By Terri Wiebold

John Denver is about as iconic a musician to Colorado as there has ever been. His passion and love for the outdoors and his respect for nature can be felt in the lyrics of the many songs he wrote. Most notibly, “Rocky Mountain High,” which became an official Colorado state song in 2007.

In 2010, Red Rocks Amphitheater in Morrison hosted its first John Denver Tribute concert. On June 7, bring the family and come relive a magical evening at Red Rocks celebrating The 3rd Annual John Denver Tribute, featuring Jim Curry and his band (www.jimcurrymusic.com). Also playing will be former John Denver band members Richie Gajate Garcia, Pete Huttlinger, Chris Nole and Steve Weisberg.

The musicians will be performing two hours of Denver’s greatest hits including “Rocky Mountain High,” “Take Me Home Country Roads,” “Leaving On A Jet Plane,” “Sunshine On My Shoulders,” “Starwood In Aspen,” “Annie’s Song,” “Thank God I’m A Country Boy,” “Back Home Again,” “Calypso,” and many others.

This concert benefits Colorado Public Television 12. All seating is general admission, and tickets are $29 (plus service charges) available on www.ticketmaster.com and all Ticketmaster centers.

To charge by phone, call 1-800-745-3000. Tickets are also available through Channel 12 online at www.cpt12.org or call 303-296-1212 (M-F 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.).

Fun Facts about John Denver:

John Denver first performed at Red Rocks Amphitheatre on June 21, 1972 – four months before “Rocky Mountain High” blew onto the charts. Throughout the years, he gave 16 more concerts at Red Rocks, the last show being in the summer of 1989. He was the first artist to play four consecutive nights at Red Rocks.

Earlier this year, Denver was posthumously inducted into the Denver & Colorado Tourism Industry Hall of Fame.

In his hometown of Aspen, The John Denver Sanctuary sits near the Rio Grande Park, featuring many of Denver’s songs carved into large granite stones as a memorial.

In the song “Flying For Me,” Denver wrote this about Christa McAuliffe. “She was flying for me, she was flying for everyone.” McAuliffe was to be the first teacher in space. He wrote the song in memory of the Space Shuttle Challenger and her crew.

“Calypso” was written in honor of Captain Jacques Yves Cousteau, who brought us closer to the world beneath our seas. His ship was named “Calypso.”

 Denver wrote “Leaving on a Jet Plane” to express the feelings of loneliness he was having while traveling with the Chad Mitchell Trio. The song also came to express the longing and loneliness many young men and women were feeling at that time as they were going off to serve in the Vietnam War. Though John wrote it and later recorded it, Peter, Paul and Mary had the first recording of this song.

To learn more about John Denver and the tribute concert, go to http://www.redrocksonline.com.