John Denver (1943-1997) was a popular American country and folk singer-songwriter, environmental activist, and actor during the 1970s.
His hits include "Annie's Song," "Sunshine on My Shoulders," "Thank God I'm a Country Boy," "I'm Sorry" (all #1s), "Rocky Mountain High" and "Take Me Home Country Roads." He also starred in Carl Reiner's 1977 comedy Oh, God!, opposite George Burns in the title role.
Denver worked with the Muppets many times: he appeared on The Muppet Show in Episode 401, made two Muppet television specials (John Denver & the Muppets: A Christmas Together and Rocky Mountain Holiday) and released two albums based on those specials, as well as other appearances.
Denver died in a light plane crash off the California coast on October 12, 1997.
| Picture | Date | Description |
|---|---|---|
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1979 | Guest star on The Muppet Show episode 401. The episode was taped in April and first aired in September. |
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1979 | The album A Christmas Together is recorded in June and released in October. |
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1979 | The television special John Denver & the Muppets: A Christmas Together is taped in November and airs the following month. |
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May 12, 1983 | Hosted television special Rocky Mountain Holiday and released a subsequent album of same title. |
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1980s | Appears in a public service announcement for National Wildlife Federation with Kermit. |
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February 28, 1984 | Performed "Gone Fishin'" from Rocky Mountain Holiday with Floyd Pepper at the Grammy Awards show. |
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November 1984 | Performed a concert for Russian children at the American embassy in Moscow with Kermit. |
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November 21, 1990 | Cameo appearance in TV special The Muppets Celebrate Jim Henson. |
References
- When Kermit waxes poetic about nature in the January 10, 1982 Muppets comic strip, Robin thinks to himself, "If he starts singing “Rocky Mountain High” I'm gonna throw up..."
- A photo of Denver is used in the January 1983 issue of Muppet Magazine paired with Scooter for "The Great Muppet Look-Alike Contest."
- John Crichton, having had his body taken over by an evil alien queen in the Farscape novel Ship of Ghosts, plays Denver's "Country Roads" using a bagpipe within his mind in order to distract the queen. When the queen is rid from his mind, Crichton asks Aeryn, "Want me to sing a particularly annoying John Denver tune to prove it to you?"