John Denver, America's unofficial musical diplomat
April 18, 2015 11:32 AM Subscribe
As John Denver's US prominence waned into the 1980s, opposite the rise of new wave and harder rock, he kept touring internationally for some notable firsts. In 1979, Denver was one of the performers to welcome Chinese Vice-Premier Deng Xiaoping to the US, and six years later, Denver was the first western artist to tour in the USSR, where he performed alongside Kermit the Frog. In 1992, he had another first for a western peformer, when Denver toured mainland China, to find that many of his audiences already knew his songs. Two years later, he was the first US act in Vietnam since the Vietnam War.
For a look back at John's time in Russia, he shared a bit of his experience when he hosted for week on Video Hits One (VH1, for you youngins), and here's a cleaner video of the performance. While in Russia, he also recorded a duet with Russian pop singer Alexandre Gradsky, called “Let Us Begin (What Are We Making Weapons For?).” Here is a live performance of that song from 1990.
To this day, John Denver is among a handful of western artists well-known in China, along with Celine Dion's "My Heart Will Go On", the Eagles' "Hotel California", and The Carpenters.
For further reading: "Country Roads" to Globalization:Sociological Models for Understanding American Popular Music in China (article on Academia.edu)
For a look back at John's time in Russia, he shared a bit of his experience when he hosted for week on Video Hits One (VH1, for you youngins), and here's a cleaner video of the performance. While in Russia, he also recorded a duet with Russian pop singer Alexandre Gradsky, called “Let Us Begin (What Are We Making Weapons For?).” Here is a live performance of that song from 1990.
To this day, John Denver is among a handful of western artists well-known in China, along with Celine Dion's "My Heart Will Go On", the Eagles' "Hotel California", and The Carpenters.
For further reading: "Country Roads" to Globalization:Sociological Models for Understanding American Popular Music in China (article on Academia.edu)
And apparently it still is, from this NPR piece on two men hitching a ride home for Chinese New Year, as part of the Shnghai Street Stories series, which is where I first heard about the popularity of John Denver in China.
posted by filthy light thief at 11:52 AM on April 18, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by filthy light thief at 11:52 AM on April 18, 2015 [1 favorite]
Last month I was in a taxi going from Cebu City to Lapulapu, Philippines and the driver, seeing I was a kano american, asked me if I was familiar with John Denver... he then proceeded to sing several of his songs... (not greatly, but with lots of feeling). When I was leaving Manila - you pay an airport departure tax - and the govt. official saw my name was close to James Taylor's.... he stamped my voucher and let me go through free. They love strong voices, melody, personalities, and most music there and are also strongly culturally unbiased towards perceptions of hipness that permeate the West.
posted by wallstreet1929 at 11:54 AM on April 18, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by wallstreet1929 at 11:54 AM on April 18, 2015 [2 favorites]
Interesting. I've had many students from East Asia tell me they love and grew up listening to John Denver over the years and don't understand why Americans find him embarrassing.
posted by spitbull at 12:04 PM on April 18, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by spitbull at 12:04 PM on April 18, 2015 [1 favorite]
Kenny G is huge in China too.
Same idea.
posted by spitbull at 12:05 PM on April 18, 2015 [1 favorite]
Same idea.
posted by spitbull at 12:05 PM on April 18, 2015 [1 favorite]
don't understand why Americans find him embarrassing.
Explain please, thank you.
posted by infini at 12:13 PM on April 18, 2015 [3 favorites]
Explain please, thank you.
posted by infini at 12:13 PM on April 18, 2015 [3 favorites]
Americans find him embarrassing
Hnn! I grew up listening to John Denver and I love him to death and I don't understand why some Americans find him embarrassing.
Well, actually, I kind of do. But I wish they wouldn't. Many of his songs fill me with a peacefulness and naturalness that sets my heart right where it belongs.
I guess I'd rather be in Colorado.
posted by brambleboy at 12:17 PM on April 18, 2015 [17 favorites]
Hnn! I grew up listening to John Denver and I love him to death and I don't understand why some Americans find him embarrassing.
Well, actually, I kind of do. But I wish they wouldn't. Many of his songs fill me with a peacefulness and naturalness that sets my heart right where it belongs.
I guess I'd rather be in Colorado.
posted by brambleboy at 12:17 PM on April 18, 2015 [17 favorites]
I was in a class with several Chinese international students. I asked them about an anecdote about a friend of mine, who is of Chinese-American ancestry and served in the Peace Corps in China. My friend told me that, when she was teaching English in China, she had to find a song with English lyrics that her students all knew, and the song that worked the most successfully was "Take Me Home, Country Roads." I asked my fellow students if John Denver was really that popular in China. One of the more cynical students denied it, but the rest agreed. There was even one student whose eyes lit up at the very mention of John Denver's name. He looked at me and asked "You mean, Annie's Song"? Unfortunately, I eventually had to be the one to break the news to him that John Denver was dead.
posted by jonp72 at 12:20 PM on April 18, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by jonp72 at 12:20 PM on April 18, 2015 [1 favorite]
I've had many students from East Asia tell me they love and grew up listening to John Denver over the years and don't understand why Americans find him embarrassing.
Some of it may have to do with how John Denver was perceived as inauthentic in at least two genres. John Denver first started as latter-day member of the Chad Mitchell Trio, which was a trio in the mold of the 1950s "collegiate folk" act, the Kingston Trio. However, by the time John Denver was in the group in the early-to-mid 1960s, the type of folk act that the Chad Mitchell Trio represented was considered passé, when compared to, say, Bob Dylan or the Byrds. Then, when John Denver was part of the 1970s singer-songwriter boom, he was marketed as a country act, which led a lot of old-style country stars to view him as a fraud. When the country singer Charlie Rich announced that John Denver had won the 1975 Country Music Entertainer of the Year, Rich actually lit Denver's ballot on fire, which fueled the perception that Rich viewed Denver as a pretender to the country music throne. (In retrospect, I remember reading Charlie Rich and John Denver were actually friends, but Charlie Rich was extremely high on booze and pills on the night he lit Denver's ballot on fire.)
posted by jonp72 at 12:30 PM on April 18, 2015 [2 favorites]
Some of it may have to do with how John Denver was perceived as inauthentic in at least two genres. John Denver first started as latter-day member of the Chad Mitchell Trio, which was a trio in the mold of the 1950s "collegiate folk" act, the Kingston Trio. However, by the time John Denver was in the group in the early-to-mid 1960s, the type of folk act that the Chad Mitchell Trio represented was considered passé, when compared to, say, Bob Dylan or the Byrds. Then, when John Denver was part of the 1970s singer-songwriter boom, he was marketed as a country act, which led a lot of old-style country stars to view him as a fraud. When the country singer Charlie Rich announced that John Denver had won the 1975 Country Music Entertainer of the Year, Rich actually lit Denver's ballot on fire, which fueled the perception that Rich viewed Denver as a pretender to the country music throne. (In retrospect, I remember reading Charlie Rich and John Denver were actually friends, but Charlie Rich was extremely high on booze and pills on the night he lit Denver's ballot on fire.)
posted by jonp72 at 12:30 PM on April 18, 2015 [2 favorites]
I was 12 or 13 when John Denver was at his early 70's peak and I have The Country Roads Collection and I will never give it up, and I will never be ashamed of liking John Denver.
If it's cool to hate on someone who truly seemed optimistic, loving, kind, a bit goofy and was just being himself, then I am going to be SO UNCOOL.
posted by Major Matt Mason Dixon at 12:38 PM on April 18, 2015 [18 favorites]
If it's cool to hate on someone who truly seemed optimistic, loving, kind, a bit goofy and was just being himself, then I am going to be SO UNCOOL.
posted by Major Matt Mason Dixon at 12:38 PM on April 18, 2015 [18 favorites]
I think his popularity was due to the easy lyrics, the simple melodies lowering the barriers to singing along when English may not be language commonly heard otherwise in your daily life. No strong accent or overpowering riffs.
posted by infini at 12:39 PM on April 18, 2015
posted by infini at 12:39 PM on April 18, 2015
Of course Denver was always sorry for the way things were in China. ; )
posted by spitbull at 12:44 PM on April 18, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by spitbull at 12:44 PM on April 18, 2015 [3 favorites]
Jason and the Scorchers do a fucking astounding cover of "Country Roads."
posted by jonmc at 12:59 PM on April 18, 2015 [4 favorites]
posted by jonmc at 12:59 PM on April 18, 2015 [4 favorites]
Mark Kozelek curated an excellent tribute record a few years back.
posted by Jessica Savitch's Coke Spoon at 1:00 PM on April 18, 2015
posted by Jessica Savitch's Coke Spoon at 1:00 PM on April 18, 2015
If it's cool to hate on someone who truly seemed optimistic, loving, kind, a bit goofy and was just being himself, then I am going to be SO UNCOOL.
I'll join the uncool kids' gang, too. Actually, I've always been there.
posted by brambleboy at 1:10 PM on April 18, 2015 [2 favorites]
I'll join the uncool kids' gang, too. Actually, I've always been there.
posted by brambleboy at 1:10 PM on April 18, 2015 [2 favorites]
I love the uncoolness-circling-around-to-coolness factor so much that I'll mention that using "Take Me Home, Country Roads" was how my straining-to-be-cool Latin teacher Mr. Creeth back in high school taught us the vocative case. (Don't ask.) He was referring to it in the "uncool" sense, since everyone (including him) laughed at it. John Denver, though, always has the last laugh.
posted by blucevalo at 1:15 PM on April 18, 2015
posted by blucevalo at 1:15 PM on April 18, 2015
I've always had a soft spot for Take Me Home, Country Roads, due to Whisper of the Heart, a wonderful film. The main character, a high school girl, does a very sweet rendition. She translates the lyrics to Japanese herself in the movie.
posted by tickingclock at 1:31 PM on April 18, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by tickingclock at 1:31 PM on April 18, 2015 [2 favorites]
John Denver was also the basis for Doonesbury's Jimmy Thudpucker.
posted by happyroach at 1:33 PM on April 18, 2015
posted by happyroach at 1:33 PM on April 18, 2015
If it's cool to hate on someone who truly seemed optimistic, loving, kind, a bit goofy and was just being himself, then I am going to be SO UNCOOL.
He did choke his wife and take a chainsaw to the bed during a particularly notable fight. And then there were the DUIs and the run ins with the FAA - and his death in particular was extraordinarily preventable.
Don't get me wrong - I love some of his work, and he was a fixture of the media landscape when I was growing up. But, he was a complicated person and I don't think it does him or his work any favors to pretend the bad parts didn't exist as well as the good.
posted by Pogo_Fuzzybutt at 1:46 PM on April 18, 2015
He did choke his wife and take a chainsaw to the bed during a particularly notable fight. And then there were the DUIs and the run ins with the FAA - and his death in particular was extraordinarily preventable.
Don't get me wrong - I love some of his work, and he was a fixture of the media landscape when I was growing up. But, he was a complicated person and I don't think it does him or his work any favors to pretend the bad parts didn't exist as well as the good.
posted by Pogo_Fuzzybutt at 1:46 PM on April 18, 2015
I used to have a stack of John Denver vinyl in dogeared sleeves, bought at thrift stores for a quarter a pop. They, along with a similar stack of Cat Stevens records, are among the few things I regret letting go of when I downsized and moved a few years ago.
Country Roads never did it for me, but the tendons in the back of my neck seem to resonate with every note of Prisoners and Mother Nature's Son.
posted by jon1270 at 1:48 PM on April 18, 2015
Country Roads never did it for me, but the tendons in the back of my neck seem to resonate with every note of Prisoners and Mother Nature's Son.
posted by jon1270 at 1:48 PM on April 18, 2015
Dee Snider of Twisted Sister has defended JD in radio interviews, will not brook people talking shit about him.
Because according to Dee, when Tipper Gore & the PMRC used their acces to their Senatorial spouses to call hearings on explicit music lyrics, Dee was all "I saw myself as grabbing the flag and leading the charge to testify. And I look back, & the only people with me are Frank Zappa & John Denver."
Musical diplomat & advocate of artistic freedom. Rest in peace, JD.
posted by Pirate-Bartender-Zombie-Monkey at 1:49 PM on April 18, 2015 [28 favorites]
Because according to Dee, when Tipper Gore & the PMRC used their acces to their Senatorial spouses to call hearings on explicit music lyrics, Dee was all "I saw myself as grabbing the flag and leading the charge to testify. And I look back, & the only people with me are Frank Zappa & John Denver."
Musical diplomat & advocate of artistic freedom. Rest in peace, JD.
posted by Pirate-Bartender-Zombie-Monkey at 1:49 PM on April 18, 2015 [28 favorites]
I was once part of the "he's uncool" camp, but my attempts at songwriting have made me appreciate his gift for melody.
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 1:55 PM on April 18, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 1:55 PM on April 18, 2015 [1 favorite]
"In 1985, John Denver became the first Western artist to tour the U.S.S.R. in a decade, an indication of the impending era of glasnost in Russia. " Not the first American artist to tour the USSR.
posted by Ideefixe at 2:36 PM on April 18, 2015
posted by Ideefixe at 2:36 PM on April 18, 2015
John Denver speaks to Congress re: the PMRC. You can sense the shock when after he gets to the word "censorship" and they realize he's actually there not to support their efforts but come out against them.
posted by the bird at the bottom of the tree at 2:39 PM on April 18, 2015 [10 favorites]
posted by the bird at the bottom of the tree at 2:39 PM on April 18, 2015 [10 favorites]
Fun facts: John wrote "Annie's Song" in July 1973 in about 10 minutes on a ski lift. It was his second No. 1 song in the United States, occupying that spot for two weeks in July 1974.
In the mid-80's, John would sing one verse of this song in the respective language where the concert took place: Russian, Spanish, Italian, German and Gaelic. The verse would replace either the first verse or the hum verse of the song. (The linked page has samples of John singing in various languages, and auto-plays the Gaelic version, which is part-way down the page.)
posted by filthy light thief at 2:42 PM on April 18, 2015 [1 favorite]
In the mid-80's, John would sing one verse of this song in the respective language where the concert took place: Russian, Spanish, Italian, German and Gaelic. The verse would replace either the first verse or the hum verse of the song. (The linked page has samples of John singing in various languages, and auto-plays the Gaelic version, which is part-way down the page.)
posted by filthy light thief at 2:42 PM on April 18, 2015 [1 favorite]
Kenny G is huge in China too.
Same idea.
I'm pretty sure Pat Metheny and Richard Thompson never gave John Denver shit about being a talentless hack.
posted by TedW at 3:06 PM on April 18, 2015
Same idea.
I'm pretty sure Pat Metheny and Richard Thompson never gave John Denver shit about being a talentless hack.
posted by TedW at 3:06 PM on April 18, 2015
We all had John Denver on 8-track, we knew and loved all the songs. But if you admitted it in public in 1982, a guy with pleather pants would knock you over the head with an Ibanez with a Floyd Rose bridge. Seriously, he'd just appear.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 3:14 PM on April 18, 2015 [7 favorites]
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 3:14 PM on April 18, 2015 [7 favorites]
John Denver & Cass Elliot - Leaving On A Jet Plane
posted by mikelieman at 3:22 PM on April 18, 2015 [5 favorites]
posted by mikelieman at 3:22 PM on April 18, 2015 [5 favorites]
.
posted by harrietthespy at 3:29 PM on April 18, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by harrietthespy at 3:29 PM on April 18, 2015 [1 favorite]
I thank John Denver for "Calypso", the first song I ever publicly parodied (BEFORE Weird Al dominated the field).
Oy, Calypso...
The ship is now sinking
And you know what I'm thinking
We'd better get off.
Oy vey, Calypso...
I need a lifesaver
Did you just ask "what flavor?"
Please excuse if I scoff.
posted by oneswellfoop at 4:07 PM on April 18, 2015 [1 favorite]
Oy, Calypso...
The ship is now sinking
And you know what I'm thinking
We'd better get off.
Oy vey, Calypso...
I need a lifesaver
Did you just ask "what flavor?"
Please excuse if I scoff.
posted by oneswellfoop at 4:07 PM on April 18, 2015 [1 favorite]
Allmusic link: "In 1985, John Denver became the first Western artist to tour the U.S.S.R. in a decade"
Allmusic link: "The Rova Saxophone Quartet's 1983 tour of three countries [Russia, Latvia, and Romania] behind the then still very erect Iron Curtain was indeed historic."
Rova is based in San Francisco, California, The United Stated, the West.
posted by kenko at 4:12 PM on April 18, 2015 [1 favorite]
Allmusic link: "The Rova Saxophone Quartet's 1983 tour of three countries [Russia, Latvia, and Romania] behind the then still very erect Iron Curtain was indeed historic."
Rova is based in San Francisco, California, The United Stated, the West.
posted by kenko at 4:12 PM on April 18, 2015 [1 favorite]
I will always remember going to a "folk music" concert in Telč, only to find it was nothing but wall-to-wall John Denver covers.
Country roads vzít mě domů...
Remarkable. Always, always, always, "country roads" was sung in English.
(sorry if I wrecked that, my Czech is terrible)
posted by aramaic at 5:53 PM on April 18, 2015
Country roads vzít mě domů...
Remarkable. Always, always, always, "country roads" was sung in English.
(sorry if I wrecked that, my Czech is terrible)
posted by aramaic at 5:53 PM on April 18, 2015
Pogo: I note that when challenging people saying they like Denver's MUSIC, you bring up flaws of his PERSON. I don't see anyone "pretending the bad parts didn't exist" when they praise his music in here, the way you claim they are, so while you may be right, you're actually in he wrong argument.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 5:53 PM on April 18, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 5:53 PM on April 18, 2015 [1 favorite]
I, like many people, got into John Denver through The Muppet Show. I wasn't around during his 70s peak, but my dad copied all the Muppet related tapes at the rental store so they'd be around whenever his two young kids started demanding Muppets. One of the tapes was a sort of "storybook format" greatest hits collection that included The Muppet Show's version of Grandma's Feather Bed. Needless to say, it was the greatest thing my five year old mind had ever seen. Been a fan ever since.
posted by downtohisturtles at 6:02 PM on April 18, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by downtohisturtles at 6:02 PM on April 18, 2015 [2 favorites]
Recently heard a band in a fried chicken place in Indonesia say that "Take Me Home, Country Roads" captured the way urban Indonesians feel about their rural hometowns. Although the general level of English there is not good, they sang it in English. "Leaving on a Jet Plane" is also well known there. There is something universal about his music.
posted by texorama at 7:22 PM on April 18, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by texorama at 7:22 PM on April 18, 2015 [2 favorites]
Explain please, thank you.
Slack-jawed morons like Al Gore are embarrassing. Look at him in that clip of Denver speaking at the PMRC hearing. The guy's an empty-headed robot. The notion that he's some kind of liberal hero is insane. He was a Reaganite whore when it suited him. That's the real embarrassment.
John Denver could actually write a song. Not saying you have to like them, and I thought he occasionally descended into a bit of cheese, but hey. YMMV.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 9:08 PM on April 18, 2015 [3 favorites]
Slack-jawed morons like Al Gore are embarrassing. Look at him in that clip of Denver speaking at the PMRC hearing. The guy's an empty-headed robot. The notion that he's some kind of liberal hero is insane. He was a Reaganite whore when it suited him. That's the real embarrassment.
John Denver could actually write a song. Not saying you have to like them, and I thought he occasionally descended into a bit of cheese, but hey. YMMV.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 9:08 PM on April 18, 2015 [3 favorites]
At the point when pop culture makes its inevitable swing all the way back to unabashed earnestness (we're getting a bit post-ironic now, I suspect this is one indicator of such a trend), I expect John Denver to have a huge revival in popularity.
posted by chimaera at 10:07 PM on April 18, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by chimaera at 10:07 PM on April 18, 2015 [3 favorites]
Back Home Again is one of the most beautiful songs ever written, right up there with Something from The Beatles, imo
posted by lometogo at 12:10 AM on April 19, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by lometogo at 12:10 AM on April 19, 2015 [1 favorite]
John Denver speaks to Congress re: the PMRC. You can sense the shock when after he gets to the word "censorship" and they realize he's actually there not to support their efforts but come out against them.
John Denver hosted a TV documentary on CBS in 1985 called America Censored, which took a consistent anticensorship stance throughout. (I actually remember watching him host the documentary when it came out.) Denver was bothered by how his song "Rocky Mountain High" was censored as a drug song, and he always had a consistently anticensorship position as a result.
posted by jonp72 at 6:51 AM on April 19, 2015 [1 favorite]
John Denver hosted a TV documentary on CBS in 1985 called America Censored, which took a consistent anticensorship stance throughout. (I actually remember watching him host the documentary when it came out.) Denver was bothered by how his song "Rocky Mountain High" was censored as a drug song, and he always had a consistently anticensorship position as a result.
posted by jonp72 at 6:51 AM on April 19, 2015 [1 favorite]
Denver was interesting. Take me home is a great tune; Thank God I'm a Country Boy is not. If you want to see something that goes to eleven on the high weirdness scale, here is a ten minute clip of John Denver hosting the Tonight show in September 1973. EST was only two years old at the time and Denver was its biggest ever celebrity spokesman.
posted by bukvich at 7:26 AM on April 19, 2015
posted by bukvich at 7:26 AM on April 19, 2015
Made a couple trips to Thailand back in the late 90's. This explains the popularity of Denver with Bangkok cabbies, which was quite puzzling to us at the time.
posted by calamari kid at 9:54 AM on April 19, 2015
posted by calamari kid at 9:54 AM on April 19, 2015
Slack-jawed morons like Al Gore are embarrassing. Look at him in that clip of Denver speaking at the PMRC hearing. The guy's an empty-headed robot. The notion that he's some kind of liberal hero is insane. He was a Reaganite whore when it suited him. That's the real embarrassment.
Professional politician in expediency shocker!
posted by acb at 12:15 PM on April 19, 2015
Professional politician in expediency shocker!
posted by acb at 12:15 PM on April 19, 2015
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...I'm leaving... on a jetplane...
Lovely framing for the FPP, thanks!
posted by infini at 11:39 AM on April 18, 2015 [2 favorites]