Oct 12th in Pop History

On this day, October 12th, in…

• 1997 - John Denver was killed when the handmade, experimental airplane he was flying ran out of gas and crashed off the coast of Monterey Bay, California. The 53 year old star had scored 15 songs on Billboard's Top 40 Pop chart, ten of which reached number one. 

John Denver was an American singer-songwriter, record producer, actor, activist, and humanitarian, whose greatest commercial success was as a solo singer. Denver began his music career with folk and pop groups during the late 1960s. Starting in 1971, when his song Take Me Home Country Roads went up the charts to # 2, he became very popular. In fact, he was one of the most popular acoustic artists of the decade and one of its best-selling artists. 

It was an age of acoustic guitar artists (Denver, James Taylor, Gordon Lightfoot, Jim Croce, Cat Stevens, America, etc.). By 1974, John Denver was one of America's best-selling performers. He recorded and released approximately 300 songs, about 200 of which he composed. He had 33 albums and singles that were certified Gold and Platinum. And he sold more than 33 million records. 

“AllMusic” described Denver as "among the most beloved entertainers of his era.” I was personally an avid fan of John Denver and had all of his records. So many good albums and singles. I will definitely write more about him sometime soon. 

For today we honor him and regret that we lost him at such an early age. Check out his music on Spotify. 

The Essential John Denver 

Also, on this day, October 12th in: 

• 1955 - The Chrysler Corporation launched high fidelity record players for their 1956 line-up of cars. The unit measured about four inches high and less than a foot wide and was mounted under the instrument panel. The seven inch discs spun at 16 2/3 rpm and required almost three times the number of grooves per inch as an LP. The players were discontinued in 1961 

• 1968 - Janis Joplin, with Big Brother And The Holding Company went to # 1 on the US album chart with their big one: Cheap Thrills 

Also, on this day in…  

• 1969 - A DJ on Detroit's WKNR radio station received a phone call telling him that if you play The Beatles’ Strawberry Fields Forever backwards, you hear John Lennon say the words "I buried Paul." This started a worldwide rumour that Paul McCartney was dead 

• 1970 - Rock Opera Jesus Christ Superstar opens on Broadway. By Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, the drama is an alternative account of the last seven days in the life of Jesus. By 1980, it has grossed $237 million