John Denver, so much a part of 1970s music, always marched to the beat of his own drummer. At a time when the simplicity of rock 'n' roll was fading to be replaced with the cynicism of punk rock, Denver carved out his own niche and became the voice of the recently disenfranchised folk-singer/idealist who believed in love and hope and fresh air. With his fly-away blond hair and his signature granny glasses, Denver had a cross-generational appeal, presenting a nonthreatening, earnest message of gentle social protest.

John Denver was born Henry John Deutschendorf on December 31, 1943, in Roswell, New Mexico. His entire life was shaped by trying to measure up to his father, who was a flight instructor for the Air Force. In his autobiography Take Me Home, Country Roads, Denver described his life as the eldest son of a family shaped by...