How John Denver Got Huge In Asia

EPISODE 304

“Take Me Home, Country Roads” is a song about West Virginia, but its message of homecoming has resonance far beyond Appalachia. Songwriter and producer Ian Fitchuk found this out when he was requested to perform Denver’s music at a music festival in Tibet. Fitchuk discovered that Denver has a huge following in East and South East Asia, where Denver toured multiple times from the 70s through the 90s. Denver’s songs first came to the region through the US Armed Forces Network radio as well as a diplomatic performance for China’s leader Deng Xiaoping at the Kennedy Center in 1979. Denver performed alongside the Harlem Globetrotters and the Joffrey ballet, and he left such an impression, the show led to an invitation to be one of the first western musicians to tour China. To better understand Denver’s meaning in the region, Switched On Pop co-host Charlie Harding speaks with Ian Fitchuk about his performance and interviews journalist Jason Jeung who wrote about “Country Roads” in The Atlantic.

Songs Discussed

John Denver - Take Me Home, Country Roads

Kacey Musgraves - Oh, What A World

The East Is Red

John Denver - Rocky Mountain High

Creedence Clearwater Revival - Fortunate Son

James Taylor - Carolina in My Mind

Carpenters - (They Long To Be) Close To You

John Denver - Thank God I'm a Country Boy