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.

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