Day 9 of the 11 Blogs of Christmas brings us to this tender, sweet song written by Steve Weisberg for John Denver. It first appeared on Denver's Rocky Mountain Christmas album in 1975. This is the only song on the Starry, Starry Night CD (besides the two instrumentals) that features Greg only.
I originally found the song through a Google search when we were looking for songs for A Cowgirl Christmas. I showed Greg the lyrics online and he said "its perfect, who wrote it?" I said "Steve Weisberg" and he said "Steve Weisberg from John Denver's band?"
Greg lived in Aspen in the late 70s, when the country rock scene was hot. Members of the Dirt Band and Denver's band would often sit in with the local bands in the Aspen hot spots. So, as it happens, Greg played a gig with Steve Weisberg circa 1977.
About a year after we released Starry, Starry Night, Greg got an email from Steve, out of the blue, wondering if the song we included was the one he wrote for J.D. all those years ago (we'd licensed it through the Harry Fox Agency). He didn't remember the gig, of course, but what a cool circle.
Greg loves this song. Its sweet and strong, all at the same time. You can hear Denver's version on Steve Weisberg's MySpace Page. You might also want to pull out your Rocky Mountain Christmas album - and for that matter, all the other John Denver albums too, and rediscover one of the finest singers and songwriters of our time.
Go to the dowload page for your free MP3 of Christmas for Cowboys from our Starry, Starry Night CD
Download available through 9pm Pacific on Monday Dec. 23, 2008 to accommodate email subscribers.
