Tony At 10: MUCH TOO SOON; BLOG # 2134; FRI APR 27,2018

THE MESSAGE:

Several singers and entertainers have lived abbreviated lives. Their success has resulted in a hectic and sometimes reckless lifestyle. Their disappearance often leaves large holes in our memories, that brought much fun and happiness. In some cases these bright lights can never be replaced. Their songs are played over and over and never fail to bring back pleasant thoughts and memories. The loss of John Denver leaves a tremendous gap. Singing stars are required to devote too much time pleasing listeners and thus create for themselves, too much pressure with which to contend. God bless them all!

THE BLURB:

Singer-songwriter John Denver was born Henry John Deutschendorf Jr., on December 31, 1943, in Roswell, New Mexico, to parents Henry John and Erma. As a teenager, Denver received his first guitar, a 1910 Gibson acoustic, as a gift from his grandmother.

After dropping out of college, he traveled to New York City and began his music career. Peter, Paul and Mary recorded his "Leaving on a Jet Plane" in 1967 and his, "Rocky Mountain High," became an official song of the state of Colorado. Denver was an activist for environmental causes and founded the World Hunger Project.

JOHN DENVER AND SINGER FRIENDS

with Mary Travers of Peter Paul & Mary

with Julie Andrews

with Olivia Newton John

with Karen Carpenter

MARRIAGE

John Denver's first marriage was to Anne Martell of St. Peter, Minnesota. She was the subject of his hit "Annie's Song," which he composed in only ten minutes as he sat on a Colorado ski lift after the couple had had an argument. The Denvers adopted a boy, Zachary John, and girl, Anna Kate.

He and Martell divorced in 1982. Denver said that career demands drove them apart; Anne said that they were too young and immature to deal with John's sudden mega-success. The ensuing property settlement caused Denver to become so enraged, he nearly choked Martell, then used a chainsaw to cut their marital bed in half.

He was married a second time to Australian actress Cassandra Delaney in 1988. The couple had a daughter, Jesse Belle. Denver and Delaney separated in 1991 and divorced in 1993.

THE HUMANITARIAN

He won several awards; however, in 1993, Denver pleaded guilty to a drunken driving charge, and was placed on probation. In August 1994, while still on probation, he was again charged with driving under the influence after crashing his Porsche into a tree in Aspen. In 1996, the FAA decided that Denver could no longer fly a plane, due to medical disqualification for failure to abstain from alcohol, a condition that the FAA had imposed in October 1995 after his prior drunk-driving conviction.

THE ACE PILOT

A longtime aviator, Denver died on October 12, 1997, when the plane that he was piloting went down over Monterey Bay, California, killing him instantly. Twelve witnesses described seeing the aircraft in a steep nose-down descent.

A mechanic said he had remarked to Denver that the fuel sight gauges were visible only to the rear cockpit occupant. Post-accident investigation by the NTSB showed that the leading cause of the accident was Denver's inability to switch fuel tanks during flight. The quantity of fuel had been depleted during the plane's transfer to Monterey and in several brief practice takeoffs and landings Denver had performed at the airport immediately prior to the final flight. His newly purchased experimental Rutan had an unusual fuel selector valve handle configuration.

I suspect that John Denver lived an unhappy and reckless life after his failed marriages and stressful, troubled life. The dependancy on alcohol and his love of flying were, most likely, a refuge from the reality of feeling alone.

Examine the lyrics to songs that he sang or wrote and another, 'Fly Away' that he sang with Olivia Newton John.