A YEAR AGO

I meant to post on my one year anniversary but time the usual factor caught me out.

So I am a couple of days late but in recognition of this anniversary I have here two songs from the great John Hore-Grenell.

John Denver Hore was born in 1944, in the Central Otago town of Ranfurly and I first saw him on a NZ TV talent show "Have a Shot'. It was based upon a radio show from 1ZB in Auckland. In the radio program I used to listen to as a kid, when the judges thought they had heard enough they fired a shot and the act came to an end. TV was not that cruel.

John was like many others who failed to win Have a Shot but went on to fame - Shona Laing, Split Enz - and of course in the UK Susan Boyle didn't win. Where are the winners now?

So John did not win (3rd) but I thought he was the best act. However, I must admit that when I saw Split Enz on hHave a Shot I thought they were terrible.

Nevertheless John joined the show circuit and in 1965 he went to the USA where he performed as John Denver, using his first and middle names. Hore was considered by the Yanks as too risque.

Supposedly John Deutschendorf was performing and that was when he decided to call himself John Denver. Later when the Kiwi returned to the US he couldn't use Denver so he used his mothers maiden name of Grenell instead.

So today we have John singing I've been everywhere and Welcome to my world which Toyota used in an advert. I've previously posted his version of Blue Smoke.