And I know that that kind of feeling is something that is available to everybody.” “I'm in the middle of that magnificence, whether it's in the winter or the summer. “I love the feeling that I have when I've hiked some place up in the mountains,” Denver said. In a separate interview, Denver said he just wanted to capture the experience of being in Colorado. Some radio stations even banned the song, leading Denver to testify before Congress about its true meaning. The lyrics became controversial because some thought the word “high” referred to drug use.

It would take five months for it to reach the Billboard’s Top 10. The song debuted at Red Rocks Amphitheater in mid-1972 and was released in October. And 'Rocky Mountain High' was the result.” “And notably the Perseid meteor shower occurred in August … that was one of the more spectacular events that he had ever witnessed. Brown, who heads the Colorado Music Experience, a non-profit that preserves the legacy of the state’s music. “That was the first summer where he spent the entirety camping in the mountains, taking in all of the beauty that the state has to offer,” said G. The idea for 'Rocky Mountain High' came when he was 27 years old, while camping at night with friends in Aspen. “Seemingly, that name certainly was foreboding of his future in that his love of Colorado and his impact on the state became quite a part of his life and career,” Abrams said. She said his fantasies led him to adopt the name of his favorite city. John Denver’s “Rocky Mountain High” turns 50 years old in October, an anniversary marking the legacy he left in the state of Colorado and far beyond.ĭenver, who was born in New Mexico as Henry John Deutschendorf, Jr., had fantasized about living in Colorado long before he wrote songs about it. It started as a song about the beauty of the Rockies – and became an anthem for the Mountain West.

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