John_Denver's_Greatest_Hits

<i>John Denver's Greatest Hits</i>

John Denver's Greatest Hits

1973 greatest hits album by John Denver

John Denver's Greatest Hits is the first greatest hits album by American singer-songwriter John Denver, released in November 1973 by RCA Records. A version known as The Best of John Denver with the same track listing[4] was released in some countries.

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History

The collection included material from his earlier days as a songwriter (going back to 1965 on "For Bobbie") to his later hit "Rocky Mountain High". Indeed, many of these tracks were not hits per se, but as Stephen Thomas Erlewine wrote for Allmusic, "the[se] were [the] songs that defined him."

Moreover, Greatest Hits is important historically because it contained new and reimagined recordings of several songs. Notable new versions included "Leaving on a Jet Plane", "Starwood in Aspen", "Follow Me", "Rhymes and Reasons", "The Eagle and the Hawk", "Sunshine On My Shoulders" and "Poems, Prayers, and Promises".

Denver explained this himself in the liner notes by saying that he had picked the numbers most requested in his concerts, but that "I felt that some of these songs had grown a bit, that I am singing better than I was four or five years ago, and that I would like to treat some of the songs a little differently than I had in the original recordings."

After its release these versions were used for airplay despite differing in subtle but important ways from the original versions; generally, they were more polished, featured a more mature-sounding Denver, included strings, and were extended somewhat.

Within a few months of its release, Greatest Hits climbed to the top of the Billboard 200 pop albums chart, went platinum, and was one of the first albums worldwide to sell over 10 million copies. Overall it is easily the best-selling album of his career in the United States, being certified 9-times Platinum by the RIAA.[5] The album was on the Canadian RPM Top 100 charts for 110 weeks between December 15, 1973, and May 8, 1976.[6]

Track listing

All tracks produced by Milton Okun; all tracks written by John Denver except where noted.

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Charts

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Certifications

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Personnel

For the newly recorded tracks:

See also

References

  1. [1]
    Allmusic review
  2. [2]
    Christgau review
  3. [3]
    [1979 Rolling Stone Record Guide review]
  4. [4]
    Original LP label as seen at http://www.discogs.com/viewimages?release=2104022 (note that the back cover shows the songs in a different order, but the label itself has them in the same order as Greatest Hits)
  5. [5]
    "RIAA – Searchable Database: John Denver". Retrieved September 16, 2019.
  6. [6]
    "RPM Top 100 Albums – May 8, 1976" (PDF).
  7. [7]
    Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 87. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  8. [8]
    "RPM Top 100 Albums - February 23, 1974" (PDF).
  9. [9]
    "Charts.nz – John Denver – John Denver's Greatest Hits". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 8, 2021.
  10. [10]
    "John Denver Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved November 8, 2021.
  11. [11]
    "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 30, 2021.
  12. [12]
    "John Denver Chart History (Top Country Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved November 8, 2021.
  13. [13]
    Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 426. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  14. [14]
    "RPM Top 100 Albums of '74 - December 28, 1974" (PDF).
  15. [15]
    Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 427. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  16. [16]
    "RPM Top 100 Albums of 1975 - December 27, 1975" (PDF).
  17. [17]
    "Top Selling Albums of 1975 — The Official New Zealand Music Chart". Recorded Music New Zealand. Retrieved November 8, 2021.
  18. [18]
    "Top 50 Albums of 1976" (PDF). Music Week. December 25, 1976. p. 14. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 9, 2021. Retrieved November 30, 2021 – via worldradiohistory.com.
  19. [19]
    "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2002 Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved December 27, 2021.
  20. [20]
    "IFPIHK Gold Disc Award − 1977". IFPI Hong Kong. Retrieved August 28, 2019.
  21. [21]
    "British album certifications – John Denver – Greatest hits". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
  22. [22]
    "American album certifications – John Denver – Greatest hits". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved January 9, 2024.
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