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| James Garrett performing on stage duirng his "A Tribute to John Denver" show at In the Little Opry Theatre. |
As Branson, Missouri celebrates 50 years of live music shows this year it offers almost 100 different shows of just about every type and music genre. James Garrett’s “A Tribute to John Denver” is a show that doesn’t have the marketing, star power, or “big” production style of some Branson’s better known shows, but what it does offer is two plus hours of some of the most enjoyable entertainment in Branson.
“A Tribute to John Denver” is presented in one of Branson’s smallest theaters, the “Little Opry Theatre” in the IMAX Complex, Monday through Saturday at 10:00 a.m. It stars James Garrett, who sang with the Grammy Award winning group the “Kendalls.” Garrett is supported by an an additional cast of four, a great three piece band made up of Randy Plummer, Base Fiddle, Rick Quincey, Mandolin, Steel Guitar, and Hammered Dulcimer, and Jim Glaspy. Banjo and Guitar and the vocal talents of Miss C. J. Newsom.
From Garrett’s first Denver number, “Hey It’s Good to Be Back Home Again,” until his last, “Calypso,” over two hours later, each word of the lyrics was clearly heard as he beautifully sang his way through a “portrait” of Denver’s music. As would be expected he sang most of Denver’s hit songs such as “Leaving On A Jet Plane,” “Rocky Mountain High,” “Sunshine On My Shoulders” “Annie’s Song,” and many more.
Two things however, might not be expected. The first becomes important when one considers that Denver wrote over 140 songs during his career. Garrett points out that even though a lot of them never became known as Denver hits, he considers some of them “gems.” Some of the “gems” included in the show are “Matthew,” Grandma’s Feather Bed,” and “Whispering Jesse.”
The second is Garrett’s ability to weave his personal relationship with Denver, and his extensive knowledge about his career, into interesting introductory vignettes for just about each piece of Denver’s music in the show, hits as well as the “gems.” The insight he shared about the guitar Denver was referring to in the song “This Old Guitar,” what it meant to him, its loss, eventual recovery and what happened to it after Denver’s death is, but one poignant example.
Another was when Garrett was talking about Denver’s ability to be simple and profound at the same time. He had asked Denver how he wrote so many songs and Denver replied that a song would just drift by and he would grab it. Even with all the shows in Branson, this show is a memorable entertainment “gem” that is a true tribute to John Denver and his music. It is an entertainment experience that one might not want to let drift by, whether a John Denver fan or not.
