Just in case you haven’t already seen this commercial – I am featuring it in my blog this Holiday season.
Underneath the heartfelt, tear-jerking message, is the joy we felt hearing the music they used to bring their message home.
Thanks Chevrolet! We already knew that John Denver wrote the sound track of our lives…..it’s about time this is recognized by big media advertisers and the rest of the world.
Watch. Listen. Enjoy.
Happy Holidays!
Hello my friends,
Lately, a couple of people have asked me the difference between my blog and the newsletter. Sorry, I haven’t really thought about what the difference is, but they ARE very different!! Both are published about the same time every month BUT………
The Blog:
The Newsletter
So now you know! If you want to sign up for the newsletter just go to our website home page
www.jimcurrymusic.com scroll down and enter your email. Voila! You will now get the newsletter!!
We are almost up to 2500 in our newsletter family and we would LOVE for YOU to join us!
Labor Day is almost here!
I asked google what was the significance of Labor Day because I have been observing Labor Day for many, many years without really knowing what I was commemorating. First off, it feels like an oxymoron to celebrate a holiday called Labor Day by not working….just saying.
When I looked it up, it made sense:
Labor Day: The holiday is rooted in the late nineteenth century, when labor activists pushed for a federal holiday to recognize the many contributions workers have made to America’s strength, prosperity, and well-being.
Okay, great! A day off from work! Yay! But…. I am self-employed with a job that very rarely requires me to work on a Monday. So pretty much a regular day for me, except I can’t go to the bank or post office.
I will tell Jim (my dear husband) that he should expect to rest on Monday. Only one problem – Jim rarely rests. Right now he is on the roof (he decided to re-roof our house) so maybe I will tell him when he comes down from the roof. Maybe I should hide his “list of things to do” or come up with some creative reason he should take the day off.
Or maybe I will just let him work. Jim is happier when he is working, so if he is working he will have a happy Labor Day. As for me, I love to live in a nice house that doesn’t leak….that gives ME a happy labor day.
Whatever YOU choose to do (or NOT do)…….. Jim and I wish you a wonderful and HAPPY LABOR DAY!
A familiar looking couple came up to me after one of our recent shows to say hi. It was Jerry and Sherry, and we hadn’t seen each other since 2014! The last time we were together was at an event called “Blue Water Weekend” a memorial gathering of John Denver fans in Monterey Bay, California. It was a busy and fun weekend, filled with music and activities.
One of the activities we chose to do that weekend was kayaking in Monterey Bay. It was so much fun and very memorable – mostly because some of the resident sea otters kept trying to get in our kayaks with us! Our guide was not very cool about this as there are laws restricting us from “harassing” the wildlife, (but…. I think the wildlife was harassing us!!) Our guide kept yelling “paddle faster!” when she saw an otter trying to make it’s way towards us. All in all, it turned out to be a little exhausting trying to out-paddle the otters. They certainly had the advantage in the water! At the time, I wondered what might happen if one succeeded in getting into our kayak.
Now it turns out, after 10 years of practicing, there is at least one otter in that area that has become famous, not only in getting on surfboards, but stealing surfboards away from the humans! I guess when the otter jumps on, the people bail out (that’s one way to avoid “harassing” the wildlife!)
I can’t blame the otter though, he has probably been rewarded for his efforts with stolen snacks or soda – stuff humans carry around with them. Maybe the best reward would be getting out of the water and resting in the sun on a stolen paddleboard or surfboard. Second best reward would be watching the humans splash and flail around in the cold Pacific. Don’t tell me otters don’t have a sense of humor!
I told Sherry that I would post our picture from the 2014 trip (see below) and I’m looking forward to a future opportunity to kayak in Monterey Bay again. If I do get the chance to get back there, I would try not to lose my kayak to an angry otter.
They do have pretty sharp-looking teeth, so my trip might end with a short swim in cold water!
In the past I shared one of our WORST letters (June 2022) in which a concert attendee decided that our show was terrible.
https://jimcurrymusic.com/what-weve-learned-from-ricky-nelson-click-for-more/
Better yet, let’s forget all about that one.
Most often, we get WONDERFUL, ENCOURAGING letters from people that know how to make us smile! Here is an excerpt from one of those letters:
| …….The reason I’m writing is because at today’s show you mentioned sending in requests. I met you this afternoon Jim, to not only to congratulate you on an amazing show but also to share with you how when my brother Matthew was diagnosed with cancer at the age of two in 1977 with doctors giving him a 10% chance to live, my mom wrote to John to let him know how inspiring his song “I Want to Live” was to her and to our family. John actually wrote back. My brother made it through and is alive and well and a proud father of four. That story has always been a part of our family history. Unfortunately, my mom never was able to see John play live either. However, after seeing you today, I just bought two tickets for Sunday’s show in Lebanon as a surprise early Mother’s day present…….. Sincerely, Mike K. |
That is only a small part of a WONDERFUL, ENCOURAGING letter from Mike K! I am so happy to hear that brother Matthew beat the odds and has not only survived but lived to raise a family! I’m also happy to hear that John Denver wrote back to Mike’s mother too.
Is John Denver a part of YOUR family history? Let me know in the comments below if you do! (Remember that the Captcha is case sensitive and NO spaces between characters)
And here is a YouTube video of Jim singing John Denver’s “I Want to Live”
The recent news of the passing of Tina Turner (May 24, 2023) had me looking for the television special “John Denver and the Ladies” where John performed one of his songs with Tina Turner. I had forgotten about the little ‘shtick’ they did when John introduced Tina….very iconic of the silly stuff that television producers wanted out of John. It was funny and cute though, I’m glad it was included in this YouTube video, shared in the John Denver Channel.
After the ‘shtick’ John and Tina went on to perform “Downhill Stuff” a song John wrote. The song is a little bit about skiing, and a little bit about letting go.
It’s funny (ironic, maybe) that neither John nor Tina had it easy….Tina had to fight very hard for her solo career and John had to fight very hard to shake the ‘gosh-golly’ image that was forced upon him. In the end, they were both successful beyond their wildest dreams but if they wrote a song about getting there, it would be more like ‘Uphill Battle’ rather than ‘Downhill Stuff.’
It looks like they put John’s band on the set as well as Tina’s band…seeing that there were 2 drum sets and multiple players doubling on other instruments. It was fun to recognize the very famous saxophone/flute player Jim Horn – also James Burton on electric guitar, Hal Blane (RIP) on the drums, Denny Brooks (RIP) on acoustic guitar (right next to John). Do you recognize anyone else?
