Boy, do I remember this special. I really miss the pre-VCR "special" culture. Hard to explain to those too young to remember, but the networks used to pre-empt regular programming from time to time to run specials done by a wide variety of artists. Some were concerts (John Denver was a prominent presenter of those), some were comedy (Steve Martin, the Muppets, Martin Mull - it went on and on), some were documentaries (Jacques-Yves Cousteau became a household name in the English-speaking world, though I bet almost nobody younger than me recognises it today), but they were always interesting and memorable. And today, unless you can find a lo-fi rip on RU-vid (before they blank it), you can never see them again. Just goes to show that "progress" is generally not completely a thing. You get good new stuff, sure, but you also loose good old stuff.
They're both American icons that can never be replaced only in two completely different ways! The truly odd couple. John Denver will never be matched in his singing ability or his environmental concern and frankly in his character as a man. Martin will never be matched but in different ways and I don't mean that as an insult. He is a class act in a way I don't think can even be put to words but something I did not know was he actually he has a good voice. Glad they were friends. Just one more side to the man, John Denver, that I grew to respect as a Young Man has, and I did not know about.
Answer to "What's up with the butterfly?" This Christmas special was filmed in a big plastic-like bubble in a field in the Rocky Mts. There were monarchs flying all around inside and landing on the audience. He glued a fake one onto his nose. It was pretty funny.
This was from his 1975 Christmas special, John Denver’s Rocky Mountain Christmas. The whole show was great, loved it and still do. The only thing you can get is the CD, there are bad DVD copies out there of the show itself that someone recorded off a TV, but otherwise you can’t get it. Wish they’d release it!
steve used to open for john back before john was famous.. this dome was build in the spring and the show shot in winter... so inside its still like spring.. I remember seeing this on tv when it was on in 75
John's so happy to be in Steve's presence, and vice versa; it's amazing the effect both of them have on people. This is hilarious, thanks for posting it.
Haven't you heard of the Society-to-Prevent-Cruelty-to-Butterflies (SPCB)?? They didn't exist back in the 70's when the event occurred, otherwise Mr. Martin would have been in deep doo-doo. His career would have been over before it even began. The SPCB don't take too kindly to mockery of Butterflies. All they could do in this case is .... a cruel dislike to the video. They hired 5 more staff since your post; Now its up to 23!
I tried to sing this at a folk music gathering, no word of a lie, I couldn't keep a straight face. I made it to "be obsequious, purple, and clairvoyant" when I lost it.
Folks, that butterfly moved. It's REAL! In concert Steve expands on this song: "Now just the women: Never make love to Bigfoot...and now the men: Hello, my name is Bigfoot!" Usually this is preceded by his "Crime Stoppers Oath": "Hi, Crime Stoppers! ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-ZIgsAHwVbMs.html (about 1 minute)
