Henry John Deutschendorf

 Henry John Deutschendorf, Jr., known as John Denver (December 31, 1943 – October 12, 1997)

He was one of the most popular acoustic artists of the 1970s, and one of its best-selling artists. By 1974, he was firmly established as America's best-selling performer, and AllMusic has described Denver as "among the most beloved entertainers of his era". After traveling and living in numerous locations while growing up in his military family, Denver began his music career in folk music groups in the late 1960s. Throughout his life, Denver recorded and released approximately 300 songs, about 200 of which he composed, with total sales of over 33 million. He recorded and performed primarily with an acoustic guitar and sang about his joy in nature, his enthusiasm for music, and his relationship trials. Denver's music appeared on a variety of charts, including country and western, the Billboard Hot 100, and adult contemporary, in all earning him twelve gold and four platinum albums with his signature songs "Take Me Home, Country Roads", "Annie's Song", "Rocky Mountain High", and "Sunshine on My Shoulders". Denver further starred in films and several notable television specials in the 1970s and 1980s. In the following decade, he continued to record, but also focused on calling attention to environmental issues, lent his vocal support to space exploration, and testified in front of Congress to protest against censorship in music. He died at the age of 53 when his experimental Rutan Long-EZ aircraft crashed into the Pacific Ocean near Pacific Grove, California, while making a series of touch-and-go landings at the nearby Monterey Peninsula Airport. Post-accident investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board showed that the leading cause of the accident was his inability to safely execute a switch of fuel tanks in flight.

On March 12, 2007, the Colorado Senate passed a resolution to make his trademark 1972 hit "Rocky Mountain High" one of the state's two official state songs.