Editing John Denver (section)

== Later years and humanitarian efforts ==
Denver had a few more US Top 30 hits as the 1970s ended, but nothing to match his earlier success. Denver began to focus more on humanitarian and [[sustainability]] causes, focusing extensively on [[nature conservation]] projects. He made public expression of his acquaintances and friendships with ecological design researchers such as [[Buckminster Fuller|Richard Buckminster Fuller]] (about whom he wrote and composed "What One Man Can Do") and [[Amory Lovins]], from whom he said he learned much. Denver also founded the environmental group Plant-It 2020 (originally Plant-It 2000). He also had a keen interest in solutions to world hunger and visited Africa during the 1980s to witness firsthand the suffering caused by starvation, and Denver worked with African leaders toward solutions.{{CN|date=April 2025}}

From 1973 to at least 1979, Denver annually performed at the fundraising picnic for the Aspen Camp School for the Deaf, raising half of the camp's annual operating budget.<ref name="barb1">{{cite news |last1=Isenberg |first1=Barbara |title=Aspen Takes a Mellow Stance Towards John Denver's Gas Tank |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/493749518/? |access-date=December 18, 2018 |work=The Record |agency=Los Angeles Times News Service |date=August 20, 1979}}</ref> During the Aspen Valley Hospital's $1.7&nbsp;million capital campaign in 1979, Denver was the largest single donor.<ref name="barb1" />

In 1983 and 1984, Denver hosted the annual Grammy Awards, which he had previously done in 1977, 1978, and 1979. In the 1983 finale, he was joined on stage by folk music legend [[Joan Baez]], with whom Denver led an all-star version of "[[Blowin' in the Wind]]" and "[[Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In|Let the Sunshine In]]", joined by such diverse musical icons as [[Jennifer Warnes]], [[Donna Summer]], and [[Rick James]].

In 1984, [[ESPN on ABC|ABC Sports]] president [[Roone Arledge]] asked Denver to compose and sing the theme song for the [[1984 Winter Olympics]] in [[Sarajevo]]. Denver worked as both a performer and a skiing commentator, as skiing was another of his enthusiasms. Denver composed "The Gold and Beyond" and sang it for the Olympic Games athletes, as well as at local venues including many schools.<ref name="JD" />

In 1985, Denver asked to participate in the singing of "[[We Are the World]]" but was rejected despite his genuine commitment to charity work and his musical talent. According to [[Ken Kragen]] (who helped produce the song), Denver was snubbed because many people felt his image would hurt the credibility of the song as a pop-rock anthem. "I didn't agree with this assessment," Kragen said, but he reluctantly turned Denver down anyway.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.harrychapin.com/circle/winter05/behind.htm |title= Behind the Song: "We Are the World" |publisher=HarryChapin.com |first=Mike |last=Grayeb |access-date=May 9, 2011}}</ref> Denver later wrote in his 1994 autobiography "Take Me Home" about the rejection, "It broke my heart not to be included."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://danmiller.typepad.com/dan_millers_notebook/2006/07/by_dan_miller_o.html |title=The Snubbing of John Denver |last=Miller |first=Dan |website=Dan Miller's Notebook |date=October 12, 2004 |access-date=January 22, 2025}}</ref>
[[File:John Denver.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Denver at the 1995 [[National Memorial Day Concert]]]]
For Earth Day 1990, Denver was the on-camera narrator of a well-received environmental television program ''In Partnership With Earth'' with then-[[United States Environmental Protection Agency|EPA]] Administrator [[William K. Reilly]].

Due to his love of flying, Denver was attracted to [[NASA]] and became dedicated to the United States' work in outer space. He conscientiously worked to help bring into being the "Citizens in Space" program. In 1985, Denver received the [[NASA Exceptional Public Service Medal]] for "helping to increase awareness of space exploration by the peoples of the world", an award usually restricted to spaceflight engineers and designers. That same year, he passed NASA's rigorous physical exam and was in line for a space flight, a finalist for the first citizen's trip on the [[Space Shuttle]] in 1986. After the [[Space Shuttle Challenger disaster|Space Shuttle ''Challenger'' disaster]] with teacher [[Christa McAuliffe]] aboard, Denver dedicated his song "Flying for Me" to all astronauts and continued to support NASA.<ref name="JD" /> He entered discussions with the Soviet space program about purchasing a flight aboard one of their rockets. The talks fell through after the price tag was rumored to be as high as $20&nbsp;million.<ref>{{cite book |last=Mullane |first=R. |title=Riding rockets: the outrageous tales of a space shuttle astronaut |publisher=Scribner |location=New York |year=2006 |isbn=0-7432-7682-5 |oclc=62118471}}</ref>

Denver testified before the Senate Labor and Commerce Committee on the topic of censorship during a [[Parents Music Resource Center]] hearing in 1985.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Deflem |first=Mathieu |title=Popular Culture and Social Control: The Moral Panic on Music Labeling |url=https://link.springer.com/epdf/10.1007/s12103-019-09495-3?author_access_token=NcEV5sUuzRFo2l9sAazDgve4RwlQNchNByi7wbcMAY7WCxqfEKy3g65K0uJ9apsJr7JFvwLb9LiEdFJAcbaM-GjbIf-DYaiqzHv8XQYLJBLfG6V3vtYkOedXQn4FudpnB3vO40nyr70gNIF5n5ylxA%3D%3D |journal=American Journal of Criminal Justice |volume=45(1):2–24 |date=2020 |pages=2–24 |s2cid=198196942 |doi=10.1007/s12103-019-09495-3}}</ref> Contrary to his innocuous public image as a musician, Denver openly stood with more controversial witnesses like [[Dee Snider]] of the [[Heavy metal music|heavy metal]] band [[Twisted Sister]] and [[Frank Zappa]] in opposing the PMRC's objectives.

Denver also toured Russia in 1985. His eleven concerts in the USSR were the first by any American artist in more than 10 years.<ref name="Windstar_Russia_CD">{{cite web |url=http://www.wstar.org/windstar/OnlineStore/Products/russiacd.html |title=Windstar Foundation announcement |publisher=Wstar.Com |date=September 11, 2007 |access-date=May 9, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110615073607/http://www.wstar.org/windstar/OnlineStore/Products/russiacd.html |archive-date=June 15, 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Denver returned two years later to perform at a benefit concert for the victims of the [[Chernobyl disaster]].

In October 1992, Denver undertook a multiple-city tour of the People's Republic of China.<ref>{{Cite web |date=November 29, 2010 |title=Biography – John Denver |url=https://johndenver.com/about/biography/ |access-date=December 10, 2022 |website=johndenver.com |language=en-US}}</ref> He also released a greatest-hits CD, ''Homegrown'', to raise money for homeless charities. In 1994, he published his autobiography, ''Take Me Home'', in which he candidly spoke of his [[cannabis (drug)|cannabis]], [[LSD]], and [[cocaine]] use, marital infidelities, and history of domestic violence.<ref name="DEN">Denver, John, ''Take Me Home: An Autobiography'', Crown Archetype Press, {{ISBN|978-0-517-59537-4}} (1994)</ref> In 1996, he was inducted into the [[Songwriters Hall of Fame]].

In 1997, Denver filmed an episode for the television series ''[[Nature (TV program)|Nature]]'', centering on the natural wonders that inspired many of his best-loved songs. His last song, "Yellowstone, Coming Home", composed while rafting along the [[Colorado River]] with his son and young daughter, is included.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/denver/index.html |title=John Denver – Let this be a voice |publisher=Pbs.org Nature |access-date=May 9, 2011 |archive-date=September 6, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080906144014/http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/denver/index.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> In the summer of 1997 shortly before his death, Denver recorded a children's train album for [[Sony Pictures Kids Zone]], ''[[All Aboard! (John Denver album)|All Aboard!]]'', produced by longtime friend [[Roger Nichols (recording engineer)|Roger Nichols]].<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/8580588/Roger-Nichols.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/8580588/Roger-Nichols.html |archive-date=January 10, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live | location=London | work=The Daily Telegraph | title=Roger Nichols | date=June 16, 2011}}{{cbignore}}</ref> The album consisted of old-fashioned swing, [[big band]], [[Folk music#Traditional folk music|folk]], [[bluegrass music|bluegrass]], and [[Gospel music|gospel]] music woven into a theme of railroad songs. It won a posthumous [[Grammy Award for Best Musical Album for Children|Best Musical Album for Children Grammy]], Denver's only Grammy.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rockonthenet.com/artists-d/johndenver_main.htm |title=John Denver |publisher=Rock on the Net |access-date=May 9, 2011}}</ref> His final concert was held in Corpus Christi, Texas, at the Selena Auditorium on October 5.