It’s strange how specific dates seem to always pop up during a certain person’s life. Last month, I posted how Mike Gundy was fired from his position as head coach of Oklahoma State University’s football program 18 years and one day to his explosive rant against the Daily Oklahoman after a win against Texas Tech. It was the rant where Gundy screamed out the meme-worthy “I’m a man! I’m 40!”
Well, 50 years ago, this date in history would become famous (and infamous) in the life of John Denver. During the Country Music Awards show at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, singer-musician Charlie Rich, visibly intoxicated was presented the award for Entertainer of the Year. The recipient was Denver, who wasn’t present at the show. Rich pulled out his cigarette lighter and lit the award slip on fire.
In the 2002 movie Super Troopers, it’s incorrectly mentioned that he lit the award on fire. However, this may be intentional as it’s spoken by the inept Rod Farva (Kevin Heffernen). Some people think it was because Rich was critical of the way Denver’s music sounded too much like pop. Rich’s family would later say it was because he was abusing alcohol and pain medications at the time.
Either way, it angered many people. Denver who appeared lived via satellite smiled happily unaware of what had just happened. Rich was banned from appearing at the CMAs for the rest of his life. He on July 25, 1995 at the age of 62.
As for Denver, he went on to have a movie and TV career along with his music career. However, he too suffered from alcohol abuse. On the afternoon of Oct. 12, 1997, he crashed his home-built Rutan Long-EZ plane into Montery Bay near Pacific Grove, Calif. Denver was the only occupant of the plane and was prohibited from flying because of a recent DUI conviction. Alcohol was ruled out as a cause for the crash.
Instead, it was because Denver failed to switch the fuel tanks. It was later determined that the handle to switch the tanks was over the pilot’s seat left shoulder and a gauge wasn’t even visible to anyone piloting the plane. Denver’s suffered multiple blunt force trauma which led to his death.
Despite criticism, Denver often took the jokes in great stride. During a scene in Dumb and Dumber when Lloyd Christmas (Jim Carrey) and Harry Dunn (Jeff Daniels) are driving through Nebraska thinking it’s the Rocky Mountains, Lloyd quips, “That John Denver’s full of shit, man!”
Later after he died, the Monty Python had a legal issue with a 1980 recording skit “Farewell to John Denver” which is the beginning of “Annie’s Song” followed by him being strangled. This became controversial was was left off some albums issued after the 1997 crash but it’s reportedly been reinstated.
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