Biography

ATO RECORDS TO RELEASE

THE MUSIC IS YOU:
A TRIBUTE TO JOHN DENVER
APRIL 2
ALBUM FEATURES COVERS BY
DAVE MATTHEWS, MY MORNING JACKET, BRANDI CARLILE AND EMMYLOU HARRIS, TRAIN, AMOS LEE, EDWARD SHARPE AND THE MAGNETIC ZEROS, LUCINDA WILLIAMS, JOSH RITTER,
OLD CROW MEDICINE SHOW, AND MORE
A PORTION OF PROCEEDS WILL BE DONATED TO THE WILDERNESS SOCIETY
“I’d learned to recognize songs that allowed me to sing with my whole self,
songs that started quietly and then built up until I was singing from my toes,
reaching for that high note to put my feelings into.”
—From John Denver’s Autobiography Take Me Home
“As a songwriter, he wrote from the heart, frequently returning to the feelings that guided him,
including love, the idea of home and family, hope, life on the road (loneliness), the outdoors
and the beauty of nature, and a deep, broad appreciation of life’s difficulties and frustrations.”
—Bill Danoff, Denver’s friend and collaborator

Fifteen years after his death and 40 years after the release of his widely beloved song “Rocky Mountain High,” ATO Records will celebrate John Denver’s life and music with The Music Is You: A Tribute to John Denver, slated for April 2. The albumfeatures covers of Denver’s most popular songs by a diverse group of artists including Dave Matthews, My Morning Jacket, Train, Amos Lee, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, Brandi Carlile and Emmylou Harris, Lucinda Williams, Josh Ritter and Barnstar!, Old Crow Medicine Show, Kathleen Edwards (produced by Jim James), Brett Dennen and Milow, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Allen Stone, Blind Pilot, J Mascis, andSharon Van Etten and Evan Dando. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to The Wilderness Society in John’s name. Please see track listing below.

The album follows a recent resurgence in Denver’s popularity with his hits compilation Definite All-Time Greatest Hits being certified gold in 2011. Holding true to Denver’s message 2011’s John Denver Earth Day Celebration Concert sold out initiating the current Rocky Mountain High Concert Tour.
John Denver, the two-time Grammy Award-winning singer songwriter (and five-time Grammy Awards host) and the Poet Laureate of Colorado, released 23 studio albums in his lifetime. He is best known for the beloved songs “Leaving on a Jet Plane,” “Take Me Home, Country Roads,” “Sunshine On My Shoulders, “Annie’s Song” and “Rocky Mountain High,” which is the state song of Colorado. Denver is the 53rd highest selling artist worldwide with over 33 million records sold and seven Billboard Top Ten Albums in the U.S. His catalogue continues to sell thousands of units per week. He has had seven multiplatinum, thirteen platinum and 20 gold U.S. Certified albums. Among his numerous awards and recognitions, Denver was instrumental in championing environmental causes and space exploration.


Track Listing for John Denver: The Music Is You

• "Leaving on a Jet Plane" by My Morning Jacket

• "Take Me To Tomorrow" by Dave Matthews

• "All of My Memories" by Kathleen Edwards

• "Prisoners" by J Mascis and Sharon Van Etten

• "Sunshine On My Shoulders" by Train

• "Back Home Again" by Old Crow Medicine Show

• "This Old Guitar" by Lucinda Williams

• "Some Days are Diamonds" by Amos Lee

• Allen Stone – Rocky Mountain High (Exclusive Wilderness Society Preview)

• Brett Dennen and Milow – Annie’s Song

• Evan Dando – Looking for Space

• Emmylou Harris & Brandi Carlile – Take Me Home, Country Roads

• Blind Pilot – The Eagle and the Hawk

• Mary Chapin Carpenter – I Guess He’d Rather Be in Colorado

• Josh Ritter and Barnstar! – Darcy Farrow

• Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros – Wooden Indian