John Denver Later years and humanitarian work
 Denver was born in Roswell, New Mexico to Erma Louise Swope and Henry John Deutschendorf, Sr., an Air Force officer and flight instructor. As a typical military brat his family moved around the American Southwest and South while Denver was growing up.
Denver was a Christian in his early life, reared Presbyterian, and converted to Lutheranism, but he often said he shared many beliefs with Zen Buddhists and certain Yoga Spiritual Masters. He also felt he had a connection with the indigenous people of North America. In his memoirs, Denver cited that as a child he had some troubles at home, mostly with his father.
By far Denver's most folk album, Rhymes and Reasons would open up his life long solo career.At the age of 12, he received a 1910 Gibson f-hole acoustic jazz guitar from his grandmother, and polished his skills enough to be able to perform at local clubs by the time he was in college. He adopted the surname 'Denver', for the capital of his favorite state, after Randy Sparks suggested that 'Deutschendorf' wouldn't fit comfortably on a marquee. He dropped out of the School of Engineering (Architecture) at Texas Tech University in Lubbock in 1964, and moved to Los Angeles, California. Denver sang in the smoky underground folk clubs in Los Angeles, and in 1965 joined the Chad Mitchell Trio, a folk group later renamed The Mitchell Trio and then Denver, Boise, and Johnson.
In 1969, he abandoned the band life to pursue a solo career, and released his first album for RCA Records, Rhymes and Reasons. It was not a huge hit, but it contained Leaving On A Jet Plane, which became a number one hit for Peter, Paul and Mary that same year. He recorded two more albums in 1970, Whose Garden Was This? and Take Me to Tomorrow. Although these albums were not as successful as those that followed, they would all be certified gold by the RIAA, and later considered to be some of Denver's most revered work.
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