The rock, country, bluegrass and pop of John Denver
by Lisa Murphy, Bennington Banner, August 12, 1981
Mixing the old songs with the new, John Denver dazzled a sell-out crowd Sunday night at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center with more than 35 songs from his popular country and pop music career.
“You’re welcome to sing along with us, ” Denver told the hand-clapping audience. “If you don’t know the words to the verses, you can sing the chorus. The only limits are that you sing the same chorus we’re singing.”
Denver recently returned from a one-month concert tour in China, where he wrote “Shanghai Breezes,” a song not yet recorded. He played that song Sunday night for the Saratoga audience. Denver explained how the song originated.
“While I was in China, Annie, my wife, and I had our 14th wedding anniversary. She thought I forgot all about it. She was back home and had spent the day hiking with some close friends of ours. We do a lot of hiking together. Anyway, after they got back from hiking all day, Annie looked up into the sky and saw the moon. ‘That’s the same moon John sees,’ Annie told our friends. They kind of looked at each other and said, ‘Yeah?’ It had been a real emotional day for her because we were apart. She went back into the house, and I called her about five minutes later,” Denver said. “She told me about the day and about looking at the moon. All the distance between us disappeared.”
Denver, who openly testified that his wife is his “very special lady,” sang “Annie’s Song” and invited the audience to sing with him. His wedding ring glistened under the stage lights throughout the concert.
The two-and-a-half-hour concert, like ribbons on a gift, tied rock, country, bluegrass and pop music into a package of real entertainment.
Denver, his nine-member band and the Lee Holdridge Orchestra brought the mountains and the rivers, and the forests and the skies to the audience. To further illustrate all that Denver stands for, the singer used slides of a mountain projected on the screen behind the orchestra when he sang “Alaska.”
“I was fortunate enough to testify before a congressional committee on Alaska’s land and wilderness, ” Denver said. “The song is dedicated to that state.”
Taking the audience back in time with the old songs, Denver sang “Rocky Mountain High,” “Looking for Space,” “Sweet Surrender,” “Calypso,” “My Sweet Lady,” “Paradise,” “Thank God I’m a Country Boy,” “Boy from the Country,” and “Country Roads.”
It was perhaps a less famous song which totally captured the audience Sunday night when Denver sang “Bells of Rhymney,” a song written by Peter Seeger from Wales. Using a 12-string acoustical guitar, Denver succeeded in striking chords which sounded like church bells ringing.
“It’s told to me that each town in Wales has one church and the church bells each have their own character,” he said. “I hope I can do the song justice.” Denver brought the house down performing the song.
Halfway through the concert, Denver excused his band. “I’m giving the band a little rest, ” he said. “Now I can do some songs all by myself.” The performer also invited the audience to stand and stretch. “Why don’t you all stand up and shake it loose? I’ll give you 60 seconds.”
While concert-goers stood, Denver tuned the strings on the acoustical guitar. “When I was in China I learned a Chinese folk song. It’s called Tu-Ning. Pretty cute, huh?”
Denver’s apple pie personality and his advocacy of wiping out world hunger came together with “I Want to Live.” He dedicated the tune to songwriter-singer Harry Chapin, who was recently killed in a car accident on Long Island. Chapin was in the midst of fighting the war against hunger when he died.
Denver played guitar as he and the audience joined voices in singing “Home on the Range.” A song as old as the prairies, only John Denver could bring out the beauty of a tune which has, over the years, become ho-hum.
Recent Comments