Friends of JD Spring Retreat Weekend Lebanon, PA - Gretna Glen Camp (duetschess@aol.com) May 20, 2000 * Doylestown, PA / 7:30 PM "John Denver: A Musical Retrospective" by Christopher Westfall and Kevin Yeargin * Salem United Church of Christ / http://john-denver.org/web/events/jd_retro.htm May 25-28th - Windstar work weekend / Snowmass, CO - Windstar Land Conservancy. http://www.wstar.org June 3, 2000 - "A Musical Tribute to JD" in Central Park, NYC This is a free concert. John Adams will perform; Other guest speakers as well. Info: Jo June 11, 2000 * Oakdale, NY * John Denver Bench Dedication 1:00 pm / Connetquot State Park / Music, nature, presentations and a celebration followed by a 3 mile hike. Info: Joan Kurtz http://www.geocities.com/sandy2164/ June 16-18, 2000 2nd Annual WI Friends of JD Camping Trip Devils Lake State Park * Baraboo, WI * Karen June 18, 2000 - Dedication of JD Bench at Hawk Mountain Sanctuary / 1700 Hawk Mountain Road / Kempton, PA * Charlie Zahm, Frank DeLaMarre & Carol Sullivan will perform. Info: Judith Gabriel http://members.aol.com/tybrenn/hawkmtn/hawkmtn.html Aug 5 & 6, 2000 - "John Denver Summer Celebration 2000" Camp Mary Orton - Columbus, OH Info: John Lowe =============================================== C O L O R A D O E V E N T S in O C T O B E R =============================================== Oct 11, 2000 John Adams JD Tribute Concert * Aspen, Colorado Wheeler Opera House $15.00 * Tickets go on sale 3/1/2000 http://www.meandi.demon.nl/johnadams/adams.htm Oct 12, 2000 Aspen, CO * Campfire * Harold Simpson Oct 13-15 Wheeler Concerts - The M.U.S.E. Foundation Aspen, CO Oct 13, 2000 "Dancing with the Mountains" - Aspen, CO 10:00 - 1:00am * Keith Perry Oct 14, 2000 4:00 pm * Dinner at the Tower Restaurant Vicki Wells * Aspen, CO Oct 14, 2000 Salida, CO * John Denver Celebration * Noon - 2:00 pm $20.00 * Mail to: Christine Smith, 0478 CR 46, Howard, CO 81233 Oct 15, 2000 Aspen, CO - Worship Service on the Mountain 9:30 am * Deb Perry Oct 16, 2000 Aspen, CO "Let This Be A Voice" Symposium Mary Ledford or Pam Beasley Performance by Sunny Waters < < < < < * * * * * > > > > > TAKE ME HOME: THE JOHN DENVER STORY Cast for "Take Me Home: The John Denver Story" Chad Lowe................John Denver Kristin Davis............Annie Denver Gerald McRaney...........Dutch Gary Chalk...............Milt Okun Brian Markinson..........Hal Thau Wezley Morris............Zachary Denver Stephanie Walmsley.......Anna Kate Denver Directed by Jerry London * CBS 4/30/00 ______________________________________________ From the Internet Movie Database: http://www.imdb.com Chad Lowe's wife, Hilary Swank recently won the Best Actress award for the movie "Boys Don't Cry". In an interview with them Chad was quoted as saying: "I'm feeling a lot of pressure about it." ("Take Me Home: the JD Story") "I want to honor him as an artist and as a man. I'm convinced that if he hadn't died, he'd be having a career resurgence." * Information from CBS on the movie: http://www.cbs.com/network/tvshows/mini/movies/ * The soundtrack for the movie is listed on Amazon.com http://www.amazon.com It will be available on 4/18/00 * Url to go directly to the information on "Take Me Home: The JD Story": http://us.imdb.com/Title?0224214 <<<<< * * * >>>>> "Council Proclaims March 25 as 'John Denver Day' Williamson County Sunday Sun Times 3/12/2000 by Mike Eddleman The Georgetown (TX) City Council Wednesday proclaimed March 25th, "John Denver Day" in Georgetown. The proclamation coincides with a John Denver gathering in San Gabriel Park hosted by the organization "JD Spirit". JoLynn Long, representing JD Spirit, said it would be a day of fellowship with a free concert by John Adams celebrating the music of John Denver. JD Spirit will be collecting non-perishable food items at the event for The Caring Place. Mr. Denver, who died in a plane crash a couple of years ago, is being recognized for his work to fight hunger and on environmental issues, Ms. Long said. ============================= E V E N T R E V I E W S ============================= Memories of John Denver Day * 3/25/00 * Georgetown, TX by Julie McClain When I first read the post about John Denver Day in Georgetown, TX I said to myself, "Great, I'm there!" I called Rory and Connie Young. They were going down for the day and were happy for me to come along. As soon as we exited the highway we started seeing the bright orange directional signs proclaiming John Denver Day at San Gabriel Park. The park is huge and sits along the San Gabriel River. We sat around visiting, relaxing and looking at photo albums for awhile. Then John Adams showed up and three of us got our guitars out and played along with him and the JD cd's we'd been playing. Next JoLynn called us over to the picnic tables to do some raffle drawings. Raffled off were matted pictures of John, small teddy bears wearing Windstar vests and a few other goodies. I won a small matted collage that has the words to "Summer" on it. We moved to the large gazebo and everyone introduced themselves. It was great to see how many families were there. Then we ate and as concert time got closer people started to arrive with lawn chairs, coolers and blankets in hand. There were 57 of us in the afternoon and the number had tripled by concert time. The concert started off with a minute of silence, then John mesmerized us when he started singing. If it weren't for his accent, he would sound exactly like JD. During the concert John Adams told us a story about winning a talent contest in Holland. Then he told us about a TV show they have called "Surprise" where they surprise people. After he won the talent contest he was asked to come and sing a song on a TV Show. Little did he know it was for the Surprise Show. When he came out they asked him what he was going to sing for them and he replied "Whispering Jesse." Just as he finished the song, none other than John Denver himself walked up on stage and everyone yelled SURPRISE! The concert ended around 8:45pm and then we gathered around the steps of the gazebo for group picture time. We left for the trip back home to Dallas at about 9:30pm. - - - - - - Susan The JD Tribute Concert in Southern California was great. The donations went to OCEAN FUTURES. The music was super. About 100-150 people gathered in a small, charming methodist Church at 5:00 pm on a wonderful Southern California evening. Most everyone was singing and swaying with the songs. The children were laughing, dancing, playing and clapping. Does it sound like somewhere you've been before? The man who did most of the singing was David VanKeersbilck and he wrote a song called "King of the Sea" dedicated to John Denver and Captain Jacques Cousteau. ====================================== P O E T R Y C O R N E R ====================================== "TO JOHN" by Deborah Smith Embree Your deep brown eyes reflect the deep below, the great respect You gave so freely in your life To all your fans, the earth, your wife And yet I sit here where you've gone Wondering how your will goes on How all your music still bestows That selfless love, the kind that grows And then the kindest, smoothest heart Grows ever all you played a part Deep in the pastures of your songs You tried so hard to right your wrongs So intense, so firm, so driven Never knowing how forgiven John, we miss you more each day You left us in the Monterey And you will always, ever be The love that lived at 53 So much love to you, the wealth That makes us cry October 12th More than that you'll never do You cannot stop, this song's "For You" _______________________________________________ Copyright March 1, 2000 by Deborah Smith Embree <<<<< * * * * * * * * * * >>>>> John Denver Question Stumps Man on "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire" On Thursday, March 2nd on the game show, "Who Wants To Be a Millionaire, the $500,000 question was: "In 1985 who was the first U.S. musician to perform in the Soviet Union after the cultural exchange suspension was lifted? A) Billy Joel B) John Denver C) Bruce Springsteen D) James Taylor The contestant guessed "Billy Joel", but he was WRONG! If he had read the RMH Web page he would have found the answer in an article posted for years on the RMH Articles Page. http://www.sky.net/~emily/articles/article.html The article is JOHNUSSR.ART ======================================= J O H N D E N V E R N O T E S ======================================= Pete Huttlinger I flew out to L.A. a couple of weeks ago and recorded the guitar parts for the upcoming CBS movie "The John Denver Story." Working with Lee Holdridge again was a lot of fun. As we recorded each piece we would check the music with the scene on film and I have to tell you I was very impressed with Chad Lowe's performance. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - John St. Augustine On Friday, April 28 Hal Thau and I will be doing a 2-hour tribute to John Denver on Power!Talk Radio. We will be discussing the CBS World Premiere of "Take Me Home: The John Denver Story". Music will be a large part of the show with callers receiving cd's in thanks for their stories and memories of John Denver. The number to call is (906) 789-6066 between 9-11am EST. Tapes of the show will also be available. Contact the producer, Ann Jasso (906) 233-TALK - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Charlotte Thweatt I recently heard a tv commercial advertising the National Arbor Day Foundation. It caught my attention because the background music was none other than John Denver! Their url is: http://www.arborday.org and they are still taking contributions for the John Denver Meadowlands project. My own tradition for the last 3 years has been to plant or repot a tree on his birthday, December 31st. This can be done even in an apartment. Smaller trees are available during the Christmas season and are easily repotted and flourish on a patio. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - <<< Music From Heaven >>> Recently I was admitted to my local hospital for chemotherapy treatment. The next morning I was playing my JD cd's. After an hour or so I turned the music off - but only to keep hearing John's songs. I thought I was in heaven with John singing to me. The fun was spoiled in a few minutes when the floor pharmacist (whose office was next to my room) came in and introduced herself as a John Denver fan. One of my nurses told her I was listening to John's music. I told her about the music I was hearing after I turned my cd's off and she told me she was also playing John's music next door in her office. :-) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Frank & Kathy Anastos My wife and I had the opportunity to see John's last concert in Corpus Christi, Texas. What a wonderful concert it was. It was just John and his guitar. You thought you were sitting on the front porch with him just singing along and having a great time. I've seen John in concert in the 70's when he was so popular but I believe this concert was so much better. We kept the ticket stubs as a reminder of the fun we had that night. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Barb Steinberg The reason I am writing is to let you know that a JD song has been interpreted on the ice. I am a huge figure skating fan, and spend what seems like most of my winter watching skating events on TV. So I was pleasantly surprised when I heard the song "For You" being used for an exhibition program by one of the top Canadian pair teams (Jamie) Sale and (David) Pelletier. Exquisite! I just stood there mesmerized by the music and the skaters! - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Ruth Finkel Thought someone might be interested to know that James Burton was in London last weekend as part of Elvis's backing group. Elvis was projected onto a screen singing and the band accompanied him. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Joan Kurtz You can check out John's charities at http://www.guidestar.org * Just type in the name of a charity - (ie "Windstar", "The Hunger Project") and see their financial reports/ mission statements/leaders. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - You can subscribe to the "It's About Time" Newsletter by writing to Sandy Clark at - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - On April 18, 2000, Badman Recording Co. will be releasing "Take Me Home" a tribute to John Denver featuring Bonnie Prince Billy, Low, Tarnation, The Innocence Mission, Rachel Haden, Sunshine Club, Hanna Marcus, Granfaloon Bus, James Hindle and Red House Painters. As John Denver was a supporter of animals, a portion of the proceeds will benefit Pets in Need, a non-profit organization. "My idea for this record is to take artists that are less likely to be associated with John Denver and have them open up a new audience to his songs. I also want to give exposure to his less known but significant work" - Mark Kozelek http://www.badmanrecordingco.com (415) 255-3098 Badman Recording Co / 1262 Page / San Francisco, CA 94117 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Debra I'm working on a project called "Cloth of Many Colors". We are asking for a piece of cloth that you hold for a moment in your hand and think of peace and then send to me to honor John. Deadline is August 1, 2000 Debra Chilton / JD Cloth of Many Colors / 2817 NE 48th St / Vancouver, WA 98663 Email for more info or call (360) 694-6012 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ========================================= J O H N D E N V E R S T O R I E S ========================================= Terry Butz I was just listening to some vintage old JD tunes and surfing the web last night when I came across your page. (RMH) I first met John when he and his wife, Annie, were driving a VW mini-bus around Chicagoland doing concerts. They were playing at Harper Junior College where I was a student on the board that brought in acts. It was a cold, wintery night and we came out to help him unload his equipment which was just two guitars and an amp. One of the guys put his 12-string guitar on the stage and opened the lid quickly. When a 12-string guitar goes from very cold to warm air quickly it puts a lot of strain on the face, and the guitar virtually exploded. John was very upset as this was his only livelihood. We found a local music store who would open up at 8:00 pm on a Saturday night to give us a replacement guitar that we would have to figure out how to pay for later. =================================================== JOHN DENVER W A N T A D S / F O R S A L E =================================================== Mary Paupst I need an audio copy of "The Wings That Fly Us Home" with the voice track and the instrumental track separated. I am going to sing that song at a church celebration in July and I would gladly pay someone for their time and effort in putting this together for me. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Sue Keller Anyone wishing to discuss John's music via email is welcome to join the JD discussion group I have set up. His music lives, let us discuss it! - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Bill Watson has information online for anyone wanting to get into the music business. http://www.billwatson.net - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Julyn Brazda I am looking for a video of John Denver in concert during the 1970's. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Jane Your support is needed for an Aspen tree and engraving for the John Denver Memory Garden in Snowmass, CO. http://members.aol.com/tybrenn/memgrove.html - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Alan Does anyone have any videotape of John's earliest TV Specials from 1971-76? Does anyone have the TV version of "An Evening with John Denver"? - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Christine Smith has trees for sale to benefit Dreams of Freedom and the Natl Arbor Day Fnd. in memory of John. (719) 942-9620 $3.50 / $3.50s-h for 1st tree. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Video of John Denver's "Let This Be A Voice" shown on PBS $19.95 /$4.95sh 1-800-336-1917 or write John Denver / Let This Be A Voice / PO Box 2284 / S. Burlington, VT 05407 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Joanne Eddy I offer quick delivery and the best prices on JD buckles ($10) and keychains ($4). - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Nancy McDowell Silent auction for a unique autographed JD collectible. 20" x 12" Proceeds to help support wolf recovery efforts. Opening bid $350 - Please put "John Denver Auction Bid" in subject line. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Emily I have 3.5" disks of the Rocky Mtn High Newsletter Back Issues in ascii for $4.00 * Disk 1: 1994-1998 * Disk 2: 1999-2000 (816) 305-7137 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Dave Cutter There are new John Denver concert posters in stock. http://www.concertposters.com - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Sherry Cook I'm looking for a copy of the book "Let The Mountains Talk, Let the Rivers Run" and a copy of the book "Alfie". I'm also looking for a copy of the book "The Children and the Flowers". - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Jim Davis I'm looking for the easy guitar music sheets for "Today", "Thanks to You", "It's About Time", "A Song For All Lovers", "Amazon", "Home Grown Tomatoes" and "Take Me To Tomorrow". - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Randy Cecil For Sale: Legendary JD 3cd set, Australian import, new $29 + $5 US shipping. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Sal Wilkins I have 8 copies of the "Let This Be A Voice" video aired on PBS $15 plus $5 shipping. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Pete Huttlinger I have a new cd out called "Celtic Harmony". It can be purchased from Instar Records / PO Box 90244 / Nashville, TN 37209 $15.00/$2.50 s&h - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - JOHN DENVER MUSICIANS... Concert Schedule Urls: * http://john-denver.org/web/events/concerts.html * Mack Bailey: http://www.mackbailey.com/news.htm#space New cd: "Through Your Eyes" $15.00 * Frank DeLaMarre: NEW Url http://www.frankdelamarre.com Concerts: http://www.frankdelamarre.com/schedule.htm New cd: "A Lovely Place" / Also some new photos online. * Jim Horn: http://www.jimhorn.com New cd: "Northern Reflections" 1-877-get-mycd * Kris O'Connor: http://www.krisoconnor.homestead.com/index.html * Jim Salestrom: http://www.jimsalestrom.com Schedule: http://www.jimsalestrom.com/schedule.html New cd's: "Western Winds" and "Garden Street" * Sunny Waters http://www.sunnywaters.com New cd: "This Is Me" * Charlie Zahm: http://www.charliezahm.com/schedule.html Web pages to check out: "John Denver Was Person of the Century" - The Lantern 3/6/2000 www.thelantern.com/archives/gendisp.asp?id=952349109114 Chad Lowe's WWW Page: http://home.earthlink.net/~btree822/index.html Bench Dedication for John at Hawk Mountain Sanctuary http://members.aol.com/tybrenn/hawkmtn/hawkmtn.html Aspen Teddy Bear http://www.aspenteddybear.com John Denver Outlet http://www.vstore.com/vstorehome/johndenver John Denver Memory Garden Project http://members.aol.com/tybrenn/memgrove.html John Denver Concert Page http://john-denver.org/web/events/concerts.html Michigan Friends of JD Adopt-A Highway http://www.ameritech.net/users/barbhome/index.htm Fabio Zucca's JD Guitar Chord Page: NEW Url http://fzucca.interfree.it/songs/gestsong.html ************************************************************* Rocky Mountain High: The John Denver Internet Fan Club emily@sky.net http://www.sky.net/~emily April 2000 * Issue #72 * Editor: Emily M. Parris *************************************************************