I have had many musical "role models" over the
years, from Bob Dylan and Simon and Garfunkel, in the '60's, to
Garth Brooks, in the '90's. Probably no other singer or
songwriter has influenced me more, however, than John Denver has,
as you can probably tell from some of the songs that I've
written. I have also used some of his music more directly at
times, and these are included in the headings below: "Iraqi
Mountain High", which I wrote in 1991, about the Persian Gulf
War; and the additions I made to "Calypso", after the ship sank.
It was a great shock to me, and a very sad occasion, when his
plane crashed on October 12, 1997, particularly since I had had
the good fortune (much luckier, in fact, than I could have known
at the time) to have heard him give a live performance with the
Houston Symphony just two weeks earlier -- the review I wrote of
that concert is posted here, also. My thoughts on his life and
death, written shortly after the crash, are included here; as is
the song I wrote in his memory, starting from one of his, which
includes some of the same thoughts. We all lost a great singer,
songwriter, and human being when John's plane went into Monterey
Bay, and I hope some of what I've presented here in his memory
will be worthy of it.
Questions? Comments? Please send e-mail to jbearden@ieee.org
Material Copyright © 1998-2003 by Jim Bearden