About The Song
It first appeared on Denver’s 1974 album Back Home Again, but it sadly failed to enter the charts. A few months later, a live version of his performance on the first night of a sold-out six-night stand at Los Angeles’ Universal Amphitheatre was recorded and released as a single off his album An Evening with John Denver. And it didn’t go unnoticed! The knee-slapping tune landed on the top spot of both Billboard’s Hot 100 and Hot Country Songs chart – where it stayed at No. 1 for one whole week.
While “Thank God I’m A Country Boy” shares the common theme found in most of Denver’s songs – singing about country living as the best thing in life – this one wasn’t actually written by the singer. The credit goes to the guitarist-fiddler of his backing band, John Martin Sommers, who recalled penning the song during one drive from Aspen to Los Angeles.
According to Sommers, he was feeling “peaceful, happy and content” of the way his life goes when he found himself scribbling some notes of his joyful state along the way – which served as the song’s inspiration. “My days are all filled with an easy country charm. Thank God I’m a country boy,” the song goes.
Indeed, out of all his remarkable hits, this one still makes us smile today. It goes to show that John Denver’s music continues to stand the test of his time. They’re here to stay to take you back in time to the dreamy setting of the 1970s whenever you want to.