Was "Rocky Mountain High" Really Banned? John Denver Vs. The Senate!

John Denver Vs. The Senate: The Real Story Behind "Rocky Mountain High"! The Rocky Mountain High meaning came down to a single word — and in September 1985, John Denver sat in front of the United States Senate to defend it. Nobody in that hearing room expected him. Frank Zappa had testified in a suit and tie, ready for a fight. Dee Snider of Twisted Sister waited his turn in a sleeveless denim vest. Then the committee called the man who sang about sunshine and country roads — the one witness everyone assumed would side with the senators. He leaned into the microphone, told them about a song of his that had been pulled off the radio as a drug record, and compared what they were doing to Nazi Germany. The room had badly misjudged him. This is the complete story of "Rocky Mountain High" — built from the 1985 Senate Commerce Committee testimony, the FCC's March 1971 public notice on drug lyrics, Billboard chart archives, Colorado's 1972 Olympic funding referendum, Denver's own 1994 memoir, and the NTSB report on his final flight. #JohnDenver #RockyMountainHigh #MusicHistory #PMRC #MusicDocumentary ───────────────────────────────────── WHAT THIS DOCUMENTARY COVERS: 0:00 Rocky Mountain High Meaning — The 1985 Senate Ambush 1:26 John Denver Real Name — Why Henry Deutschendorf Picked a City 2:49 Leaving on a Jet Plane — The Number One He Didn't Sing 4:10 Rocky Mountain High Inspiration — The Perseid Meteor Shower 5:28 Who Wrote Rocky Mountain High — Mike Taylor's Guitar Part 6:41 Rocky Mountain High Lyrics Explained — The Friend Who Died 8:16 One Word — What "High" Actually Meant 8:51 Was Rocky Mountain High Banned — The FCC Notice and the Missing Proof 11:47 What the Song Made Him — Poet Laureate and the Burning Card 13:45 John Denver's Memoir — The Part He Left Out 15:31 John Denver PMRC Testimony — The Ambush and the Price 17:53 Colorado State Song — The 2007 Vote and the 2014 Punchline 18:53 John Denver Plane Crash — October 1997, Monterey Bay ───────────────────────────────────── For fifty years, article after article has repeated that "Rocky Mountain High" was banned by radio stations as a drug song. We went looking for the proof — a station, a date, a clipping from 1972 or '73. What we found, and what we didn't, is in this video. If you worked in radio then and remember this record being pulled, tell us where in the comments. We would genuinely like to be proved wrong. And tell us this: the first time you heard that campfire line — what did you think he meant? ───────────────────────────────────── 👉 Subscribe for more music history documentaries and the real lives behind the songs. #CountryRoads #AnniesSong #SunshineOnMyShoulders #JohnDenverSongs #SeventiesFolk #SingerSongwriter #Aspen #RockyMountains #Colorado #WinterOlympics #Seventies #GoldenHourGrooves #BehindTheSong #SongStories #ForgottenLegends #MusicLegends #TrueStories ───────────────────────────────────── SEARCH TERMS: john denver, rocky mountain high, john denver songs, 70s folk music, classic rock documentary, music documentary, rocky mountain high meaning, rocky mountain high explained, what is rocky mountain high about, john denver rocky mountain high story, john denver senate hearing, john denver pmrc, pmrc hearings 1985, parental advisory sticker history, music censorship 1980s, songs banned by radio, john denver colorado state song, was rocky mountain high banned, rocky mountain high fcc, fcc drug lyrics notice 1971, who wrote rocky mountain high, mike taylor guitarist rocky mountain high, rocky mountain high dead friend, rocky mountain high olympics verse, colorado 1976 winter olympics rejected, john denver real name deutschendorf, charlie rich burned john denver's name, john denver we are the world rejected, john denver rca dropped, why was rocky mountain high banned, why did john denver testify before congress, what does rocky mountain high really mean, did john denver write rocky mountain high about drugs, who was the friend in rocky mountain high, 70s singer songwriter documentary, folk music history, american folk revival, songs with hidden meanings, songs that got banned, one hit that changed everything, classic rock stories, behind the song, music industry history, celebrity congressional testimony Note: Golden Hour Grooves does not own all content featured in this video. All rights remain with the original copyright owners. We use portions of copyrighted material under Section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Act for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. If you are the copyright owner and believe any content is used incorrectly, please contact us and we will promptly review the request. Contact: [email protected]