In 1974, country singer John Denver topped the charts with a hit track that he penned as a dedication to his then-wife.
“Annie’s Song,” released in June 1974 as the lead single from Denver’s eighth studio album Back Home Again, famously pays tribute to the hitmaker’s first wife, Annie Martell. According to reports, the couple divorced in 1982 following strains from his rising career and infidelities.
Martell, who said that she cried when her ex-husband played the tune to her, explained the unconventional way that the song was written.
“It was written after John and I had gone through a pretty intense time together and things were pretty good for us. He left to go skiing and he got on the Ajax chair on Aspen Mountain and the song just came to him,” she said, per Nine.com.au. “He skied down and came home and wrote it down… Initially it was a love song and it was given to me through him, and yet for him it became a bit like a prayer.”
Reports often state that it took Denver only ten minutes to pen the chart-dominating track. The song soared to the top of the charts almost as fast as it was written, hitting No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, where it remained for two consecutive weeks. “Annie’s Song” also proved to be a chart success in the U.K., hitting No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart — his only No. 1 hit across the pond.
The hit song has been a source of inspiration for many other musicians, with several well-known artists putting their own spin on it.
Country music legend Glen Campbell would frequently cover the song during his concerts, particularly during performances in London.
In 2009, Dutch conductor and violinist André Rieu released his own rendition of the beloved song.
Related: 1983 No. 1 Country Song, Performed by a Coca-Cola Jingle Singer, Still Holds Up 43 Years Later
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