Book description
John Denver was America's biggest-selling solo star of the '70s. In
commercial terms he was on a par with Sinatra in the '40s, Elvis in
the '50s and the Beatles in the '60s. He experimented with a variety
of styles and won fans from such diverse worlds as folk, pop and
country music.
Beneath the often tranquil surface of his music and his clear, clean
tenor voice, however, lurked a darker side to Denver's character. The
writer of 'Annie's Song', one of the most straightforward and personal
expressions of love, became a wife-beater. The man who cavorted with
the Muppets was an alcoholic. The committed environmentalist had his
own plane, the most polluting form of transport.
John Collis has delved deep to discover exactly who John Denver was.
By unravelling the complexities of the singer's personality and
background, he reveals Denver as a complicated, contradictory man,
much more intriguing than the sometimes placid surface of his music
might suggest. Millions of people around the globe found something in
his music that touched their souls; Collis, by charting Denver's
career and development as an artist, explores his legendary
contribution not only to the world of music but also to the society of
which he was a protagonist and a victim.
John Collis is a former music editor of
Time Out
and his many books include
Van Morrison: Inarticulate Speech of the
Heart, The Story of Chess Records, The Musicians' Bible, Chuck Berry:
The Biography and Ike Turner: King of Rhythm
. He is also a cricket writer for
The Guardian
.
