Review of John Denver: Mother Nature’s Son
I was saddened to discover that the so-called biographer of one of this century’s most beloved artists, entertainers, conservationists, andhumanists couldn’t marshall a more formidable effort on behalf of JohnDenver. Why undertake a project like this with such misgivings and such alack of appreciation for who Denver was, how much he personallycontributed, or how deeply he affected millions of fans and admirers. Whilethe author may personally find aspects of John’s musical style superficialor slick, no one delving deeper into John Denver’s story can fail toappreciate his sheer talent, energy, sincerity, and humanity, nor to beimpressed by the energy, talent, or persistence in the plethora ofimportant projects John threw himself into.
Any number of his songs arequite widely covered, even today, yet no one has ever been more successfulpresenting what was basically an extremely popular and easy-to-listen to(the word beautiful seems descriptively inadequate) country music crossover into the popular realm than was John Denver. He was indeed aphenomenon.
At a time when singer/songwriters like James Taylor, VanMorrison, and Elton John were tearing up the charts, Denver effectivelyoutsold, outwrote, and outperformed them in terms of his public appeal.This is not intended as a put-down of any of these incredible artists, allof whom have continued to create and contribute today . It is rather toemphasize how amazing his continuing success and effective domination ofthe popular music charts in the 1970s was. John Denver was THE singularpopular musical superstarof thee 1970s, and the fact that he was deservesto be recognized for the phenomenal success it was.
His deeply personalmusical voice spoke simply yet eloquently through the vehicle of a uniqueperspective on the world, and combined an intensely personal way ofdescribing himself andhis relationships with a seductively romantic viewof the world. Of course, he quickly became identified with his soaringpaens in praise of the beauty of the natural world, and almost as quicklybecame a driving force popularizing theenvironmental movement, oftentestifying to Congress with great style and verve, often very influentialin the drafting of certain aspects of the clean water and clean air acts.
As the years went by became Denver became less and less concerned abouthis own career and more and more involved in various environmental andhumanist causes. He was friend and confidant to luminaries, world leadersand philosophers like Jacques Cousteau and Buckminister “Bucky”Fuller, and spent time working, covorting and relaxing with a list ofnotables that sounds like a who’s who list of 20th century luminaries.
His personal life was as complex and as full of sadness as often trueof most exceptional people, and no one denies that he had bouts ofdepression and tough times over the years. Haven’t we all? And isn’t thatthe price one pays for being a human being in this, the last half of the20th century? Why dwell on his frailties and vulnerabilities when they palein comparison with his accomplishments and contributions? As his brothercommented on suggestions that John’s tragic death in a plane crash was asuicide, anyone knowing how much John loved living and life itself whocould say that he committed sucide must have his head up his ass.
Still, with all of this taken into account, nothing can still bring sucha fond smile to millions of babyboomer faces or such a twinkle to many ofour eyes as can the mere mention of John Denver’s name. Those of us whohave witnessed the incredible panorama of music in the last thirty years orso still hold a special place in the valhalla of artistic fame for thebespectacled kid with a shock of bushy blond hair who walked the frozenstreams and mountain passes of the American Rockies, and sang so simply, sobeautifully, and so eloquently to all of us from his heart. These kidsrunning around the Rockies in their high-tech clothing and glacier bootshaven’t got a clue, viewing the wilderness asanother Disneyland, justanother setting for their self-absorbed personal adventures, something todemonstrate their prowess and flatter their egos. Yet Denver helped a wholegeneration discover how much of a world onto itself the wilderness is, andhow much of a gift from Providence such natural wonder is.
For Denverthe wilderness presented us with a chance to be fuller, kinder, and betterpeople, people who cared about all of God’s creation and would act ascaretakers for everything in this garden. What we need is a betterbiography to help these kidsunderstand. In essence, Denver wasn’t just anincredibly talented and popular and successfulsinger/songwriter/entertainer; he was a very special human being whoreached higher, stronger, and farther than most normal human beings,someone who opened his heart, head, and spirit to share and guide us with.He deserves a better biography that appreciates the full story of hisgifts, contributions, and legacy.
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