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 U G U S T 1 9 9 5 V E E R Emily Parris emily@sky.net http://www.sky.net/~emily R ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ TABLE OF CONTENTS August 1995 John Denver in LIVE CHAT on America Online...............1 I'm Kissing You Goodbye....by John Denver................7 Rocky Mountain High fan club....IN...THE...NEWS..........8 Reviews of some of the John Denver Concerts: Camden, NJ and Radio City Music Hall in NYC.........9 Wolftrap in Vienna, VA.......by Gregory Levin.......10 Kettering, Ohio.......John Lowe.....................11 John's PEACE efforts from 1972..........................12 Old Friends....A Poem by Emily M. Parris................13 HEAVY DENVER - a new band from Melbourne, Australia.....14 * * * ============================================ Excerpts from the Live Chat on AmericaOnline with John Denver on August 2, 1995 ============================================ And now, please welcome John Denver! **JOHN: I'm very happy to have a chance to do this, my first time on America Online and I'll be answering as many questions as I can. QUESTION: John, the RMH fan club now has over 700 members. What do you think about having your fans all online this way? Also, have you seen the WWW page and what do you think about it? **JOHN** I saw the Web page for the first time today -- it's great! I think it's great that all of my fans will have a much easier way to communicate with each other through the net. QUESTION: John, I am a twenty-something fan. I was fortunate enough to attend the taping of the Wildlife Concert. Why was the song "El Paso" omitted from the video and CD -- you sang it beautifully both nights? **JOHN** Well, it was tough, I think we did more than 30 songs in the 2 nights. We had to narrow it down and there were a lot of people from all the emphases involved who thought of their favorites and this is how it ended up. QUESTION: At the taping in NYC you spoke about "Marty". Did you ever get back to Alaska to play "A Song For All Lovers" for her? ... Kate from Michigan. **JOHN** Actually she lives in Jackson Hole, WY, and in May I got to go up there and sing that song for her. A very special woman. QUESTION: When did you start writing music? **JOHN** I wrote my first song when I was 13 years old; it was called "Lazy Little Stream". From the very beginning, nature was a part of my self-expression. QUESTION: Hi John! What kind of music do you like to listen to when you relax? Excited to see you Saturday in Mankato. Linda **JOHN** I listen to all kinds of music and I'm looking forward to singing in Mankato. QUESTION: I met you a few years ago in Massachusetts and you said that "Rhymes and Reason" was your favorite song. Is it still and if so, why? **JOHN** My favorite song is usually the most recent one that I've written and although I think that Rhymes and Reasons is a very special song, prophetic, I can't say that it's my very favorite. QUESTION: What are your future projects? **JOHN** Well, right now all the work that I'm doing is to support the Wildlife Concert, we have the Windstar Choices for the Future Symposium coming up the end of this month, this is our 10th one. The end of Sept. I'm going to Japan for an environmental concert and the international conference. Just before I leave for that I'm going to attend Mikhail Gorbachev's State of our World concerts in SF. All of Oct. I'll be on tour in Europe and most of Nov. on tour in China. QUESTION: Rocky Mountain High: where did the inspiration for the song come from? **JOHN** It came out of my first camping experiences the year that I moved to Aspen, and most specifically one night camping out -- especially Perseid meteor shower. It also had to do with the effort that year to bring the winter Olympics to Denver Colorado. A lot of us thought that was a big mistake. QUESTION: Hello there, John. Absolutely love your music and am a practicing musician myself. What kind of acoustic guitars are you playing now? Both 6 and 12 string, I'm assuming? **JOHN** Yes and they are Taylor guitars -- at least the ones that I'm using onstage -- and a Gibson Chet Atkins Classical guitar. QUESTION: Hi. Have been a fan as long as you have been around! Do you think hunters should be allowed electronic devices in hunting cougars out west or anywhere? I sponsor wolves and cougars and want my grandchildren to see the wilderness as I have. **JOHN** I feel the same way, and no, I don't think they should be allowed to use those devices. QUESTION: I love all your music. When is your next album coming out? **JOHN** There's no plans for a new album right now, although, I hope to do a really new album next spring. QUESTION: John: Do you plan on making any more movies in the future and can you tell me how to get a copy of your "Higher Ground " movie? **JOHN** I don't know how to get Higher Ground, except through CBS, and though I would like very much to make another film there's nothing in the works just now. QUESTION: John: Are you pleased with the sales of your book? How is that going?....... Emily from K.C. **JOHN** I really don't know the figures on the book. QUESTION: John, with the spiritually uplifting music you have created, what do you think about today's "MTV" grunge rock? **JOHN** Well, I really don't watch MTV. QUESTION: How do you feel about the current popularity of country music? **JOHN** Oh, it's just the music that's hot at the moment. There's not a lot of it -- country music has changed so much, there's really not a lot of it that appeals to me. QUESTION: How did you get involved with the world wildlife fund? **JOHN** It's the Wildlife Conservation Society. I've known about them for a long time, a supporter, I think they do some of the best and most far-reaching work in the field for any environmental organization, especially in regard to wildlife and wildlife habitat. I was really happy to use this concert as part of the celebration of their 100th anniversary and to do all I can to bring greater attention to the good work they're doing and hopefully honor ever greater support for their good work. QUESTION: How did you find working with Placido Domingo? Are you still in touch with him? **JOHN** I'm not really in touch with Placido, but it was a great experience to meet him and to work with him. He's a brilliant artist. QUESTION: Which state is the most picturesque, in your opinion? **JOHN** Alaska! QUESTION: The Wildlife Concert at Radio City Music Hall on June 17 was absolutely the best! Thank you for this new Sony concert release! Will there be a release of brand new music in the next year or two? **JOHN** Hopefully next year yes. QUESTION: John: what are your thoughts on the population growth that Colorado has experienced in the last 10 years? **JOHN** Well, it's not always something that I'm pleased about, but I sure understand how people would more and more like to live and work in a place as beautiful as Colorado. QUESTION: John -- My son loved the Christmas movie where you played the architect/developer. He's 5 yrs. old. I loved it too. Are you going to do more of that kind of work? **JOHN** I would love to do more acting. QUESTION: Mr. Denver, who is your favorite recording artist? **JOHN** Gee, that's tough one. There are a lot of artists whose work I constantly appreciate. Many of them are inspiring to me, people like James Taylor, Sting, Jennifer Warrens, many others. QUESTION: Is there any way to get your older material on CD? All of my records are warped. You are amazing! **JOHN** Several of the old RCA albums are available on CD, not all of them. And there is the Heartlands double CD, but I sure hope they'll buy this new album because I think I'm singing better than I ever have before. QUESTION: Mr. Denver, years ago Hal Blaine played with you on tour -- have you played together since or will you in the future? **JOHN** I enjoyed working with Hal all of the years that he was with me, although at this time we have no plans to unite. QUESTION: John, do you read all of your fan mail and if so, what is the mailing address to send it to? **JOHN** I get an awful lot of fan mail, and I read all that I can. ((John Denver / P. O. Box 1587 / Aspen, CO 81612)) QUESTION: Where did you get the inspiration for "Annie's Song?" My husband and I feel like the chorus was written about us. **JOHN** The song came to me one day when I was skiing. I tell the whole story in my autobiography "Take Me Home". QUESTION: What can I do, as only one person to help the environment? **JOHN** I suppose that's a question most often asked me by people who would like to make a positive contribution towards a sustainable future and a healthy environment. There are so many things that need to be done that sometimes it seems overwhelming. I try to remind everyone that no one person has to do it all, but if each one of us follows our heart and our own inclinations we will find the small things that we can do and together we will come up with enough to create a sustainable future and a healthy environment. QUESTION: What can we do to help ensure that the ESA is not gutted in the upcoming congressional reauthorization of the Act? **JOHN** I would say that the question isn't quite clear -- there are several things that they could be alluding to. I think that it's of critical importance that this congress be reminded of the democracy that we live in, and that many of these issues -- which were worked on and supported by a vast majority of American people -- that set aside land that was a precious part of our national heritage, regulations that have improved the quality of living for many people in our country and a restrained approach to some aspects of our economic development, should be reminded that these things occurred because a vast majority of the American people. The Bipartisan majority of both the house and the senate thought they were that important and that they should not be acted on without a full dialogue among the American people. That is what democracy is all about, that is what our government is for, and that is how we want the people who work in government to serve us. QUESTION: Years ago, I read about your interest in photography. I also saw a photo of yours in Am. Photo's Celeb issue. With all the traveling you do, you must have a vast collection of photos. Have you ever thought of publishing a book of your nature photos and personal essays on the environment? **JOHN** Oh, we thought about that and I'm not sure it's going to happen as a book of photo nature essays; but I'm not really sure I ever want to do another book. QUESTION: I think "Boy From The Country" is about your best. How do you rate it with respect to your other songs? **JOHN** Boy From the Country is one of my favorite songs, it was written by Michael Martin Murphy who wrote it about St. Francis of Assisi. I was going to write that song. At least I wish I had. QUESTION: Did you write the words and music to "Country Roads"? **JOHN** Bill Danoff and Taffy Neivert and I wrote it all together. QUESTION: Do you feel the "info superhighway" can be useful to environmental causes? **JOHN** I think it has uses we've not even imagined yet. QUESTION: Mr. Denver, I am a U.S. Park Ranger. What do you think of the present reduction to our National Parks budget? **JOHN** I'm personally sorry that the reductions are affecting so many things that I care deeply about. I hope that corporate America and the American people will stand up and find a way to make up the difference. QUESTION: John, thanks for all the great years of music. Please keep them coming. Also, loved the new Wildlife CD. Question about an old one though. Any plans to release Windsong as a CD? If yes, great. If not, anything we fans can do to help the process along? **JOHN** I don't know, you'd have to write RCA or BMG. QUESTION: Thank you for bringing sailing music back to America. Formerly we had to look to Ireland for ballads with the sounds of the sea in them. Have you any albums/CDs that are made up of just such music? **JOHN** No, but I'd like to do something like that in the future. QUESTION: Who is the "Uncle name of Matthew"? anyone in your life, or purely fictional? **JOHN** It was written about my Uncle Dean, the 2nd youngest of my dad's brothers. ((Read John's book: "Take Me Home")) QUESTION: Everyone is the Denver area is curious -- how did "Rocky Mountain High" end up in a Coors commercial? **JOHN** They approached me about a year ago about using it. I think we have time for one more question. QUESTION: John, of all the environmental programs you work with and belong to, is there any one in particular that means the most to you? **JOHN** No, I think all of them are an opportunity for people out of their own interest and their own inclinations to make a contribution to a better world, better quality of life for all living things. I think it's so important that we always remember that nature, environment, wild places and wild things are a big part of what makes us who and what we are as human beings. To deny this is to deny our own heritage, our own spirit, and our own souls. We must learn to live in a sustainable fashion in a way that promotes the incredible diversity of life in this world rather than decreasing it mindlessly. We must not allow people to destroy those things which are so precious and cannot be replaced. OnlineHost: All good things must come to an end. Time is up for this event. **JOHN** It was a great pleasure! I wish I had time to answer all the questions. Hopefully there will be another opportunity in the future. OnlineHost: Our thanks to John Denver for taking time from his busy schedule to visit with us. Thank you and good night! Copyright 1995 America Online, Inc. ============================================================== ===================================================== Here are the lyrics to that song you might have heard John sing in concert........... ===================================================== I'M KISSING YOU GOODBYE by John Denver Oh, at first it was just like heaven In your heart and in your arms And paradise discovered In the sweetness of your charms Yes, and every day a miracle To awake and be with you And every night in your embrace Another dream come true But castles sometimes crumble Some rivers still run dry And fairy tales are witches tales When the truth becomes a lie And a pocket full of promises Won't buy a diamond ring And every word you said to me Just didn't mean a thing It's over now, you've gone too far I can't take anymore Be careful now - don't hurt yourself When you walk through that door I can hardly stand to look at you It makes me want to cry Get your tongue out of my mouth Because I'm kissing you goodbye! Now I suppose I'll never know Why things turned out this way And why the one you love the most Is the one you drove away Yes, and I suppose I'll never, ever Really understand How I could think that you'd Make me a happy, married man So now I sit and contemplate The reason for it all The climb to heights of ecstasy The failure and the fall If a broken heart is purposeful It's in the lesson learned No matter what the reason is..... It hurts when you get burned Now I don't care, I don't think I'll ever love again "Kemosabe" used to mean A good and trusted friend But now it stands for therapy And all the tears I cry Get your tongue out of my mouth 'Cause I'm kissing you goodbye! Copyright 1995 by John Denver Unpublished song.....used only in concerts ===================================================== ROCKY MOUNTAIN HIGH: Our fan club IN....THE.....NEWS ===================================================== In the August issue of "The Net", there is an article talking about people's feelings regarding AOL. It talks about the "newsgroups that reflect special interests as diverse as needlepoint, Zen buddhism, and the music of John Denver." We were also mentioned in "Online Access Magazine" where it stated.... "The web tends to attract alternative music types; it seems as if there's a new Alice in Chains page popping up daily. But if you look hard enough, you'll find some hangouts for fans of that 1970's mellow rock. Take the man behind "Rocky Mountain High", for example. A John Denver fan put up a web page at http://www.sky.net/~emily with poetry about the singer and listings of his fan clubs, as well as a direct link to the Usenet newsgroup alt.fan.john-denver. I smell a cult here." -------------------------------------------------------------- REVIEWS OF SOME OF JOHN'S CONCERTS: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ======================================================= Concerts in Camden, NJ and Radio City Music Hall in NYC ======================================================= by Mary Ledford I taped the show on the 18th as I was in Camden, NJ - John said it was nice that people were there seeing "the real thing" rather than staying home to watch the show that night! I LOVED IT!! Can't wait for the video from Sony. They are selling both the CD and Cassette tapes along with T-shirts - the same ones on QVC. At Radio City, the CD and Cassettes were selling like "hot cakes"! Wolf Trap was GREAT - got backstage and he was very happy to see us. He looked good and sounded great despite his voice loss at Kettering. Radio City was FABULOUS, FABULOUS, FABULOUS!!!!!! - the best concert of the 64 I've seen so far in 21 years! He had Jim Horn with him and his voice was supurb. He held the note in "For You" even longer than he did at Wolf Trap - which was considerably long. Camden, NJ at the Waterfront was wonderful. You walk in to the pavilion area and there's a harbor with lots of boats - it was really nice. There was a nice breeze coming off the water which helped as it was starting to get very hot. The pavilion looks relatively new and it's about the same size as Wolf Trap. He did most of the same songs but with a few variations and he closed the first half in Camden with "Calypso"! His encore was as he put it - "for the band" - "Bet On The Blues", "Saturday Night In Aspen, Colorado (The Harder They Fall)" and finally "Poems, Prayers and Promises" which he did solo. ---------------------------------------------------------- ============================================================= A Review of the Wolftrap Concert - June 15, 1995 - Vienna, VA ============================================================= by Gregory M. Levin Hello. For those interested, I thought I'd write a little about John's concert last night at wolftrap. For those not familiar with this location, it is a performing arts center in the woods of Virginia just ouside of D.C., and is maintained by the park service (or some similar organization... I'm not sure). The amphitheater is a giant wooden structure with a couple dozen rows of seats and large grass areas behind them for blankets, lawnchairs, picnic baskets, etc. Good sound quality and beautiful surroundings. For last night's concert, John shared the bill with the National Symphony Orchestra. The advantage was the full orchestral backing; the disadvantage was that they got the first hour of the show, limiting John's portion to a little over 1 1/2 hours. (When I've seen him before, he's done at least 2 1/2 hours). The program (as best as I can recall... I'm sure some of this is a little off) was as follows: 1. Eagles & Horses 2. Rocky Mtn High 3. Today 4. Wild Montana Skies 5. Darcy Farrow 6. Whispering Jesse 7. My Uncle & Me 8. For You 9. Take Me Home, Country Roads 10. Is It Love? 11. Get Your Tongue out of My Mouth (I'm Kissing You Goodbye) 12. The Foxfire Suite 13. Shanghai Breezes 14. Annie's Song 15. Amazon 16. Calypso Notes: 8. According to John, "For You" will be released as a single from the Wildlife Concert, so get out there and request it on your favorite (or whatever) radio stations. 11. A rather silly song (in the spirit of "You Done Stomped on My Heart"), inspired by a recent book of the same name. He saw the title and knew that it would make a great country song. 12. This was fantastic. He said it was written as a tribute to the heritage of American music, sort of a "bluegrass symphony", but that this was the first time that it had ever actually been performed with the backing of an orchestra. 16. Due to time constraints, he said that he wasn't going to actually go thru the motions of walking off the stage before the encore, and this was the only song in the following pseudo-encore. ____________________________________________ An interesting observation: an old fellow commented to me afterwards as he was getting into his car that he was disappointed that John hadn't done more of his standards. If you look at the list, only 4 of 16 songs are from G.H. Vol I or II, and half of them have been written since Vol III appeared. While this was, no doubt, partly due to the time constraints, he seems quite intent on presenting his newer material. If anyone saw him on the TODAY show yesterday, he was complaining (good-naturedly) to Bryant Gumbal that he wasn't getting to do one of his new songs (he did Annie's Song, by the way). I for one am quite happy with this attitude. I was very happy to hear the Foxfire suite for the first time live as opposed to Poems, Prayers & Promises or Back Home Again live for the 20th time (though I love both those songs). Anyway, it was a great (if too short) show. He's still great live, and I highly recommend catching this tour if you get the opportunity. -Greg levin@brutus.mts.jhu.edu =============================== Kettering, Ohio - June 23, 1995 =============================== by John Lowe Last night was the concert in Kettering. For awhile we were wondering if it was going to come off because of a rain storm that came up just when it was supposed to start. None of the seats were under cover although the stage was and there was concern for the equipment. It finally did start although the rain came back later. We all sat through it while John sang on. The allowed umbrellas so that helped. The concert was great. John never sounded better. It was even better than the A&E concert. He seemed to have so much more energy and he smiled a lot more. He mentioned about being on the Today program last week. He said he was supposed to plug the concert, the CD and the video but that it had been so long since he had something to plug that he forgot to do it. He also said that Sony Legacy was going to promote "For You' as a single. He really did a great job on it, partly I think because he didn't play the piano but rather concentrated on singing it. I really loved the new country song "Get Your Tongue Out of my Mouth Because I'm Kissing You Good By". The one song that he didn't sing that I wish he had was "A Song For All Lovers". I get to see him again tomorrow here in Columbus. This time I will be under cover so I don't care if it does rain. -------------------------------------------------------------- ============================================================== I thought you might be interested to know that John was promoting peace a long time ago........ ============================================================== STATE U.N. GROUP TO HOLD PREMIERE OF CITIZENSHIP FILM State Paul Dispatch - St. Paul, MN January 5, 1972 ------------------------------------- The United Nations Association of Minnesota will hold a premiere showing of its new movie "Man's Next Giant Leap" at 5:15 pm next Wednesday in the Campus Club on the 4th floor of Coffman Memorial Union at the University of Minnesota. The 25 minute film was produced to promote the concept of world citizenship and is directed toward high school and college age youth. The film was inspired by the action of the Minnesota Legislature during the last session in passing a declaration of world citizenship, stating that all people are citizens of the world and must work together as a family for peace. John Denver, a folk singer and composer from Edina, headlines the cast in the film. He sings two of his songs and reads the war poem "The Box" in the film. Also in the movie are Governor Wendell Anderson and his family; William Frenzel; 3rd District congressman; Sen. Stanley Holmquist, state Senate majority leader; President Malcolm Moos, University of Minnesota; Dr. John B. Davis, Minneapolis public schools superintendent; Josie Johnson, University regent; Congressman Don Fraser, 5th District and others. Minnesota was the first state to pass a world citizenship declaration. Governor Anderson in the movie called passage of the declaration "a Minnesota grass roots effort to promote permanent peace in the whole world." He added "The people involved differ in many ways as to religion, politics, race and color." "However, the common denominator is that we belong to the same human family. We're dedicated to the proposition that if the human family on space ship earth is to survive, the world problems of war, pollution and starvation must be outlawed." Lynn Elling, a Minneapolis businessman and member of the United Nations Association said the film will be shown at schools and service clubs. He said it brings home the idea that we've got to act as a family of man and that the only hope for a permanent peace is through the United Nations. -------------------------------------------------------------- *************************************** OLD FRIENDS by Emily M. Parris There are no friends like old friends Who have shared the joys and tears That come from sharing friendship Through the course of many years For every day of sharing Every letter - every thought Helps forge the bonds of friendship With a strength that falters not Each look of understanding And each gentle word of praise Helps form a chain of friendship That around you ever stays Copyright 1984 by Emily M. Parris ******************************************* News from Australia........ ************************************************************** HEAVY DENVER ************************************************************** HEAVY DENVER is just what the name suggests. They play all JOHN DENVER songs and they play them HEAVY, right! In the short time the band has been together they have had rave reviews of their demo tape "Rocky Mountain High School", which has received quite a lot of airplay on national station JJJ, have had near brushes with fame and fortune, have appeared on national television and have toured the country far and wide. This band is even endorsed by JOHN himself! Life on the farm is no longer laid back! ______________________________________________________________ Say howdy to HEAVY DENVER Dom was brought up in the suburban safety of little old Adelaide; a city with a country town feel. His parents spoke little English and he taught himself by listening to the gentle drone of AM radio. His was a childhood full of sunshine on his shoulder, dreams of Rocky Mountain highs and images of muppets jumping around on a big ol' feather bed. During his teens he discovered the world wasn't the sweet innocent place he'd been brought up thinking it to be, so he loaded up his van with tapes, a couple of guitars and headed for the hills. The Adelaide hills that is. Over the hills he drove, stopping at various towns along the way, working and playing his guitar when he could. Several years later he found his way to Melbourne and thus began the classic story of a small town boy landing in the big smoke. He worked a variety of jobs all the while searching, searching for....well, he didn't know what exactly, but he had a feeling that there was some greater purpose to his life. Then one day while he was browsing through the bargain bin at JB Hi-Fi, a burning effigy of John Denver appeared and said unto him "Go forth and re-interpret my songs. The modern generation is in need of my wisdom"........ And so it came to pass that the idea of HEAVY DENVER was born. Check out the HEAVY DENVER web page...... http://netspace.net.au/~arch/denbios.html (You can also get to it from the JD Home Page:) http://www.sky.net/~emily THANK YOU: AOL; Paula Kirman; Arturo Larizza and "Heavy Denver"; Mary Ledford; Gregory Levin; John Lowe; Kathleen Nickolaus and Tracie Sutton for information/articles used in the newsletter. Also....*Thank You JOHN* for talking with us on AmericaOnline. Endfile: ****************************************************** ROCKY MOUNTAIN HIGH: THE John Denver Internet Fan Club August 1995 Newsletter #16 emily@sky.net ******************************************************