Maps of Music
Whose Garden Was This (1970)
Where the lyrics of Whose Garden Was This take you, and where it was really made.
Mostly a set of covers, this album's title song was later recorded by Dame Vera Lynn, who asked Tom Paxton to add a verse before she sang it.
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Recording at RCA Studios, New York (1970)
Recording site Record Plant Studios — The album's recording is linked to RCA Studios in New York City. The point uses city-center coordinates, so the exact building location is not shown. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there: See the map for directions.
Album story
Overview
- Whose Garden Was This is the third studio album by American singer-songwriter John Denver
- The album consists mainly of cover songs
- Released October 1970
- Eleven tracks: Side A 16:57, Side B 19:45
- Side A: Tremble If You Must (Paul Potash), Sail Away Home (John Denver), The Night They Drove Old Dixie Dawn (Robbie Robertson), Mr. Bojangles (Jerry Jeff Walker), I Wish I Could Have Been There (Woodstock) (John Denver)
- Side B: Whose Garden Was This (Tom Paxton), The Game Is Over (John Denver, Jean Pierre Bourtayre, Jean Marcel Bouchety), Eleanor Rigby (John Lennon, Paul McCartney), Old Folks (Eric Blau, Mort Shuman, Jacques Brel), Medley, Jingle Bells (traditional, adapted by John Denver)
Background
- Preceded by Take Me to Tomorrow, released May 1970
- Later re-released as bonus tracks on re-releases of the albums John Denver and Spirit
Recording
- Mike Okun credited as producer and arranger
- Jean Goldhirsch credited as assistant producer
- Jim Crotty and Ray Hall credited as sound engineers
- Band: Russ Savakus on bass, Ted Sommer on drums, Mike Taylor and David Spinozza on guitars, Paul Griffin on keyboards
- Recording linked to RCA Studios in New York City
Sources: en.wikipedia.org · it.wikipedia.org
Tracklist
| 1 | Tremble If You Must | 1:25 |
| 2 | Sail Away Home | 4:39 |
| 3 | The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down | 3:58 |
| 4 | Mr. Bojangles | 4:40 |
| 5 | I Wish I Could Have Been There (Woodstock) | 2:31 |
| 6 | Whose Garden Was This | 3:49 |
| 7 | The Game Is Over | 2:27 |
| 8 | Eleanor Rigby | 3:13 |
| 9 | Old Folks | 5:02 |
| 10 | Golden Slumbers / Sweet Sweet Life / Tremble If You Must (version II) | 4:32 |
| 11 | Jingle Bells | 1:07 |
Sources: musicbrainz.org
Artist
Formation
- Born Henry John Deutschendorf Jr. on December 31, 1943, in Roswell, New Mexico; took the name John Denver on the advice of Randy Sparks, founder of the New Christy Minstrels.
- Attended Texas Tech University and sang in the folk group "The Alpine Trio" before dropping out in 1963 and moving to Los Angeles.
- Joined The Chad Mitchell Trio in 1965, replacing Chad Mitchell; the trio later became "Denver, Boise, and Johnson".
Members
- Solo artist; worked closely with producer Milt Okun early on and later with manager Jerry Weintraub.
- Collaborated with friends Bill Danoff and Taffy Nivert, who later formed the Starland Vocal Band.
Career
- Left the trio in 1969 for a solo career; first album Rhymes & Reasons on RCA Records.
- "Leaving on a Jet Plane" became a number one hit for Peter, Paul and Mary.
- Breakthrough with Poems, Prayers & Promises (1971) and "Take Me Home, Country Roads", which reached number 2 on the Billboard charts.
- Reached number 1 with "Sunshine on My Shoulders", "Annie's Song", "Thank God I'm a Country Boy" and "I'm Sorry" in 1974–1975.
- Named Country Music Association Entertainer of the Year in 1975.
- Starred in the 1977 film Oh, God! with George Burns.
- Co-founded The Hunger Project and worked for environmental causes through the Windstar Foundation.
- Died in a plane crash off Pacific Grove, California, on October 12, 1997.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
Reception
At release
- Released October 1970 as John Denver's third studio album
- Made up mainly of cover songs by other writers
- Came out a few months after Take Me to Tomorrow, released May 1970
- Track list mixes songs by Robbie Robertson, Jerry Jeff Walker, Tom Paxton, Lennon and McCartney, and Jacques Brel with Denver's own songs
- Side A runs 16:57 and Side B runs 19:45, so the album stays under 40 minutes in total
- Mike Okun credited as producer and arranger, with Jean Goldhirsch as assistant producer
- Musicians include Russ Savakus, Ted Sommer, Mike Taylor, David Spinozza and Paul Griffin alongside Denver on vocals and guitar
- Recording linked to RCA Studios in New York City
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
Trivia
- Dame Vera Lynn wanted to sing the title song on her 1972 BBC television show but felt it was a little too short
- She asked Tom Paxton for a further verse, and he added the forest/squirrels verse
- Paxton often sang this later version in concert
- Vera Lynn recorded the title song in 1972 for her album Unforgettable Songs by Vera Lynn
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
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