About The Song
John Denver wrote this song about a 1910 Gibson “F-hole” acoustic jazz guitar his grandmother gave him when he was 12 years old. This was the same guitar she used to play, and it became Denver’s prized possession, as he learned to love music playing the instrument. Denver would often talk about the guitar in concert appearances and interviews, as it was such an important part of his development. He was living in Tucson, Arizona when he got the guitar, as his father, who was in the Air Force, was stationed there.
Denver was a shy kid, and was forced to move around a lot because his dad was in the military. He spent a lot of time listening to the radio and playing the guitar, learning to write songs along the way. When he was 13, his music teacher asked him to bring the guitar into class, which he did. After playing some songs for the class, he became much more accepted at the school.
John Denver died on October 12, 1997 and his body was cremated along with this same guitar. The remains were spread over the Rocky Mountains.
“This Old Guitar” first appeared on Denver’s eighth album, Back Home Again, as the last track. It was never released as a single, but was one of his favorites; the song appears on many of his compilations and Denver often performed it live.
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Barbara Desetto