John Denver -- Odes To Nature And Clean Living Were Singer- Songwriter's Signature

John Denver sang about outdoor living more convincingly than any other American pop-music artist. His "Rocky Mountain High," a love song to his beloved adopted home of Colorado, will forever stand as his legacy, along with "Take Me Home, Country Roads," "Sunshine On My Shoulders, "Thank God I'm a Country Boy" and other anthems to nature and clean living.

Such songs of country life struck a chord among many young people in the 1970s, who sought refuge from city life within rural communes and small communities. Coming from the clean-cut Denver, with his collar-length haystack hair and wire-rim eyeglasses, the songs also connected to adults, giving Denver a large, varied audience.

His connection to nature made him a natural spokesman for the burgeoning environmental movement.

Women particularly identified with his romantic ballads, such as "Annie's Song," an ode to his first wife that depicted their relationship as idyllic.

He enjoyed a brief movie career, starring in "Oh, God!" in 1977, portraying a shy grocery store clerk visited by God, played by George Burns.

Denver, who died yesterday in a plane crash at age 53, reigned as one of the top pop stars of the 1970s, but his popularity was weakened when his image as a down-home country boy became diluted by repeated arrests related to his drinking, a highly publicized divorce from Annie Denver, and even his attempt to bypass the energy crisis of the 1970s by illegally installing an underground gas tank on his Aspen ranch. His image was so tied up with his music that he never regained his popularity, and he struggled to rebuild his career through the 1980s and '90s.

In recent years, his attempts had been more successful. He toured again extensively, and collections of his hit records sold well. He even pitched the recordings himself on TV ads. But he was never able to score a hit single again on the charts.

He wrote of his problems with alcohol in his 1994 autobiography, "Take Me Home," including an intrusion into the home of Annie Denver in which he attempted to choke her. "I had almost lost control but didn't," he wrote.

Before a concert here two years ago, Denver told a Seattle Times reporter that he still enjoyed performing his classic songs of the 1970s.

"It's wonderful to me how the songs have lasted," he said. "In part, I think, because the songs I write are about things that live in the hearts and souls of every person."

His last album, a two-CD box set called "The Wildlife Concert," released in 1995, celebrated the 100th anniversary of the Wildlife Conservation Society.

He said at the time that his singing was better than during his glory days 20 years ago.

"I've learned so much since then," he said. "My voice has matured, gotten richer. I feel like there's so much more there.

"I don't feel like I've gone away," he told the Times reporter. "The old songs continue to get radio airplay. It's frustrating that the new songs haven't gotten a lot of play, but I don't feel like I'm really making a comeback."

Even his adopted stage name was inspired by Colorado. He was born in Roswell, N.M., as Henry John Deutschendorf Jr. in 1943. He got his first guitar at age 7 but showed little interest until he saw Elvis Presley on TV, after which he took guitar lessons and starting singing and writing songs.

At Texas Tech University in Lubbock he majored in architecture but spent more time performing as a folk singer around campus and in local coffeehouses. He dropped out of the university after 2 1/2 years and pursued a show-business career.

His first big break came in 1967 when Peter, Paul & Mary had a hit single with his romantic song "Leaving on Jet Plane." At the time, he was a member of the Chad Mitchell Trio, having replaced Mitchell in the folk group. He went solo in 1969, signing a contract with RCA Victor. Within a few years, he was enjoying a string of hit records of his own.