Celebrity Name : John Denver

Celebrity Real Name : Henry John Deutschendorf Jr.

Date of Birth : December 31, 1943

Birth Location : Aspen Colorado

Biography of Henry John Deutschendorf Jr. :
John Denver (December 31, 1943 – October 12, 1997), born Henry John Deutschendorf, Jr., was an American folk singer-songwriter and folk rock musician who was one of the biggest selling artists of the 1970s. In his lifetime, he recorded and released some 300 songs, about half of which he had written, and served as the Poet Laureate of Colorado.
Denver’s songs were suffused with a deep and abiding kinship with the natural world. Songs such as “Take Me Home, Country Roads”, “Leaving on a Jet Plane”, “Thank God I’m A Country Boy”, and “Rocky Mountain High” are popular all over the world. Often singing and writing folk songs about the western lifestyle, the human condition, and planet Earth, he was named the Poet Laureate of his home state of Colorado in 1977. Denver has been commonly referred to and nicknamed “The Poet For the Planet”, “Mother Nature’s Son” (based on The Beatles song he renditioned) and “A Song’s Best Friend”.

Early years Life career :
Denver was born in Roswell, New Mexico. His father, Henry Deutschendorf, Sr., was an Air Force officer and flight instructor, and his family moved around the American Southwest and South a lot while Denver was growing up. Denver was a life long Christian, raised Presbyterian and converted Lutheran, but often said he shared many beliefs with Zen Buddhists. In his memoirs, Denver cited that as a child he had some troubles at home, most notably with his father.
As a teenager, he received a 1910 Gibson acoustic guitar from his grandmother, and polished his skills enough to be able to perform at local clubs by the time he was in college. Adopting the surname “Denver” after his favorite city, he dropped out of Texas Tech University in 1964, and moved to Los Angeles, California. Denver sang in the smoky underground folk clubs in L.A., and in 1965 joined the Chad Mitchell Trio, a folk group later renamed “The Mitchell Trio” and then “Denver, Boise, and Johnson”.
In 1969, he abandoned the band life to pursue a solo career, and released his first album for RCA Records, Rhymes and Reasons. It was not a huge hit, but it contained “Leaving On A Jet Plane”, which became a number one hit for Peter, Paul and Mary two years later. He recorded two more albums in 1970, Whose Garden Was This? and Take Me to Tomorrow. Although these albums were not as successful as those that followed, they would all be certified gold by the RIAA, and later considered to be some of Denver’s most revered work.

Death :
On October 12, 1997, Denver was killed when the Long-EZ aircraft he was piloting ran out of fuel just off the coast of California at Pacific Grove.
The Long-EZ that Denver was flying is a two-place experimental aircraft, designed in the 1970s by Burt Rutan. Featuring tandem seats, when being flown solo it was to be flown from the rear seat. Denver, like many EZ pilots, was flying solo from the front.
Denver apparently lost control of the aircraft while attempting to manipulate the fuel selector handle, which is located in the rear cockpit, after running out of fuel in one tank. Witnesses stated that the plane made a sudden pitch-down plunge into the water, leading to speculation that, in reaching around to the rear, Denver bumped or kicked the side-stick control.

Awards and Recognition :

Grammy Awards
* Best Musical Album For Children, 1997, “All Aboard!”
* Grammy Hall of Fame Award, 1998, “Take Me Home, Country Roads”

American Music Awards
* Favorite Pop/Rock Male Artist, 1975, 1976
* Favorite Country Male Artist, 1976
* Favorite Country Album, 1976, “Back Home Again”

Country Music Association Awards
* Song of the Year, 1975, “Back Home Again”
* Entertainer of the Year, 1975

Academy of Country Music Awards
* Album of the Year, 1974, “Back Home Again”

Emmy Awards
* Outstanding Variety, Music Or Comedy Special, 1975, “An Evening with John Denver”

Other recognition
* Inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, 1996
* NASA Distinguished Public Service Medal, 1985[wikipedia]