A John Denver Tribute album, The Music is You, is being released April 2. The album features such artists as Train (“Sunshine on My Shoulder”), Dave Matthews (“Take Me to Tomorrow”), Kathleen Edwards (“All of My Memories”), Lucinda Williams (“This Old Guitar”), Mary Chapin Carpenter (“I Guess He’d Rather Be in Colorado”), Amos Lee (“Some Days are Diamonds”), Allen Stone (“Rocky Mountain High”), and Emmylou Harris with Brandi Carlile (“Take Me Home, Country Roads”), among several others. The new album is a nice combination of Denver’s hits with some of his lesser known songs.
It is hard to believe that John Denver’s death in a plane crash occurred 15 years ago. If he were still around to hear the new album, he would be 69 years old right now. Although I doubt anyone else can record the definitive version of a John Denver song besides Denver (although Peter, Paul, and Mary came close many years ago), the new album is an interesting collection and it is great that today’s artists are making Denver’s music relevant for a new generation. Among the tracks, I particularly like the version of “Darcy Farrow” by Josh Ritter and Barnstar! If you wish to hear more, for now you can listen to the whole album streaming on NPR.
What is your favorite John Denver song? Leave your two cents in the comments.
(Some related Chimesfreedom posts.)
If you really like the Josh Ritter & Barnstar! version of “Darcy Farrow”, maybe you would be interested in listening to a live version by the songwriter? John Denver did not write “Darcy Farrow”; yes, he did a wonderful version, and he single-handedly introduced the song to millions of people. But the song was written by Steve Gillette & Tom Campbell, and Steve does an extraordinary version himself: Steve Gillette performs his Darcy Farrow.
Steve is a highly regarded songwriter, not just for “Darcy Farrow”, but for songs like “Back On The Street Again”, “Bed of Roses”, “Cryin’ Don’t Even Come Close”, “Grapes on the Vine”, “The River”, and many others, all of which he wrote or co-wrote. And, as you can see in that video, he is an amazing guitarist as well.
Thanks for the video of Steve Gillette singing “Darcy Farrow.” Yes, it is excellent, and I’ll check out his versions of those other songs he wrote too. Thanks for the comment.