Henry John Deutschendorf Jr. (December 31, 1943 - October 12, 1997), known professionally as John Denver, was an American singer-songwriter, record producer, actor, activist, and humanitarian, whose greatest commercial success was as a solo singer. After traveling and living in numerous locations while growing up in his military family, Denver began his music career with folk music groups during the late 1960s. Starting in the 1970s, he was one of the most popular acoustic artists of the decade and one of its best-selling artists. By 1974, he was firmly established as one of America's best-selling performers, and AllMusic has described Denver as "among the most beloved entertainers of his era".

Denver's first marriage was to Anne Martell of St. Peter, Minnesota. She was the subject of his hit "Annie's Song," which he composed in only ten minutes as he sat on a Colorado ski lift after the couple had an argument. They lived in Edina, Minnesota, from 1968 to 1971. Following the success of "Rocky Mountain High," inspired by a camping trip with Anne and some friends, Denver purchased a residence in Aspen, Colorado. He lived in Aspen continuously until his death. The Denvers adopted a boy, Zachary John, and girl, Anna Kate, who Denver would say were "meant to be" theirs. Denver once said, "I'll tell you the best thing about me. I'm some guy's dad; I'm some little gal's dad. When I die, Zachary John and Anna Kate's father, boy, that's enough for me to be remembered by. That's more than enough."  Zachary, who is African-American, was the subject of "A Baby Just Like You," a song that included the line "Merry Christmas, little Zachary" and which he wrote for Frank Sinatra. Denver and Martell divorced in 1982. In a 1983 interview shown in the documentary John Denver: Country Boy (2013), Denver said that career demands drove them apart; Anne said that they were too young and immature to deal with John's sudden mega-success. The ensuing property settlement caused Denver to become so enraged, he nearly choked Martell, then used a chainsaw to cut their marital bed in half.  Denver married Australian actress Cassandra Delaney in 1988, after a two-year courtship. Settling at Denver's home in Aspen, the couple had a daughter, Jesse Belle. Denver and Delaney separated in 1991 and divorced in 1993. Of his second marriage, Denver would later recall that "before our short-lived marriage ended in divorce, she managed to make a fool of me from one end of the valley to the other".  In 1993, Denver pleaded guilty to a drunken driving charge, and was placed on probation. In August 1994, while still on probation, he was again charged with misdemeanor driving under the influence after crashing his Porsche into a tree in Aspen. Though a jury trial in July 1997 resulted in a hung jury on the second DUI charge, prosecutors later decided to reopen the case, which was closed only after Denver's accidental death in October 1997. In 1996, the FAA decided that Denver could no longer fly a plane, due to medical disqualification for failure to abstain from alcohol, a condition that the FAA had imposed in October 1995 after his prior drunk-driving conviction.  Denver's talent extended beyond music. Artistic interests included painting, but because of his limiting schedule he pursued photography, saying once "photography is a way to communicate a feeling". Denver was also an avid skier and golfer, but his principal interest was in flying. His love of flying was second only to his love of music. In 1974, he bought a Learjet to fly himself to concerts. He was a collector of vintage biplanes, and owned a Christen Eagle aerobatic plane, two Cessna 210 airplanes, and in 1997, an experimental, amateur-built Rutan Long-EZ.

Where did he grow up?