An Evening with John Denver

An Evening with John Denver is the first live album by American singer and songwriter John Denver. It was recorded at the Universal Amphitheatre in Los Angeles, California in August and September 1974. He was backed by an orchestra conducted by Lee Holdridge. Denver's manager, Milton Okun, was the album's music producer.

An Evening with John Denver
Live album by John Denver
Released	February 1975
Recorded	August 26—September 1, 1974
Venue	Universal Amphitheatre (Los Angeles, California)
Genre	Folk
Length	1:24:37
Label	RCA Victor
Producer	Milton Okun
John Denver chronology
Back Home Again (1974) An Evening with John Denver (1975) Windsong (1975)
Singles from Back Home Again
"Thank God I'm a Country Boy" Released: March 1975

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	^[1]

Track listing

Side one

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"The Music Is You"	John Denver	1:02
2.	"Farewell Andromeda (Welcome to My Morning)"	Denver	3:40
3.	"Mother Nature's Son"	Lennon–McCartney	4:37
4.	"Summer"	Denver Mike Taylor Dick Kniss	3:02
5.	"Today"	Randy Sparks	4:40
6.	"Saturday Night in Toledo, Ohio"	Randy Sparks	4:08
Total length:			21:09

Side two

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Matthew"	Denver	3:42
2.	"Rocky Mountain Suite (Cold Nights in Canada)"	Denver	3:13
3.	"Sweet Surrender"	Denver	5:02
4.	"Grandma’s Feather Bed"	Jim Connor	2:37
5.	"Annie's Song"	Denver	3:32
6.	"The Eagle and the Hawk"	Denver Mike Taylor	2:22
Total length:			20:28

Side three

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"My Sweet Lady"	Denver	4:55
2.	"Annie's Other Song"	Denver	3:05
3.	"Boy from the Country"	Michael Martin Murphey Owen Castleman^[a]	5:00
4.	"Rhymes & Reasons"	Denver	3:17
5.	"Forest Lawn"	Tom Paxton	2:58
Total length:			19:15

Side four

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Pickin’ the Sun Down"	John Sommers Steve Weisberg	2:17
2.	"Thank God I’m a Country Boy"	John Sommers	3:40
3.	"Take Me Home, Country Roads"	Denver Bill Danoff Taffy Nivert	3:17
4.	"Poems, Prayers and Promises"	Denver	4:40
5.	"Rocky Mountain High"	Denver Mike Taylor	5:04
6.	"This Old Guitar"	Denver	4:47
Total length:			23:45

Notes

• ^{^a} mistakenly credited as Owens B. Castleman

Personnel

Musicians

• John Denver — vocals, 6- and 12-string guitar
• Dick Kniss — bass
• Herb Lovelle — drums
• Steve Weisberg — lead guitar, pedal steel guitar, resonator guitar
• John Sommers — rhythm guitar, banjo, fiddle, mandolin
• Hal Blaine — percussion

Orchestra

• Lee Holdridge — conductor
• Allan Harshman
• Assa Drori
• William Collette
• David Duke
• David Schwartz
• David Turner
• Denyse Buffum
• Gene Cipriano
• Harry Shlutz
• Jay Rosen
• Jerome Kessler
• Jesse Ehrlich
• Joy Lyle
• Mari Tsumura
• Milton Kestenbaum
• Murray Adler
• Peter Mercurio
• Ralph Schaeffer
• Raymond Kelley
• Richard Kaufman
• Richard Maximoff
• Ronald Folsom
• Samuel Boghossian
• Sidney Sharp
• Tibor Zelig
• Vincent DeRosa
• Wilbert Nuttycombe
• William Kurasch

Production

• Kris O'Connor — concert director
• Milton Okun — producer
• Kris O'Connor — assistant producer
• Jerry Weintraub — personal management
• Wally Heider Recording — recording
• Ken Johnson — set designer
• Penrod, Inc. — set construction
• Stanal Sound — sound designer
• Sundance Lighting — lighting designer
• Jim Moody — lighting director
• Ernie Zeilinger — engineer
• Artie Torgersen — assistant engineer
• Richard Simpson — mastering engineer
• Mickey Crofford — recording engineer
• Lowell Norman — film coordinator

Design

• Nick Sangiamo — cover photography
• Mike Kirkland — inner spread photography
• Anthony Loew — liner photography
• Sam Emerson — liner photography
• Lowell Norman — liner photography
• Mike Kirkland — liner photography
• Nick Sangiamo — liner photography
• Acy Lehman — art director
• Mike Kirkland — poster artwork

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (1975) Peak position Australia Albums (Kent Music Report)^[2] 4 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)^[3] 20 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)^[4] 1 UK Albums (OCC)^[5] 31 US Billboard 200^[6] 2 US Top Country Albums (Billboard)^[7] 1 Chart (1992) Peak position Australian Albums (ARIA)^[8] 35

Year-end charts Chart (1975) Position Australia Albums (Kent Music Report)^[9] 9 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)^[10] 6 US Billboard 200^[11] 7 US Top Country Albums (Billboard)^[12] 7 Chart (1976) Position New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)^[13] 28

References

1. https://www.allmusic.com/album/r629203
2. 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.
3. "Dutchcharts.nl – John Denver – An Evening with John Denver" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 3, 2021.
4. "Charts.nz – John Denver – An Evening with John Denver". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 3, 2021.
5. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 8, 2021.
6. "John Denver Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved April 17, 2021.
7. "John Denver Chart History (Top Country Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved April 17, 2021.
8. "Australiancharts.com – John Denver – An Evening with John Denver". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 3, 2021.
9. 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.
10. "Top Selling Albums of 1975 — The Official New Zealand Music Chart". Recorded Music New Zealand. Retrieved November 3, 2021.
11. "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1975". Billboard. Retrieved April 17, 2021.
12. "Top Country Albums – Year-End 1975". Billboard. Retrieved April 17, 2021.
13. "Top Selling Albums of 1976 — The Official New Zealand Music Chart". Recorded Music New Zealand. Retrieved November 8, 2021.