ATO Records and Legacy Recordings will release ‘The Music Is You: A Tribute To John Denver’ a fitting celebration of his life and music 40 years after the release of ‘Rocky Mountain High’ and 15 years after his tragic untimely death in October 1997.
Bringing together a spectacularly diverse group of artists, the album features some of John Denver’s best-known hits lovingly recreated for a new generation. The haunting Sunshine On My Shoulders by Train is achingly beautiful, Take Me Home Country Roads is affectionately recreated by Brandi Carlile and Emmylou Harris, and My Morning Jacket gently caress Leaving On A Jet Plane.
With Dave Matthews, Amos Lee, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, Lucinda Williams, Josh Ritter and Barnstar!, Old Crow Medicine Show, Kathleen Edwards (produced by Jim James), Brett Dennen and Milow, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Allen Stone, Blind Pilot, J Mascis, and Sharon Van Etten and Evan Dando all contributing to bring John Denver’s timeless song writing into the 21st century, ‘The Music Is You: A Tribute To John Denver’ is a must have album.
“I’d learned to recognize songs that allowed me to sing with my whole self, songs that started quietly and then built up until I was singing from my toes, reaching for that high note to put my feelings into.”
—From John Denver’s Autobiography Take Me Home
John Denver, the two-time Grammy Award-winning singer songwriter (and five-time Grammy Awards host) and the Poet Laureate of Colorado, released 23 studio albums in his lifetime. He is best known for the beloved songs “Leaving on a Jet Plane,” “Take Me Home, Country Roads,” “Sunshine On My Shoulders, “Annie’s Song” and “Rocky Mountain High,” which is the state song of Colorado.
Denver is the 53rd highest selling artist worldwide with over 33 million records sold and seven Billboard Top Ten Albums in the U.S. He has had seven multiplatinum, thirteen platinum and 20 gold U.S. Certified albums. Among his numerous awards and recognitions, Denver was instrumental in championing environmental causes and space exploration.
Bill Danoff, Denver’s friend and collaborator said: “As a songwriter, he wrote from the heart, frequently returning to the feelings that guided him, including love, the idea of home and family, hope, life on the road (loneliness), the outdoors and the beauty of nature, and a deep, broad appreciation of life’s difficulties and frustrations.”
A portion of the proceeds will be donated to The Wilderness Society in John’s name.
Published on 03 April 2013 by Ben Robinson
