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 O C T O B E R 1 9 9 5 V E E R Emily Parris emily@sky.net http://www.sky.net/~emily R ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Table of Contents October 1995 John tours EUROPE.......................................1 Bookstore Suggestions...................................2 Rocky Mountain High newsletters now available by MAIL...2 John Denver Memorabilia.................................2 Alaska Area added to the WWW Page.......................3 "Song From A Friend" by Sunny Jo Waters.................3 "His Sunshine" by Emily Parris..........................4 Spotlight on our PRODIGY Members........................5 "The Day We Met John Denver" by Emily Parris............6 Article from Chicago Tribute (8/17/86)................. 7 JOHN on tour in EUROPE ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ John is in tour in Europe in such cities as Madrid in Spain. In Germany he will appear in Frankfurt, Dusseldorf, Hannover, Berlin, Bremerhaven, Hamburg, Nurnberg, Munich, Ludwigshafen, and Aachan. In Italy he will appear in Rome and Milano, and in Prague in the Czech Republic. Next he will visit Vienna, Austria and in Russia he will visit the cities of Moscow and St. Petersburg. In the Netherlands he will be in Rotterdam and in Belgium, the city of Gent. John will be out of the country from October 7th until November 8th when he appears again in California at the Hanford-Fox Theatre. On March 8,9 and 10 in 1996 John will be appearing at the new Rosemont Horizon Theatre / 5400 N. River Road near O'Hare Airport in Chicago, Illinois. Tickets are $12, $20, $37.50, and $44.50. For a complete concert schedule: "emily@sky.net" BOOKSTORE SUGGESTIONS ===================== * John is a student of "A Course in Miracles". He also wrote the forward to the book "Goodbye to Guilt" by Gerald G. Jampolsky, MD. * John has recommended the book "Let the Mountains Talk, Let the Rivers Run" by David Bower and his latest song ("In This Healing Time") was inspired by that book. * Also, don't forget "Take Me Home" by John Denver and Arthur Tobias. In his autobiography John tells a lot about his personal life. ROCKY MOUNTAIN HIGH Newsletters Now Available by MAIL ===================================================== I've received many requests for the information in the newsletters via regular postal mail. So by popular demand, I'm going to print them out each month. If you know anyone who would like to subscribe via MAIL, let me know. Since mail isn't free like email there will be a charge but it will only be enough to defray the costs for printing, envelopes and postage. Write me an email for more information, or send the mailing address of any of your friends, or relatives who you think might be interested in the newsletter via regular postal mail. JOHN DENVER MEMORABILIA ======================= Rick Thornton of Canada suggested that he would like to see a database of people with memorabilia such as copies of old tv shows on video, rare recordings, news articles, etc. I have made a start on it, but if you have anything to sell please let me know so that I can add you to the Memorabilia Database. John Coyne / P.O. Box 516 / Levittown / NY 11756 has a video list for sale/trade. (516) 579-4956 Sheri Wallace / 3855 Horseshoe Rd / Delaware / OH 43015 Large list of JD items for sale. Send a large SASE for info. Barbara Peterson / 9155 Cooper Road / Kenosha / WI 53142 I have over 200 JD albums that I'm ready to let go. Send SASE Donna Pinto / 124 West Ave / Westville / NJ / 08093 has two compilations of John's tv shows on video. Send SASE for list. Dottie Honer / 5214 Stump Rd / Pipersville / PA 18947 Has duplicate JD lps, tour books, magazines, etc. Send SASE. House of Lords Records in England / 27 Feldsten Road / Benfleet / Essex SS7 1JB / England / Phone: 01268 757359 has a catalog called "The John Denver Collection" containing loads of JD memorabilia for sale. ALASKA Page added to the RMH WWW Page ===================================== Since John has a lot of songs that are either about Alaska or relate to it in some way, I have added a page of links to Alaska sites. In the course of doing that I made a list of John's songs about Alaska. John's ALASKA songs .....Here's to Alaska and John! ======================================================== "Alaska and Me" from the album HIGHER GROUND - words and music by JD "Higher Ground" is the theme for a TV Movie that was set in Alaska - From the album HIGHER GROUND Words and music by JD "To The Wild Country" from the albums I WANT TO LIVE and EARTH SONGS - words and music by JD "Raven's Child" - from the albums EARTH SONGS and THE FLOWER THAT SHATTERED THE STONE words and music by JD and Joe Henry * Please let me know if there are other Alaska songs I missed, or if there are other ALASKA links that I should include on the web page. (*)*(*)*(*)*(*)*(*)*(*)*(*)*(*)*(*)*(*)*(*)*(*)*(*)*(*)*(*) SONG FROM A FRIEND by Sunny Jo Waters Written for and inspired by John Denver And ya say you can see when you close your eyes And though ya don't have wings still you can fly high You can sit in the shade and feel the sun But if you want a friend you've got to be one You don't have to sleep to follow a dream You don't have to play to be part of the team You can be a winner having never won But if you want a friend you've got to be one You don't need to be loved to be in love It can be over without being above You can think you have it all when really you have none But if you want a friend you've got to be one I hope you can hear what I'm saying to you It's not a riddle with a mystery clue It's plain and simple and honest and true It's a song from a friend from me to you Copyright 1988 by Sunny Jo Waters (iflysohigh@aol.com) (*)*(*)*(*)*(*)*(*)*(*)*(*)*(*)*(*)*(*)*(*)*(*)*(*)*(*) Sunny Jo Waters has a lot of songs/poems that he has written. He plays the guitar in a style inspired by John and writes and sings his own material whenever he performs publicly. He sent a lot of his songs to me in an email and explained that everything he does has been inspired by John, and that although only one of them is actually dedicated to John, that his style has been heavily influenced by John. Well, when I began to read his material I was inspired myself. I could see John's influence there in all of it and I wrote this poem.... HIS SUNSHINE by Emily M. Parris Dedicated to John Denver and Sunny Jo Waters Like a babbling brook He flows through our lives His messages reach out to touch Each song, like a flower Renews and refreshes us Each of them means so much For like fresh, clean water He flows all around Inspiring hope every day In my life; in our lives I am so grateful That his sunshine came our way Copyright 9/16/95 by Emily M. Parris To read more of Sunny's songs/poems check the RMH www page. ----------------------------------------------------------- SPOTLIGHT ON.....OUR PRODIGY MEMBERS ==================================== The Prodigy service has always had a very lively contingent of John Denver fans. The heyday of the group, however, was in November of 1992 when Lynne Norris started publishing a print Newsletter and sending it out via regular mail. The Newsletter was published every 2 months and was called "The John Denver Prodigy Fan Club". The group was formed online and the members gathered online, but in order to have a copy of the newsletter everyone had to send in an SASE for each month of the newsletter. Then someone was nominated to print the newsletter and get it off to the members. I was the person who got the newsletter out in March of 1993. The group only sent out print newsletters for about 3 months. Then Prodigy Services stepped in to change the situation. They started charging for time online in newsgroups. The main thing we had going for us was the ability to write and read in the news area for as long as we wanted. So the group dwindled and the newsletters stopped. I formed RMH in May of 1994, but at first we didn't have very many Prodigy members in our club and I didn't know whether they were online anywhere or not. So quite a few months later I sent out a mailing that I called "Prodigy Reunion" to all of the people who had posted on Prodigy. The email addresses were from online messages that I had downloaded and saved. So it was a sketchy database of email addresses. However, I did find quite a few members who were still at that email address and they joined our club as well. Today there is still a very loyal following of John Denver fans on Prodigy, and 57 of them are in Rocky Mountain High. ========================================================== The Day We Met John Denver - Kansas City, MO - March 1993 by Emily M. Parris ========================================================== On March 5, 1993 my brother saw on tv that John Denver was going to be on our local noon news show. He immediately called me up and suggested that we drive to the station and try to meet him. At that point, meeting John had been a dream of mine for quite a few years. So we drove there and we were waiting in back. For some reason we thought he'd come in the back door. However, there was no crowd anywhere - just a tv station building in somewhat of a residential neighborhood. We were waiting patiently in the car when suddenly something occurred to me...."It couldn't be on tape, could it?" We looked at each other, grinned, shook our heads and said....."No". We had been waiting about 25 minutes when a limo drove up to the front. I ran around the building while Charles drove the car around. Actually 2 limo's had driven up and the first one was for a different guest. I saw that person go in and it was Gavin McCloud so I knew that the other limo was probably John's. Anyway, we parked behind the limo and waited again. About a half an hour later when John came out I intercepted him. He had a guard beside him but I didn't think they'd consider me too much of a threat. I just handed John a couple of the books of poetry I have dedicated to him, muttered something about having been a fan for a number of years, but other than that I was just standing there in awe of him. He was very polite and asked me my name, took the books, and shook my hand. Then he waved to my brother, Charles, who was sitting in the car behind. The limo took off then and we went to pick up Jim at work. Jim is my boyfriend. We weren't sure where the limo was but the last time we had seen it was on the Plaza. It's a very posh area and we had seen John go into a fancy restaurant there. Well, we had the radio on and it was a nearby radio station. John was being interviewed on the station. So we drove to where we knew the radio station was and....sure enough...there was John's limo. He came out again but this time I was shy. I was afraid he'd think we were harassing him. So I just stayed near the car. Now here's the funny part. The limo left and went West on Westport Road. Charles said out loud....."I bet they're going to the downtown airport....all the small planes come and go from there." The logical way there was to turn North on Southwest Trafficway because it leads right down to the freeway which leads to the airport. The 2 streets meet, but there is another street sooner that is a cutoff. The limo driver didn't know about the cutoff and we did. So when we got to it Charles took the cutoff and we ended up in FRONT of John's vehicle. We sort of waved at them. Then we drove all the way to the airport with them behind us. It was as though we escorted them to the airport. At the airport John went right inside the Beechcraft Building. Again I was reluctant to follow them inside. But Charles said...."It's a public building." He knew about it because he has made many deliveries there for Lanter Courier. So we went inside and sat down on some of the plush chairs. The three of us were just sitting there. John came out of the restroom and used the pay phone. At one point my brother talked to John's pilot but then he walked away. Then John finished up on the phone and came over to our little group. He put his hand on my shoulder and said..."Thanks for the poetry, Emily." That was the best part - the fact that he called me Emily. I was so stunned that I didn't make the proper introductions so John did it himself. He reached out his hand to shake hands with Charles and asked his name. They shook hands. I was still standing there in awed silence. Then John said...."And who is this?" and Jim said "I'm Jim". Jim is blind so John reached out to grab his hand and they shook hands. Then John said something about it being very hectic going from city to city advertising this way and how he didn't have much time. So he took off and got on his plane. It was parked right outside. We didn't have a camera with us so we didn't get a picture that time, but on another occasion when he actually had a concert in town we got a picture of his Lear Jet. ------------------------------------------------------------- Charles Bennett, and James Fettgather are also in the RMH fan club. You can write to Jim at jimkc@primenet.com Of course, you can also write to me at "emily@sky.net." ============================================================= GOOD OL' BOY? JOHN DENVER CAN BE A MERCHANT OF VENOM WHEN HE'S RILED by Sid Smith Chicago Tribune (8/17/86) Singer John Denver's wholesome smile and gosh gee golly gush reached iconographic proportions in the 70's - he probably has been called "smarmy" as much as any entertainer. But sitting backstage after his recent concert in Rockford, finishing up a hasty dinner of pale pink salmon and steamed brown rice, Denver wasn't coming across as smarmy wholesome, good ol' boy or as he likes to sum up his longtime image, the Mickey Mouse of Pop. He was angry. "I have very little respect for the press" he almost shouted. "It's not only this personal thing with me, but I see it permeates everything that goes on. Ever since the whole thing with Libya. Europe has been suffering because American acts aren't touring there. That's a big part of their economy. And where the suffering is the most intense is England, and they're the ones who stood on our side. "Now, I don't recall Mr. Reagan or anyone in the administration saying "Don't go to Europe," but the press went into this whole big thing about terrorism over there and all that to the degree that Americans really bought it, and the administration did nothing to deny it. Many of the Europeans won't recover from the effects of this summer. "They're our partners, and we f---- 'em." Libya? Europe? Four-letter words? Whatever happened to the thank God I'm a country boy Denver in search of Rocky Mountain highs and Grandma's feather bed? "The media chose to present me that way" says Denver, who performs at Poplar Creek Wednesday. "They bought a certain kind of thing by which they judged me and criticized my concerts and my music." This may be self-serving revisionism in part, but consider Denver's entry in the influential "The Rolling Stone Record Guide": "One of the many pastoral singer/songwriters who proliferated in the early 70's. His thin, whiny voice, sophomoric writing and extremely limited instrumental facility made him far from the most interesting practitioner of the style." The entry goes on to label "Rocky Mountain High" as a good song that far outshines Denver himself as well as anything else he's recorded." That's not only vicious, it's a tad inhuman - how can a song outshine an entire human being? And yet it's a reminder of the kind of automatic venom Denver brings forth from critics and many others. Curiously, that criticism ignores what has been and remains an important component of his career, an almost rabid political activism. For instance, he began in the late 60's with the Chad Mitchell Trio, a folksinging group very much in the protest tradition of Pete Seeger, Joan Baez and Peter, Paul and Mary. (Denver still sings Seeger songs from the period at his current concerts). Each of his first five albums contained a pointed protest song, ranging from send ups of then Vice President Spiro Agnew and "The Ballad of Richard Nixon" (which consisted totally of silence) to antiwar songs by Tom Paxton, odes to returning Vietnam veterans and queries about our missing POW's - all hot political items at the time and all decidedly leftist. In the late '70's, Denver spend a lot of time - at least 2 days a month - working as a member of President Jimmy Carter's special commission on world hunger, long before a BBC documentary and rocker Bob Geldoff made the cause fashionable. "We delivered a report, and it was quoted on Page 47 of the New York Times" he says. "I was doing a concert tour at the time, and I played 112 concerts in 100 cities in 120 days. And at each one, I held a press conference and talked about the commission report. Later, the only reporters I'd agree to talk to again were the ones who got a sentence about hunger somehow past their editors and into the stories. And that was the only time there was any mention of it in most of the newspapers or on any of the television stations all over the U.S." "It has to be shoved down your throats" he continues. "Five years ago, some of us were talking about Ethiopia and what was happening there. We were actively lobbying for aid to Africa. And five years ago, if we had done only half of what we did last year for Ethiopia, millions of lives would have been saved." (The unkindest cut of all came when the organizers behind the "We Are The World" effort snubbed Denver, who had done far more fighting against hunger than almost any of the participants). Denver has also been a heavy crusader for space exploration and one new song on his album, his 25th for RCA, serenades the downed Challenger's shuttle crew. But his real concern these days is the loss of farms and small businesses partly because of what he considers an inordinate amount of defense spending. Denver's activism can't erase all criticisms, however. There was the short-lived controversy during the 1979 gasoline crunch when neighbors complained that Denver the Environmentalist was hoarding thousands of gallons worth of fuel on his private Colorado estate. And where was his political concern when he was being so bland and lovable during stints as host of the "Tonight Show" and in his 70's television specials? He counters that a part of the deal for the specials involved documentaries on serious topics - films that were made and won awards but few audiences. He also says when he began to lobby for one controversial or activist guest per "Tonight Show" episode he hosted, he was quietly dropped. "I blew the opportunity to continue doing variety television." Ironically, Denver's leftist interest seem at odds with those of his loyal fans. In Rockford, clean-cut young couples, often accompanied by their children, older parents and even grandparents, made up the 75 percent plus capacity crowd at the city's metro Center showplace. "I think some of them are showed at what I say" he admits. "That's why I come out first a do a string of six of my old hits first. And they relax and sit back and say to themselves, 'Yeah, there's ol' John.' Then I tell them how we lost 43,000 farms in this country last year before going into 'What Are We Making Weapons For?" (his anti-nuclear song). A few get up and leave, but for the most part the response is tremendous." RCA has not been so enthusiastic. Denver says he had to pressure the company to release the new album, and after that, RCA elected not to renew his contract. Denver was already somewhat bitter about what he considers RCA's mishandling of marketing on his previous album "Dreamland Express." "But the contract thing was purely business. After General Electric purchased RCA, a whole new team came in, looked at my contract, which was one of the top five in the industry, and then looked at the fact that I haven't had a hit record in 10 years." So it would seem times are tough for Denver. He has been divorced for several years now from his wife, Annie, although they recently became neighbors and are said to be getting along more positively. Still, Denver is very impassioned and self-recriminating when discussing her. "She wanted me to be something I wasn't, and I wanted her to be something she wasn't. It was one of the most catastrophic things that has ever happened to me." He notes that financially he doesn't have to tour or record. He says he works so hard that he's had only 16 days off so far this year. Besides the current American tour, Denver has spent time in Europe, Australia and the Soviet Union in recent years. Plans for a Broadway musical written by and starring Denver (as Will Rogers) are finally falling into place, with a tentative opening set for March. Rogers is someone Denver greatly admires. "He was one of the most beloved and respected entertainers in the States, an early supporter of aviation and a cowboy philosopher. He helped get us through one of the most difficult times in our country, and it was about the Depression that he said, 'Ours is the only country in the world who's gonna go to the poorhouse driving an automobile.'" "That's still true." * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Articles, JD news, stories, etc. are urgently needed. Please send them to me if you'd like to be published in RMH. I'd also like suggestions for articles or things that should be included either on the web page or in the Newsletter. Emily Parris emily@sky.net * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ENDFILE * * * ******************************************************** Rocky Mountain High: The John Denver Internet Fan Club emily@sky.net http://www.sky.net/~emily October 1995 - Issue #18 ********************************************************