FIRST TIME HEARING John Denver - Rocky Mountain High REACTION 

I'm a 72 year old woman who never in a 1000 years thought I could ever connect with 3 young black rappers. But to see your handsome faces light up when my favourite singer of all time, John Denver, connected with something in you gave me undescribable joy!

Open minded young folks forming their own opinions that's the America I love.

“Why this sound like we’re hearing it around a campfire?” 😂😂😂 Because that’s exactly where John Denver would have sung it to you! HE WOULD HAVE LOVED SEEING THIS!!! Bless that man’s kind heart... RIP. 🌈

Listening to John Denver with a Tupac poster in the background. Awesome.

You three young men made me cry seeing your positive reaction to a song and singer that you have never heard before. I am a farmer from NC and I want to commend you for bringing some light to a world that seems a little dark right now. You must have some great role models in your life, Keep being the wonderful influence that you are. Blessings

John Denver had one of the PUREST Voices ever in music.

He was 27 years old the first time he went to Colorado. He fell so hard in love with the mountains he said he was reborn. He stayed, made his home there. Became an advocate for natural conservancy.

"Sounds like something you'd sing at a campfire"...and we did way back when.

Intelligence isn’t only by speaking, but listening and interpreting a new experience in a positive way.These guys are intelligent 👍

John was my friend. You guys are doing people a good service by letting people watch you listen. Thank you. John’s feelings really came through in that song.

"I've seen it raining fire in the sky" refers to one of the first times he went camping in the CO mountains. The stars are massively visible, you've never seen so many. There was a meteor shower happening and that's what he was writing about.

“Seeking grace in every step you take”. Words to live by.

"You know he'd be a poor man if he never saw an eagle fly......" what a profound lyric.

John Denver is like the human embodiment of nature so it’s accurate you’d think it sounds like a campfire song 🤗

Fun fact; John had to go in front of Congress to defend this song, as they thought it was a song about getting high and tried censoring the song and pulled it from the radios. I think Frank Zappa did the same as well.

He wrote that song on a camping trip with his wife Annie in nature around the campfire so it makes sense it sounds like that. But you never heard of John Denver do your self a favor and look up Annie song and country roads

You three young men just showed that there is hope for future Generations. Bravo! Carry on...

I love the respectful, open-minded and appreciative responses you all show when listening to these different songs. The world needs more beautiful people like you :)

"leaving on a jetplane" Take me home country road" " sunshine on my shoulders" are some others worth checking out

"Why does it sound like something you'd sing at a campfire?" Because that is *exactly* the sort of song it's trying to be.

You should listen to him sing a song called, “Annie’s Song”. He made a song for his wife. Very beautiful..

I love the pure enjoyment that shines in all your faces when you realize how much great music is out there...keep learning and listening!

A friend of mine had a post that showed these young men listening to "In The Air Tonight", so I thought I would watch a couple more. I truly appreciate that these young men honestly and with intent listen to these songs from different genres and truly seem to enjoy and appreciate them.....Thank you for showing that music can span from generation to generation and touch us all

Thanks, brothers! I was unsure what you three might say about the song, but you all heard it and liked it, and that warmed my heart❤ I'm a white boy from cali, and my late father played this song for me all the time cuz it was his fav. I guess we're not so different after all...

"Friends around the campfire and everybody's high" This man loved everything green nature gave us. Peace lover.

John's pure voice is amazing. His "'Country Roads, Take Me Home" is wonderful.

This sounds like something around a campfire because that’s where John Denver started writing this incredible song. Watched a documentary and his wife, Annie told the story. They were camping with friends at Williams Lake with plans to watch a meteor shower. Moonless night and starts so bright that they cast a shadow from the trees just below timber line. That’s what he means when he talks about the shadows from the starlight. This song is really true for anyone who has truly experienced Colorado. I’m a Colorado native and I will never leave. Love it here! Definitely a Rocky Mountain high, I don’t mean 420. Lol!

I'm in my mid-fifties and John's music is very much of "my" generation. It is very heartwarming to see three fine young men of the "next" generation responding so positively to music from mine...

Y'all GOTTA hear him sing "Country Roads, Take Me Home"

John Denver was originally from the east coast and was very popular with the folk scene in the late 60s. This song expresses how he felt when he first saw the Rocky Mountains and eventually made them his home. He was killed in a plane crash in 1997; a true American songwriter was silenced that day.

I'm a high school teacher. With everything going on in society its refreshing to see you all bringing joy into the world connecting young and old, and all the different racial groups. I'd like to see you all do Return of the Mack. I teach business and marketing so its also super cool to see you all using these as a business in the new "streaming" economy. Keep up the awesome work!

I love these guys for giving John Denver a try! Mad respect guys!

John Denver transcends age, race and generations. ❤

He had the clearest, purest voice I’d ever heard. He was gone too soon😢

John Denver makes you feel like you're soaring over the Rockies like a bird. His music makes me feel so free. Here I am 64 here with these darling young men digging the music from my youth. Life is great.

I'm so glad you discovered John Denver. I first heard John sing and play the guitar with the folk singing group at my college, in 1964-65. He played guitar like it was a piano. I had never heard guitar played that well in my life. He also sang vocals and harmony with the group. I wish I could think of the name of the group. Then he started his solo career. I used his songs when teaching my elementary vocal music classes. The kids really enjoyed his singing. One of his songs that I love is "Sunshine on my Shoulder Makes me Smile". I love that you guys genuinely listen to music for pleasure.

"I've seen it raining fire in the sky" is about watching meteor showers out in the mountains away from light pollution

he was that guy who would be jamming around a camp fire , He was a American treasure and I for one miss him greatly

I love that you “love the storytellers” - So glad I stumbled upon you- but I guess you were already a thing- lol!! Congrats on the recognition and keep it up. We need a lot more of this right now.

As a musician myself as well as a geezer, it was a real pleasure to hear this music fresh through the ears of you boys. You remind me of me and my friends 45 years ago. Peace and love back at you, guys!

Love John Denver. Tragic loss when he died.

Half way through you discover he’s talking about the mountains not a high school. I love you kids! Really, please never stop. You are making all of us feel young again.

As a Colorado native I have always felt that no song better encompasses the beauty of my state than this one. So glad to see younger folk discovering it and maybe getting a hint of how amazing Colorado is!!

John denver has graced us with beautiful music. I miss john denver.

From Songfacts: Denver started writing this song during the Perseid Meteor Shower which happens every August. He was camping with friends at the tree line at Williams Lake near Windstar (his foundation in Colorado) and all of a sudden there were many shooting stars and he noticed "The shadow from the starlight"... thus the line from the song. He says that while the inspiration struck quickly, it took him about nine months to complete the song. In Denver's autobiography, he wrote: "I remember, almost to the moment, when that song started to take shape in my head. We were working on the next album and it was to be called Mother Nature's Son, after the the Beatles song, which I'd included. It was set for release in September. In mid August, Annie and I and some friends went up to Williams Lake to watch the first Perseid meteor showers. Imagine a moonless night in the Rockies in the dead of summer and you have it. I had insisted to everybody that it was going to be a glorious display. Spectacular, in fact. The air was kind of hazy when we started out, but by 10 p.m. it had grown clear. I had my guitar with me and a fishing rod. At some point, I went off in a raft to the middle of the lake, singing my heart out. It wasn't so much that I was singing to entertain anyone back on shore, but rather I was singing for the mountains and for the sky. Either my voice gave out or I got cold, but at any rate, I came in and found that everybody had kind of drifted off to their individual campsites to catnap. We were right below the tree line, just about ten thousand feet, and we hadn't seen too much activity in the sky yet. There was a stand of trees over by the lake, and about a dozen aspens scattered around. Around midnight, I had to get up to pee and stepped out into this open spot. It was dark over by those trees, darker than in the clearing. I looked over there and could see the shadow from the starlight. There was so much light from the stars in the sky that there was a noticeable difference between the clearing and everywhere else. The shadow of the starlight blew me away. Maybe it was the state I was in. I went back and lay down next to Annie in front of our tent, thinking everybody had gone to sleep, and thinking about how in nature all things, large and small, were interwoven, when swoosh, a meteor went smoking by. And from all over the campground came the awed responses "Do you see that?" It got bigger and bigger until the tail stretched out all the way across the sky and burned itself out. Everybody was awake, and it was raining fire in the sky. I worked on the song - and the song worked on me - for a good couple of weeks. I was working one day with Mike Taylor, an acoustic guitarist who had performed with me at the Cellar Door and had moved out to Aspen. Mike sat down and showed me this guitar lick and suddenly the whole thing came together. It was just what the piece needed. When I realized what I had - another anthem, maybe; a true expression of one's self, maybe - we changed the sequencing of the album we'd just completed, and then we changed the album title." Some of the references in the lyrics: "He was born in the summer of his 27th year" - John was 27 that summer. "Coming home to a place he'd never been before" - He and Annie had just made Aspen home. "And he lost a friend but kept his memory" - A good friend from Minnesota had come to visit and was killed riding John's motorcycle. "Why they try to tear the mountains down to bring in a couple more" - This referred to the debate at that time about bringing the Olympics to Colorado. On his BBC radio program The John Denver Show, he set the stage for this song by introducing it with this story: "You and I have just broken out of a huge stand of Douglas fir. The trees tower hundreds of feet above us. We've come out of the solemn, cathedral-like darkness of the trees, into the bright, early morning sunshine of a grassy slope. The grass is wet and soft with morning dew beneath our feet. The air is crisp, so crisp it sends little needles of joyful pain through the membranes of your nose. The air is so clear, it seems to purify your lungs. On both sides, above and beyond, stretch the awesome Rockies, their great, snow-capped peaks jutting out of the early morning mist. This is living. This is what man was created for: to live and work and continue what these mountains represent. This is true freedom. Being part of nature and drawing from it, and returning back to it." Denver invoked this song when he testified at a Senate hearing in 1985 where he opposed the labeling of albums proposed by the Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC). "As an artist, I am opposed to any kind of a rating system, voluntarily or otherwise," he said. "My song "Rocky Mountain High" was banned from many radio stations as a drug-related song. This was obviously done by people who had never seen or been to the Rocky Mountains and also had never experienced the elation, celebration of life, or the joy in living that one feels when he observes something as wondrous as the Perseides meteor shower on a moonless, cloudless night, when there are so many stars that you have a shadow from the starlight, and you are out camping with your friends, your best friends, and introducing them to one of nature's most spectacular light shows for the very first time. Obviously, a clear case of misinterpretation. Mr. Chairman, what assurance have I that any national panel to review my music would make any better judgment?"

John Denver was writing this song about himself and how he felt being in the Rockies.👍

I soooo enjoy these guys! I'm 67 and when I first heard this song so many decades ago I laughed and also said, "it sounds like something you'd sing around the campfire". Now that I live in Colorado, I have developed a new appreciation for John Denver, just a bit late to the game

All of John Denver is good, one of the best is "Calypso" dedicated to Jacques-Yves Cousteau and the crew of the RV Calypso.

You just put a huge smile on John Denver’s face. He’s smiling ear to ear saying, “Farm Out”!

I enjoy the guy on the left, he genuinely feels the music, no matter what music it is.

Well, first, you know I laughed when you mentioned the campfire! This is Henry John Deutschendorf Jr. He started out playing guitar and banjo behind folk groups. When he started his own career, he changed his last name to Denver after Denver, Colorado. He was from Roswell, New Mexico (yeah, the UFO place). He often wrote about himself and this is one of the songs. He was lost in the sense that he wanted to make music and not just caught up in a factory or an office job. When he went travelling, he got to the great outdoors and when he saw the majesty of the mountains he was, as we used to say, blown away. And, yes, he camped a lot in life. At the time, a lot of people thought he was talking about marijuana and LSD. Well...yeah, he and his friends did do marijuana, a great number of young people did without ever turning to hard drugs. But he was really writing about things and people that give you a 'high' feeling. I know that listening to your favorite music gets you high without artificial help...does me, too. He was also very funny and acted in a few movies and with the Muppets (yeah, Miss Piggy had a crush on him). He was the first person who took country music and added a rock feel to it. It is now called Country Rock. Real country singers hated it, but it got a lot of young people into country music. You know you like Dolly Parton! However, there was also a debate among rockers about this music. You couldn't love the Beatles, Stones and Led Zeppelin (for instance) AND John Denver. His first big hit was Sunshine on My Shoulders (you need to check this out). It was so panned by the rock people. Well, I worked for The Who and Rod Stewart, etc, and when that song came on the radio in the car, I turned it up and belted it out! And y'all know what I mean, you do it too with your faves. Sadly, he died in a plane explosion. He was a pilot (another way to try and be an eagle and fly) and it was a new model not fully tested. It blew up along the coast of California. Great loss. However, I think it would be so wonderful of all of us city kids could get away from the man-made mountains and into the real outdoors. As he says in the this song, "Why do they want to take down the real mountains to put in a couple more (office buildings)?" It is what people do. I would love it if you could see the Grand Canyon and climb a mountain. Check out the song, Big Yellow Taxi.

I’m tearful watching two young gentlemen (three) react to John Denver. He was so gifted. I love seeing you guys. It makes my day! THANK YOU!

Listen to John Denver’s song Sunshine on your shoulders!!!! Omg🥰🥰🥰🥰

The Rockies get in your blood and never leave. They're magical.

I'm 63 and I just LOVE YOU TWO!!! I really enjoy watching you hear some of my old favorites for the first time. Keep it up!!! 👍😊✌️🍀

"Raining fire in the sky" is shooting stars. You can really see them in Aug at night in the mountains & desert.

Not surprised it sounds like it should be sung around a campfire. John Denver was an environmentalist.

Y’all look so happy vibing to John Denver and playing air guitar. He’s got some incredible music, many of which tell stories like this one. Rest In Peace, John.

He wrote this around a campfire during a meteor shower in the Rockies at 3:00 AM in the morning...

Just another example of how no matter what your culture, country or whatever, the universal love of nature and human emotions brings us all together. It’s our common ground as human beings. I’ve heard this song many times but it still gives me goosebumps and can bring me to tears. Sharing the love.

I wish they would have done “Take me Home Country Roads”! So amazing!

It's nice to see John's music enjoyed! I think the campfire thought is just right. My dad was John's record producer and I got to meet john over the years; he was as nice as he seems. He and my dad both (my dad died four years ago) would have gotten a kick out of this video. (No youtube back then. Oh well.) I don't know all the words to this one, but sometimes when I'm alone at home and need a boost I'll sing one of his song, maybe belt out "The Eagle and the Hawk." Nice channel. Keep it up!

"Sunshine On My Shoulders", "Annie's Song", John Denver's music was so intimate - campfire singing is a perfect way to describe it! So glad you enjoyed this - thanks for sharing!

John Denver, Grandma's Feather Bed, another great one. Truthfully though I listen to John Denver when I'm down. Had a crush on him as a kid, lol. Rock On you crazy Youngbloods!!

This song is the true story of how John Denver felt on his first trip to Colorado. This is John Denvers heart and soul your listening to. Every story he told in his songs, makes you feel as if you are there yourself. His real last name is German, Deutchendorf (bad spelling). He changed his name to Denver. He was the closest thing to country music I could stand to lusten to when I was 14 yrs old (I am 60 now). It was beautiful music.

I haven’t listened to “Rocky Mountain High” since I was a kid. Tonight, I understand the lyrics in a more profound sense. Maybe it’s life experiences of the intervening decades, or maybe because I’ve since been to the Rocky Mountains, but I felt like I too was hearing it for the first time. You guys are bringing so much joy to my life. I’m grateful to have found you.

I love that you boys can appreciate so many varieties of music. It’s a delight to watch you enjoy him. He was a genius.

I’m a 55 year old man from Texas! You 3 young men are so impressive! Really enjoyed this very much. Blessings to you all.

"Talk to God and listen to the casual reply"

What made John Denver so great was his authenticity. He was sharing his soul, his passion... no showboating.

From the Rockies…this song brings me home to where I grew up and had my best memories! I love you John..thank you!!

This is one of my very favorite songs--ever! The "raining fire in the sky" line is from watching the meteor shower from high in the Rockies. I'm loving the fact that you appreciate and have an open mind about all sorts of music. That is something that EVERYone should do--at least give it all a chance. I encourage you to look up these artists. Learn about their lives. Learn about their stories. That will make the music mean even more to you, I promise.

When I was about 8 years old, my Dad and I went to a store to buy a new ceiling fan. While we were there John Denver walked in. He was visiting my town. I remember him coming over to us. I knew who he was, but was stunned. I knew all of his songs, but I couldn't get the courage to say hello. I just froze while my Dad shook his hand and talked to him. Just a normal guy.

Harry Chapin - Cats in the Cradle. Soooo many story songs you have yet to hear. I am having so much fun experiencing them with you.

I wish I had a nickel for every time I sang this around a campfire. I could support you guys. haha.

I'm a 58 yr. old & I relate very well with rappers but John Denver touches my heart & the lyric, "He went home to a place he'd never been before" he was describing my new Colorado experience. EYE AM HOME!

"And they say that he got crazy once & he tried to touch the sun, And he lost a friend but kept the memory..." A good friend, John Munchoff from Minnesota, had come to visit John & Annie in Aspen in 1972 and was killed riding John's motorcycle. John's smooth clear voice & personal lyrics can't be beat. Thank u for being open to experiencing all kinds of music. It's fun to watch you listen. 😊😁😉

John Denver is one of my all-time favorites. He, too, met with a tragic end to his life. He was an incredible artist and kudos to you young people to searching out iconic artists from the past!

I'm glad you guys are open-minded and interested in older songs. I'm wondering why you chose this song. I agree that it is like a campfire song, but John Denver was so talented he brought that genre up a level. He had many good songs which you may have heard as instrumental versions in grocery stores or on elevators. I never thought of the title sounding like a high school . That made me smile!

So much respect for John Denver. A classic American man. This song is so beautiful. I loved John. Think of the words. They will lead you. ❤️❤️❤️

John Denver was my mamas Michael Jackson, she adores his music and has every one of his songs on her iPod, he was a true poet. Sad that he died the way he did.

This touches my heart! Y’all made this 50 year-old lady tear up and cry like a baby. Totally love what you are doing here. Subscribed, liked, and shared!

My all time favorite musical artist. Thank you my friends for giving some love to one of the greatest songwriters, singers, philanthropists and musical poets of all time. Miss you John, but your music will live on forever!

I genuinely appreciate the tenderness of your hearts; near the end of your video, at least one of you gentlemen expressed literal tears! As a fifth-generation Colorado Native, ec I acknowledge that John captured many spiritual truths in his music... we should listen more than we should speak! God's truths will become overwhelmingly apparent!!!

There's some beautiful places in this ole world and the Rockies are definitely on of the best! I hope you get to see some of the sights... the Rockies, Yellowstone, Grand Tetons, and the Arizona desert (to name a few). It changes you inside for the better!

Oh my, now you're tapping into my childhood. This brings back so many memories. I LOVE how you guys have such wonderful appreciation for a wide range of music. Well done! So, have you reviewed anything by the Commodores? Seriously, anything, and you can't go wrong. Sail On, Easy, Three Times a Lady, Brick House... one of my favorite groups ever. They were a huge part of my teen years. Check them out!

I'm so grateful for all of your sweet, open hearts. John Denver did not always get the respect he deserved, but those who loved him knew what he was about. I love that his music continues to touch new generations. I love your videos so much. :)

Pump Up the Volume!! He wrote so many beautiful ❤️ and powerful songs.

If you like storytelling songs, you ought to try “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald” by Gordon Lightfoot

Check out Jim Croce Time in a Bottle; Roy Orbison Only the Lonely, Crying, Cat Stevens Wild World

I was lucky enough to hear JD in concert eight times between 1976 and 1996. My all-time favorite! Love your reax videos.

It's the kind of song that unites total strangers who happen to meet at the same camping spot. Just about every body has at least heard of the song.

You should listen to John Denver - Country Roads 🥺😊

Once again, back when musicians wrote originalsongs, played their own instruments and didn't have autotune.

I’m so glad that you guys liked it. Expanding your mind to all types of music will help you get thru stuff in life and opens your mind

One of the best songs he has ever done 👍

Give "Calypso" a try. It's honoring Jacques Cousteau and the ship that "served them so well".

Again, props for listening to a diverse group of music. You all are open-minded, intelligent young men. You give me optimism for the future.

The Earth produces music for those that listen. John Denver listened and sang from his heart what he heard.

John Denver was one of the last of the great storytellers/songwriters that the 70's produced, and one of the first big supporters of the environmental movement. I recently watched his biography on television. Really interesting story of a kind and gentle man.