John Denver: Mother Nature's Son

by John Collis

In the 1970s, John Denver was America's biggest-selling solo star, a singer whose cross-over appeal drew millions of fans from the diverse worlds of folk, pop, and country music. Beneath the 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," a memorably tender expression of love, was a wife beater. The wholesome figure who cavorted with the Muppets was a troubled alcoholic. The committed environmentalist had an ultimately fatal addiction to aircraft, a highly polluting form of transport. Delving into the singer's past to discover who John Denver was, John Collis found a complicated man who was much more intriguing than the placid surface of his music might suggest. And, in looking at Denver's career and development as an artist, Collis assesses his contribution not only to the world of music, but to the culture of which he was an icon and a victim.

190 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 1999

Reviews

[Debra · Rating 1 out of 5]

This author (Collis) is clearly contemptuous of John Denver, repeatedly decrying his music as cloying sentimentality. He mocks Denver's writing, singing, performing, musicality ....and then gets into insulting his personal life and the intelligence of his fans. He is so busy describing minutiae and trying to make the reader see what a clever fellow the author himself is, explaining details as if admirers of Denver would be too dim to grasp them without his painstaking details that only serve to detract from this 'biography '. The overall longevity of John Denver's music and its acceptance into America's culture says far more about Denver than the author's piddling efforts to overexplain every book he's ever turned out. Nope, didn't like it, and if you are a fan of John Denver's, don't waste a moment of your time.

[John Winkelman · Rating 3 out of 5]

I disliked this book almost as much as I like John Denver. Any other subject I may have put it back on the shelf unfinished. The writing was pompous and frequently bitter. The authors’s attitude toward the subject was as offensive as the British spelling. Still you have to love Denver’s attitude:
“Peace could not co-exist with the multi-billion dollar armaments trade, and the wilderness could not be left in the hands of the land-rapists eager to consume its mineral wealth.”

[Kim · Rating 1 out of 5]

Picked up the book at a Used Book Store and glad that I didn’t spend more than a few bucks on it. I don’t understand why the author took the time to write the book when he didn’t seem to have anything nice/good to say about John Denver. I decided not to bother finishing it, but did read the In Memoriam chapter at the end in hopes that maybe he would end on a nice note. Oh well, but at least John Denver has the last word since his music continues to play on!

[Darlena Banuelos · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's pretty clear from the beginning that this writer does not like the subject of his book.Throughout the book he takes little stabs at John Denver's music & personal lifeI have to ask, "Why write it if you don't like the guy?"

By the end, he at least gives him credit for all the environmental work Denver did & his it still effects corporations and people today.