This was my first "date" I was ever on. I asked Sharon R. a schoolmate of mine that I had a crush on at Vaughn Junior high School to go to the concert with me. I was ten years old.. My dad drove us to the show (we got in free because he worked at the venue).

This was an unbelievable show. When I saw John Denver in Reno at he Centennial Coliseum it was a bare bones, no frills show. There was no special lightingsand no back drop behind the stage. Behind him was just a bunch empty seats,. For this show (Denver did the dinner show and Sinatra the cocktail show) there were three huge video monitors to the left, right and center stage. this was way before that type of special effect became common. Denver had a bunch of other musicians on stage with him including a lot of back up singers and a full orchestra! It was a total contrast from the earlier show I saw in Reno earlier. I was amazed! Denver is still among the top ten concerts I have seen in my lifetime and he had a profound influence on my life! The combination of such heartfelt music and respect for the environment was right in my mindset at the time and continues to this day. And I cannot ever thank him enough for introducing me to John Prine! God bless John Denver!
P.S. I just took my lovely wife Penny up to Tahoe once again to see Sammy Hagar and the Circle. His drummer is the son of legendary Led Zeppelin Drummer John Bonzo Bohnham. Sammy teases his drummer, Jason Bonham about being English and not understanding people in America. Jason proves that he understands the heartbeat of America by bursting into song with "Almost heaven...West Virginia" and the entire crowd at the Harvey'sOutdoor Ampitheater in 2023 starts singing " Blue ridge mountains, Shanendoah river" I was then, as I am now typing these words, eyes filled with tears remebering John Denver and how he impacted my life back then and even now. God Bless you John and thank you.