John Denver is a musician.
Henry John Deutschendorf Jr. ( December 31 , 1943 -- October 12 , 1997 ) , known professionally as John Denver , an American musician , singer-songwriter , record producer , activist , actor , and humanitarian , whose greatest commercial success was as a solo singer . Starting in the 1970s , he was one of the most popular acoustic artists of the decade and one of its best-selling artists .