Jim and Anne Curry; photo by Lance Atchison

As long as I’ve known Jim (almost 40 years now) I’ve known that the one person he most wanted to meet in the world was John Denver. It’s a common question we get at every one of our concerts, and we’ve met so many people and heard so many stories of how they met John and how nice he was to them. Jim has never met John, but not for the lack of trying.

The summer after Jim graduated from high school, he bought tickets to see a John Denver concert nearby in Houston, TX. Somehow he obtained a precious backstage pass….this was his chance to meet John! Jim went to the concert with a girlfriend and two other friends from high school. Being a gentleman, Jim handed the pass to afore mentioned girlfriend and said, “We’ll take turns, you can go first.”

But she didn’t return to share the backstage pass.

Jim and his two other friends found themselves waiting for her in the parking lot after the concert. They were an hour away from home, and they didn’t know if they should leave her there, and how they were going to explain to this girl’s parents how they lost her in Houston. After about a half hour, she finally found them in the parking lot. She was overjoyed and full of stories about how she met John Denver and the entire band, and how nice everyone was, and what a wonderful time she had…..

Not too long after that Jim moved to California to resume a relationship with me. The rest is history, MY history. I kind of think it’s possible that if this girl had not been selfish, Jim might have been able to realize his dream to meet John Denver. But then again, he might have stayed with that girl in Texas instead of dumping her for being selfish.

Thank you John Denver, for changing my life.

Ricky Nelson Remembered

I highly recommend the show. The boys did a flawless presentation of their father’s career, complete with newsreel video footage and family archives, beginning all the way from film footage their grandfather, Ozzie Nelson created of the budding musician during the “Ozzie and Harriet” days.

I was so impressed by Matthew’s and Gunnar’s musicianship, they are great musicians and singers in their own right. Even though it was only the two of them; they sounded like an entire band, switching back and forth between acoustic and electric guitars and the bass. They harmonized beautifully with one another, and switched between classic rock and roll to sweet ballads effortlessly. I was most impressed with their seamless patter, (which is always the most difficult for me and therefore to be admired) which they performed rapid-fire, without a single stammer or a teleprompter. Awesome!

We didn’t have much time to get to know the Nelson’s personally, but they went out of their way to make us feel welcome. There was a delay in getting their sound check done (technical difficulties) and they were so kind to apologize profusely for cutting into our sound check time – not necessary…it was only a few minutes delay, but it shows you that they are a class act.

Even though the show was mostly advertised as a Nelson show, the audience was very responsive to us during our time, and they enjoyed and the music of John Denver. They recognized most of the songs we sang for them, and they sang with us and clapped along, and gave us a very enthusiastic standing ovation at the end of our portion of the show (both shows!).

If you are curious about the Nelson twins, click on this youtube video of them singing a song they wrote for their father. They close their show with this song, and I don’t believe there was a dry eye in the audience, and then there was another standing ovation. Well done Matthew and Gunnar!

“Just Once More”

This is on the back of our touring van……

I’d like to share some excerpts from a few of the letters that we recently received through face book and e-mail:

“John Denver’s music was a part of our lives……I feel like you’ve recreated that part, and I thank you.”

“Loved your music and heartfelt tribute to John. You brought back great memories of watching John in concert.”

“Thanks for keeping John’s music alive in such a dramatic way. I can’t wait until I can see you again.”

“….cried like a baby, and sang like a madwoman the entire show!”

It’s really nice to be thanked for doing something you love so much to do. Someone once told me that there weren’t many jobs around where people line up to shake your hand and thank you at the end of the work day.
This is so true.

It seems that we are in the business of bringing back memories, and that’s okay by me, but there is a responsibility that comes with perpetuating a legacy. People come with expectations. Some of them still miss John Denver terribly, and some don’t realize how much they miss him until they attend a concert. Some are looking to connect with other JD fans, and some are dragged there against their will by eager spouses. It’s kind of a weird group therapy session! Most of the people in our audience just want to relive the time in their lives when they discovered the music that makes them feel good, they want to sing, and they want to remember John Denver.

So whether you come to our concerts to celebrate, or come to grieve; you can be assured that Jim and I will always treat the memory and the legacy of John Denver with the utmost care and respect. It is our hope that everyone who comes to one of our concerts can get what they came for, but the truth is, in the end, it always seems that we take home with us much more than we brought. And we are thankful for that.

Photo by Lance Atchison October 2007

Here I am, standing with the beautiful Erma Deutschendorf – John Denver’s mother. I think you can see where John got his big smile! On that day, Erma attended one of our concerts in Aspen Colorado, during the John Denver annual gathering in October. Even though she found it incredibly difficult to attend the events in Aspen (since they are held annually on the closest weekend to the day he died) she was always wonderfully supportive of John’s fans and the tribute performers. Erma wanted John to be remembered and she wanted his songs to be heard.

Erma also came to see one of our tribute concerts in Las Vegas. She was so glad to see a Vegas tribute, and lamented to me that John was not heard very much on the radio in Las Vegas so she was glad we were able to do a show there. Jim and I were honored by her friendship and we miss that smile. Erma passed away January 2010, but her spirit lives on in every John Denver fan. I think of her often, and enjoy the idea that we are still singing John’s songs to eager ears that want to hear them.

I was the last baby born in San Antonio Hospital in 1959 with no fanfare; in fact, the doctor was in a real hurry to get to his New Year’s Eve party, so I was delivered post-haste. On the other hand, the first baby born in San Antonio Hospital in 1960 got his picture in the local paper – I blame my mother.

So literally, at the end of each year I’m older and wiser – well, I am most certainly older. Naturally, because of my birthday, I’m much more focused on the end of the year than the beginning, so I don’t usually make New Year’s resolutions. It’s not that I don’t have things about myself that need to change; I just don’t do the traditional make-a-list-on-January-thing. Change can happen any time; the key to resolutions is to be resolute.

Happy New Years to all, and may 2012 be a happy and healthy year – one of many to come!

JOY

And the icing on the cake is that when our job is finished, people come up, shake our hands and give us hugs and tell us that we made them feel good! Wow! Is that what just happened? I thought they were making me feel good! I guess it doesn’t matter, John Denver’s music makes us all feel good, and that brings me much joy.

For instance, in this picture you see me hanging around with husband Jim Curry on my right. Guitar guru Steve Weisberg is right behind me, flautist Diane Ireland is taking the picture, and we are all laughing….perfect. Why are we in the staircase? What are we laughing about? Who knows? We are probably plotting our next adventure, looking for an open restaurant in a snowstorm after midnight.

Weisberg totally gets it. Check out his website www.steveweisberg.net and you can like him on Facebook. We are always happy to have him on stage with us, and honored to call him a friend.

When I look at this picture, I think of the many talents represented by one simple photo:
I see the talent of the photographer, who captured this moment,
I see the talent of the craftsman who created this beautiful instrument.
I see the talent of the artist (John Denver) whose image is inlayed in the ebony fret board
And I see the talent of the artist holding the instrument, The great John Stewart, whose songs, along with John Denver’s, will be remembered for all time.

I remember on this day, the day the photo was taken, John Stewart got up in front of the audience and told the story of how he decided to become a songwriter, and on one particularly non-productive day he said to himself, “I worked all day long and I’ve only written one song!” Well, that song was titled “Daydream Believer” and became a hit song all over the world, bigger than John could have ever imagined.

John Stewart didn’t know at first that “Daydream Believer” would be a hit song, just as I, at first, didn’t appreciate the deeper meaning in this photo. Talent takes time to recognize, it takes time to develop. The level of talent you see in this one simple photo also takes faith, determination and a life-long dedication to the art that it represents.

Thanks to Lance Atchison, at New Vista Enterprises for taking this photo and creating this memory.

Dana Point - Photo by Valerie Nestrick

It was August and the weather was so hot while we were unloading our cars and setting up for the show; we started to doubt that we would have enough energy to do a good job when the time came to sing. We had to be careful to keep our instruments in the shade as they quickly became too hot to touch if they spent any time in the blistering sun. By the time we finished our sound check though, a cool breeze thankfully began to blow and the people began arrive.

Before too long, we were surrounded on 3 sides by color! Bright colored beach towels, lawn chairs, big straw hats with colorful hatbands, Hawaiian prints on shirts and summer dresses! It was a feast for the eyes and the soul as the audience prepared for an evening of song and community togetherness. They quickly filled the hill, but left a large area open directly in front of the stage. Gradually, the open area was filled with chaos! Children, of all ages were eager to show off their cartwheels, somersaults, karate moves and dance moves!

The excitement in the air was contagious, so by the time we started the show, we had forgotten about how hot and tired we had been. The very first notes of “Rocky Mountain High” were drowned out by the cheering of the crowd, they were expecting to have a good time and we were not going to let them down! The adults started dancing as soon as they recognized the first few notes leading into “Annie’s Song” and they stayed up and danced throughout the whole show: a group line dance for “Back Home Again” couples arm and arm for “Fly Away” and a total free-for-all for “Thank God I’m a Country Boy.”

All too soon the show was over! The entire audience was standing for an ovation, so we asked if they would like one more song. Of course they would! That’s when a curious thing happened: we usually close the show with a quiet and contemplative song. But the Dana Point crowd would have nothing of the sort! They quickly formed a conga line and for the first time in our musical history (perhaps the first time in any musical history) we watched the audience do the conga during “Poems, Prayers and Promises.” Thank you, City of Dana Point, for these memories!

Anne Curry

BUYSOUNDTRAX Records presents Lee Holdridge Conducts The Music of John Denver. The album features musical arrangements of the music of singer/songwriter John Denver, conducted by Lee Holdridge.

Order Now