John Denver wrote “Annie’s Song” for his wife, Annie. They were married in 1967 but got divorced in 1983. It is said that he wrote the song in about 10 minutes while on a sky lift.

The song was on the top of the Cash Box Top 100 chart for the week of July 21 – 27. It also hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for two weeks (July 21 – Aug. 3). The song was also #1 in the UK and Canada.

John was born Henry John Deutschendorf Jr. On his TV show from 1973-4 he would mention his birth name in relation to how far he had come. John died when his light homebuilt aircraft crashed in Oct. 1997. He was only 53 years old. His ashes were scattered over the Rocky Mountains in Colorado.