John Denver's best hits from 'Rocky Mountain High' to 'Fly Away'

John Denver was originally born to the name Henry John Deutschendorf jr. His name had reportedly caused an issue for him as he was setting out to be a mainstream musician. Various record companies, publicists or managers would reportedly reject to bring John on-board due to his long name. He later adopted the stage name of John Denver. Though he spent the majority of his early career days with musical groups, he earned massive success as a solo singer. Below are some of the best country songs by John Denver. 

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Fly Away

A creative collaboration between John Denver and Olivia Newton-Jon, Fly Away is a song about wishing to break free from the shackles of a monotonous life. It first debuted back in 1975 and made it to the Top-20 list of both country and Pop charts. The song also quickly found its place in the adult contemporaries list. 

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Annie's Song

A hit from 1974, Annie's Song was reportedly John Denver's one of the biggest international hits. Earning its place in top charts in the UK as well. The song was a tribute to his first wife. Interestingly, the song is titled Annie's song but it never mentions her by name. 

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Rocky Mountain High

John Denver had stated it on multiple occasions how he took a year to write Rocky Mountain High. He worked on the lyrics of the song for a long time as he couldn't find the words which can sum up his love for the mountains of Colorado. John Denver's love for the mountains of Colorado was also recognised by the Colorado State Assembly and they adopted the song as one of their two state songs.

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Thank God I'm A Country Boy

This song stands out from John Denver's discography as it has a melody which is not subtle, unlike the majority of his work. The song is a joyous celebration of the country life and all things rural. Though this is considered to be one of the best by Denver, it wasn't penned by him. John Martin Sommers, who worked along with John Denver wrote this song for him. 

Take Me Home, Country Roads

Arguably Denver's most famous song could have not been his after all. John along with Taffy Nivert had written a song which was inspired by the backroads of Maryland. The two had planned to pitch the song to singer Johnny Cash but changed their plans after going through a road accident. This song is included in John Denver's The Essential tracklist, having over 270 million views on YouTube. 

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