John Denver’s Rocky Mountain Christmas

On December 10, 1975, John Denver’s Rocky Mountain Christmas Special aired on ABC and featured the appearances of Steve Martin, Olivia Newton-John and Valerie Harper.

Produced to promote of the release of his album of the same name, the special was viewed by a record 65 million people, the largest audience assembled for an ABC music program at that time, yet another strike of genius for promoter-manager-producer Jerry Weintraub.

In 1979, Denver joined The Muppets for A Christmas Together, another classic Christmas special, one accompanied by a best-selling album release.

Side note: in researching this post, I learned that in the midst of their ascendency, Fleetwood Mac was performing in Denver the same night John Denver’s Rocky Mountain Christmas Special aired. It sounded something like this….