Trivia

Was cremated, and his ashes spread over the Rocky Mountains of Colorado.

Lost most of his big toe and next toe on his right foot in an accident with a lawn mower at a young age.

The National Transportation Safety Board report about the airplane crash in which he was killed stated the cause of the crash was him having his attention diverted to the fuel selector when, shortly after his last takeoff, his engine stalled due to fuel starvation. The fuel selector in his newly purchased home-built Rutan Long EZ aircraft was positioned behind the pilot in such a way that to change it he needed to turn left about 90 degrees and reach behind his head, causing him to move the control stick inadvertently to the left and down, being a major contributing factor ultimately leading to the accident.

His final concert was in Corpus Christi, TX, a week prior to the plane crash in which he died.

Met wife Annie Martell while performing a gig at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, MN, where she was a student. They later on divorced in 1983.

Was offered the lead role of Zack Mayo in Officier et gentleman (1982), which he turned down saying he felt the script "read like a 1950s movie". The role was instead given to Richard Gere.

He was an early follower of Werner Erhard, founder of the self-improvement association known as EST (Erhard Seminars Training). Denver once asked Erhard if he might become a trainer in the EST organization but was told he could contribute more by continuing his career as an entertainer--spreading the message, through his music, of taking personal responsibility for whatever happens in the world. Several of his subsequent songs reflected that philosophy.

His plane crashed into the ocean about 100 yards offshore from a very popular landmark known as "Lover's Point".

His father was of German descent (including ancestry from ethnic Germans who had lived in South Russia for many generations). His maternal grandfather was of German and Swiss-German ancestry, and his maternal grandmother was of English and Irish descent.

He was posthumously awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Recording at 7065 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California on October 24, 2014.

Listed as one of 12 "Promising New Actors of 1977" in John Willis' Screen World, Vol. 29. (1977)

He was a black belt in Aikido.

Children from marriage with Cassandra Delaney; Jesse Belle.

Inducted into the American Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1996.

Uncle of the twin babies who played "Oscar" in the film S.O.S. fantômes II (1989), William T. Deutschendorf and Henry J. Deutschendorf II. It could be reasonably assumed that Henry was named after him, although his father was also named Henry John Deutschendorf and his paternal -grandfather was John Henry Deutschendorf.

Children from marriage with Annie Martell; Zachary and Anna Kate (adopted).

Briefly attended the School of Architecture at Texas Tech.

John Denver and William Katt were to star in the film "The Higher Ground" produced and directed by Bruce Reisman. It was inspired by Denver's song of the same title and was scheduled to film in San Jose, California, in February 1993, delayed to fall 1993. The project was never completed.

Biography in: "American National Biography." Supplement 1, pp. 155-156. New York: Oxford University Press, 2002.

Mentioned in the song "Life Is a Rock But the Radio Rolled Me" by Reunion.

His mother Erma Louise Swope Deutschendorf died on January 17, 2010 at the age of 87.