John Denver

JOHN DENVER was at the centre of a major country music scandal when fellow superstar Charlie Rich set fire to his award on live television.

There may have been support for Rich's stance among many classic country music performers but the industry response was swift and final. But one thing that night did entertain him: “I was happier watching Charlie Rich get drunk and burn up the Entertainer of the Year award, holding a cigarette lighter to the envelope, please. Many believed Rich was taking public and rather ill-advised stand against the infiltration of crossover pop acts onto the country scene. He felt badly that people thought it was a statement against John Denver." The message to anyone watching seemed clear: in Rich’s eyes, a West Coast neo-folkie like John Denver, who had built his career on pop radio, was not welcome in country music." It seemed like a terrible and calculated insult and sent shockwaves throughout the tight-knit community.