John Denver’s iconic song “Take Me Home, Country Roads” came out in 1971, making it more than five decades old. It was featured on his album Poems, Prayers & Promises. The song was originally written by Bill Danoff and his wife, Taffy Nivert, for Johnny Cash. However, when John Denver heard about it, he was excited and offered to help finish the song. He liked it so much that he decided to include it on his album.
What’s interesting is that John Denver was not from West Virginia, and neither Danoff nor Nivert had ever been to the state before they wrote the song. In fact, the inspiration for the song came from a different state.
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Here’s the story of how a song that captures the heart of West Virginia became an iconic piece of music.
In late 1970, Danoff and Nivert were driving to a family reunion in Montgomery County, Maryland. To make the long drive more enjoyable, they started to create a song about country roads. They soon realized that the word “Maryland” didn’t quite fit the melody they had in mind. Danoff then thought about using “Massachusetts,” but finally settled on “West Virginia” because it seemed to fit the song even better.
Even though Danoff had never visited West Virginia, he imagined it had beautiful mountains and winding roads. He thought of it as a distant and almost magical place. “It felt like West Virginia was as far away and exotic to me as Europe,” Danoff said.
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At that time, Danoff and Nivert were struggling musicians who dreamed of writing a hit song for more famous artists. Their big opportunity came when they performed at a club called the Cellar Door in Georgetown, Washington, D.C., where they opened for John Denver. After their performance, they played “Take Me Home, Country Roads” for Denver. He was instantly impressed and loved the song. The three of them stayed up all night, working together to perfect the song until it was just right.
John Denver first performed the song at the Cellar Door on December 30, 1970. The audience was so moved that they gave him a standing ovation that lasted for five minutes. Danoff recalled, “When we first sang the song together, it felt like the applause would never end. The audience’s reaction told us we had something special.”
