"Far out!"

A funny thing happened on Facebook yesterday.

I've been listening to a lot of John Denver lately. I recently purchased a box set of all of his RCA albums, and he's usually not far from the CD or record player anyway. (He's among my top 6 favorites, which also include Elvis, Sinatra, Dean Martin, Karen Carpenter and Robinella.)

Anyway, I thought I'd take a poll and ask my Facebook friends to name their favorite JD album and/or song.

The far and away favorite song was "Thank God I'm A Country Boy." And it's no wonder. It's infectious. If you can listen to that song without a smile on your face, you have a heart of stone. A close second was "Back Home Again."

And, interestingly, the favorite album was John Denver and The Muppets, "A Christmas Together." Heh, heh. The Muppets have staying power, methinks, and certainly hold a special place in the hearts of those of us who grew up in the '70s and '80s.

For the record, no pun intended, my favorite John Denver album is "Windsong" and my favorite single is "Looking For Space," which I consider my theme song.

Sometimes I fly like an eagle; sometimes I'm deep in despair...

John Denver's music does what all good music should -- it makes me happy, sad, introspective, fun-loving, running the gamut of human emotions.

This music has provided the soundtrack of my life. He was omnipresent on the radio in childhood. We even sang his songs in elementary school music class.

"Looking For Space" plays a prominent role in my favorite "Magnum, p.i." episode, "Limbo."

And I'll never forget getting ready for work that awful October day in 1997 when Mom busted into the bathroom.

"Jake, I just heard on the radio that John Denver is dead!"

Stunned silence.

I miss John Denver. I miss his spirit. I miss his soul. I even miss that goofy grin.

Found a few clips you might like.

Here is John Denver guest hosting "The Tonight Show" for Johnny Carson, interviewing Carl Sagan.

Here is the song he wrote for the Challenger 7, "Flying For Me."

And here is JD with Bill and Taffy Danoff singing the song they co-wrote together, his 1971 mega-hit, "Take Me Home Country Roads."

Far out!

Why I like him so much...

You know, it dawned on me earlier that I don't think I've ever told you why I like Dean Martin so much.

 Dino was supremo, the king of cool, calm, classy. Longtime readers know how much I love him and his music.

Of the members of the so-called Rat Pack, Dean is my favorite. Before you have a coronary, let me add a caveat.

Sinatra was superb. Nobody, and I mean nobody, resides in Francis Albert's league. He was a stylist, a singer's singer, The Voice, The Chairman of the Board. I own more Frank Sinatra records than any other performer, with the possible exception of Elvis.

But Dean is my favorite.

For one thing, he's funny. You can't help but laugh at the guy. His drunk routine (he usually was drinking apple juice) was classic. His ad-libbing one-liners were hilarious, delivered with pitch-perfect timing. Even his former comedic partner Jerry Lewis said Dino had the "it" that all superstars possess.

His relaxed, "I couldn't care less" attitude was inspired by his hero (and mine), Bing Crosby, updated for the '60s and '70s. There's a classic clip of the two of them together from Bing's 1970 TV show. Look at the admiration in Dean's eyes.

Oh, and don't miss this gem from Johnny Carson's "Tonight Show."

And you'll get a kick out of this. Yeah, I've tried to copy Dean's hair, his performance mannerisms when singing, even his laid-back persona when I speak before an audience. What can I say? Imitate the best!

I ordered the complete Dean Martin roasts, a collection of "The Dean Martin Show" -- both from Time-Life -- as well as the "Collected Cool" box set for my birthday. Best money I ever spent.

Maybe one of the secrets to it is that Dean, unlike, say, Frankie, seemed so accessible.

"I made myself part of the audience," he said. "I didn't act like I was doing them a favor on the stage. I've seen entertainers act like they were doing you a favor by singing for you, which is wrong. If you make 'em feel like they're a part of ya..., I don't know..."

Exactly.

And there's a serious side here, too. You know about my migraines. Won't rehash them here. But, when I get them, I can only listen to four singers: Bing Crosby, Karen Carpenter, John Denver and Dino. There's something about the timbre in each of their voices that doesn't further irritate my head.

One of my favorite things to do is put one of Dino's records on the turntable -- and they usually are records -- ease back with an ice pack, shut my eyes and dream of a day when pop culture wasn't pathetic.

So, I owe the boy quite a bit. He never fails to make me smile -- sometimes belly laugh -- and his music is pure magic.

Salud, Dino. I hope each of you has a Dean Martin in your own lives.

P.S. For the record, my favorite Dino song is his cover of Jim Reeves' "Welcome To My World" and my favorite album is "Dream With Dean." My favorite film is a tie between "Robin and the 7 Hoods" and the first Matt Helm movie.

Everybody loves somebody sometime

"And don't worry, Jeanne, I'll be home soon..."

I want to live...

Color me corny, but John Denver has always been a favorite.

I adored his songs in childhood, watching the orange RCA label spin round and around on my record player, singing along to "Annie's Song" and "Take Me Home Country Roads."

He was a gentle soul, humanitarian with a heart, composer of my life's theme song, "Looking For Space." Whether I always agreed with his politics didn't matter. He was sincere, and I admire honesty.

Remember where I was in October 1997 when I learned he died in a plane crash. Shocked. Stunned. Shaken.

His music endures. It's a shame he's ridiculed in some circles, mostly by musical snobs who overlook among other things his skill at songwriting.

Today, I thought of one of his more heartfelt songs, "I Want To Live."

No more hunger, no more killing, no more wasting life away; it is simply an idea, and I know its time has come...

Regardless of one's place on the political spectrum, how can you argue with that lyric?

My wish for you tonight is peace, love, longevity and harmony.

Far out!

'Last Night I Had the Strangest Dream'

Here is a rare recording of John Denver at Ethel and the late Bobby Kennedy's home in Hickory Hill, Va., singing "Last Night I Had the Strangest Dream."

Today, I read an Associated Press story about the life of Kim Phuc, the girl captured in the Pultizer Prize-winning 1972 photo after she'd been hit by napalm.

I thought about my friends in the United States Marine Corps's Kilo Company 3/5, Vietnam, 1970.

I thought about our troops in Afghanistan. I thought about all those vets returning home from Iraq.

And, I thought about all this partisan bickering back here in the States, crazy cacophony over wedge issues on which we'll never agree.

Sometimes I just want to shut my eyes from it all, move to Maui and say to hell with the other 49 states, and quit fighting what I believe is a good fight.

But, no. As Americans we can't do that. Imagine if the Greatest Generation had done so.

I am glad, though, that John Denver had his strangest dream. In my heart, I agree with him.

'Thank God I'm a Country Boy!'

Today I'm gonna leave you with one of my favorite tunes for your Friday.

Cause, after all, life AIN'T nothin' but a funny, funny riddle...

'JD' and the Boston Pops

Here is a great clip of the late, great John Denver performing with my favorite orchestra (other than the KSO), the Boston Pops. This is taken from the classic PBS series "Evening at Pops."

Far out!

'Flying for me'

As one last salute to the Challenger 7, here is an Associated Press story highlighting NASA's 25th anniversary memorial to the fallen crew.

And here is a video recording of John Denver with the Boston Pops performing "Flying For Me," the song he wrote about the Challenger 7. Denver initially lobbied to be the citizen chosen to participate in the Challenger mission.

Looking for space

There's this song I dearly love, a little ditty called "Looking for Space." If any lyric reflects my experience of life, surely it's that poem from the pen of John Denver.

It presents life as a roller coaster. Sometimes you fly like an eagle. Sometimes you're deep in despair. Anybody who has walked the long day's journey into night can relate.

Funny thing, life. I think sometimes that nothing turned out the way I thought it would when I was a lad and dreaming crazy dreams. Then I think that things have turned out better than it would have even had I scripted it.

I don't know. The song talks about things standing still just when you think you're moving. Been there. Done that.

The next line, quite vulnerable, is also quite honest:

I'm afraid 'cause I think they always will.

Why is it the heartache is remembered in Technicolor, while the joy tends to fade to monochrome? I remember the blank look on her face when I told her I loved her. I barely recall a better girl, and a better time, one winter's night in Nashville.

And so it goes. The nightmares seem more real than the dreams.

But, oh, these dreams of mine. I'll never forget the times a few of them came true, even if just for a moment.

They say we'll understand it all in the fullness of time. And that's usually the way of it. I never have forgotten Truman Capote's line about more tears being shed over answered prayers than unanswered ones.

I've taken a piece of it all of it with me -- the smiles, the tears, the music and the madness. I told myself years ago that I'd live life to its limit -- loving too much, laughing too often, singing too loud, grabbing for the brass ring every lap around the carousel.

It's a good way. It also makes the tragedy play out in Technicolor.

But I keep going back to the words of that sad John Denver song.

It's a sweet, sweet dream; sometimes I'm almost there...

If there's an answer, it's just that it's just that way.

So it is, especially when you're looking for space, and trying to reach the stars.

Looking for space

What's up, y'all? Happy Friday.

The blog will be on hiatus for a couple of days. I'm headed up to the lake after work this afternoon. Will be back sometime Sunday night.

It's time for R&R. I'm hoping to get a little fishin' in, along with some writing, reading, plenty of sleep, spending time outside and in general having as much fun as I can pack into two days.

Y'all be safe and I'll see you on the flip side.

As John Denver says, I'll be out there somewhere on the road of experience, lookin' for space and to find out who I am...

(Or as Brad Paisley says, maybe I just really wanna get some mud on the tires...)