Denver's Irish Catholic and German maternal grandmother was the one who imbued Denver with his love of music.

However, Denver's music was defended by country singer Kathy Mattea, who told Alanna Nash of Entertainment Weekly, " A lot of people write him off as lightweight, but he articulated a kind of optimism, and he brought acoustic music to the forefront, bridging folk, pop, and country in a fresh way .... People forget how huge he was worldwide.

" His statement, taken as sarcasm, and his setting fire to the envelope ( containing Denver's name ) with a cigarette lighter were taken as a protest against the increasing pop style in country music.

Mike Kobluk, Joe Frazier and David Boise later left the music industry, Chad Mitchell released a number of solo albums before retiring from music, and Denver's time with the trio became the springboard to his highly successful solo career.

The Shenandoah River appeared in John Denver's Folk rock song of Take Me Home, Country Roads, in the 2nd sentence of the first stanza:

The Texans made themselves a comforting break on the opening kickoff when Denver's Al Carmichael was jarred loose from the ball when Dave Grayson, the speedy halfback, hit him and Guard Al Reynolds claimed it for Dallas.

While the compositions and performances were credited to " Jimmy Thudpucker ", they were in fact co-written and sung by Brewer, who also co-wrote and provided the vocals for " Ginny's Song ", a 1976 single on the Warner Bros. Label, and Jimmy Thudpucker's Greatest Hits, an LP released by Windsong Records, John Denver's subsidiary of RCA Records ).

Denver's longest play of the game was just 21 yards, which occurred on their opening drive.

On Denver's first drive of the second quarter, Elway dropped back to pass from his own 18-yard line on third down.

The Broncos were forced to punt on their next drive, and receiver Phil McConkey returned the punt 25 yards to Denver's 36-yard line.

The Redskins managed to halt Denver's drive on the 6-yard line, but kicker Rich Karlis kicked a field goal to increase the Broncos lead to 10 – 0.

Back-up quarterback Jay Schroeder was sacked by Denver's Karl Mecklenburg on his first snap, continuing the Redskins ' offensive woes.

He was also Denver's second leading rusher with 32 yards on 3 carries ; this would be the only Super Bowl in which Elway did not score a rushing touchdown.

Denver's defense forced San Francisco to punt on their next drive after 3 plays, and receiver Vance Johnson gave his team good field position with a 7-yard return to the Broncos ' 49-yard line.

Denver's lone touchdown came on their next possession, a 61-yard, 5-play drive.

San Francisco responded to Denver's score with an 11-play, 75-yard drive that took 6: 56 off the clock, and ended with Rathman's 3-yard touchdown run on the first play of the fourth quarter.

After backup quarterback Gary Kubiak scored Denver's only touchdown with less than two minutes to go, the Bills then clinched the victory when defensive back Kirby Jackson forced and recovered a fumble from running back Steve Sewell on Denver's final drive of the game.

But Denver's defense made a great stand in the opening minutes of the second quarter, tackling Anderson for no gain on third down and 1, and then stopping him for a 2-yard loss on a fourth down conversion attempt.

She also provided a prominent, but uncredited, vocal on John Denver's " Fly Away " single which was succeeded by her own single, " Let It Shine "/" He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother ," at No. 1 on the AC chart.

Denver's career flourished from then on, and he had a series of hits over the next four years.

Between 1974 and 1975, Denver experienced an impressive chart dominance, with a string of four No. 1 songs (" Sunshine on My Shoulders ", " Annie's Song ", " Thank God I'm a Country Boy ", and " I'm Sorry ") and three No. 1 albums ( John Denver's Greatest Hits, Back Home Again, and Windsong ).

His manager, Jerry Weintraub, insisted on a significant number of television appearances, including a series of half-hour shows in England, despite Denver's protests at the time, " I've had no success in Britain ... I mean none.

In light of this unpleasant walking atmosphere and Denver's increasing addiction to the automobile, the number of people on the street declined.

This was done by the network to promote Denver's face and make him more familiar to the viewing audience since Gilligan's Island was about to go on air.

Decades later, the footage was eventually aired on one of Denver's local PBS stations in a documentary called " Murder in Midair " produced by Don Kinney.

Subsequent singles including " Banks of the Ohio " ( No. 94 Pop, No. 34 AC ) and remakes of George Harrison's " What Is Life " ( No. 34 AC ) and John Denver's " Take Me Home, Country Roads " ( No. 119 Pop ) made minimal chart impact until the release of " Let Me Be There " in 1973.

During the energy boom of the early 1980s several new skyscrapers were built in downtown Denver including Republic Plaza ( Denver's tallest at 714 ').

On December 24 vs. the Oakland Raiders, Elam scored 11 points, including the game-winning 37-yard field goal with 48 seconds remaining, in Denver's 31 – 28 victory.

With this support, Kindercore continued to sign talented artists from around the world, including Britain ’ s Birdie, Denver's Dressy Bessy and San Francisco ’ s Call and Response.

DCA also produces cabaret including the original Denver-based comedy, Girls Only: The Secret Comedy of Women, and I Love You, You ’ re Perfect, Now Change, which ran for more than four years making it Denver's longest-running musical.

The so-called vineyard-style seating arrangement ( with terraces rising around a central orchestral platform ) was pioneered by this building, and became a model for other concert halls, including the Sydney Opera House ( 1973 ), Denver's Boettcher Concert Hall ( 1978 ), the Gewandhaus in Leipzig ( 1981 ), Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles ( 2003 ), and the Philharmonie de Paris ( under construction ).

Later, in Georgetown, then-folk singer John Denver, Taffy Nivert and Bill Danoff wrote a song called " Take Me Home, Country Roads ", which launched Denver's career as one of the most popular singers in the country.

Louis Wright, Steve Foley, and Tom Jackson, the last remnants of Denver's Orange Crush Defense of the 1970s, all retired after this Super Bowl.

He played with Buffalo in all four of their Super Bowl losses Super Bowl XXV through XXVIII and with Denver's first Super Bowl win the year before.

On September 10, 1995, KCNC became Denver's CBS affiliate in a move that saw all three of Denver's " Big Three " networks switch affiliates.

However, several members of Denver's Hispanic community thought the suspension was insufficient punishment, and called for him to be fired.

Cleveland responded by advancing the ball to Denver's 8-yard line with 1: 12 left, setting the stage for the play that made this game one of the most famous in NFL lore.

Before being taken out of the game, Denver's starting quarterback Craig Morton completed just 4 out of 15 passes for 39 yards and was intercepted 4 times.

Jackson was Denver's top receiver with 4 catches for 76 yards.

44 points in Game 4 from Dirk Nowitzki would save the Mavericks season, sending the series back to Denver for a Game 5, the series in Denver's favor, 3-1.

The album was kept from the top spot by three No. 1 albums — in order Bob Dylan's Planet Waves, Barbra Streisand's The Way We Were and John Denver's Greatest Hits.