Minnesota Music Hall of Fame hosted a Fourth of July “Star-Spangled Special,” in which special guest Bobby Drengler shared stories about the earlier days of John Denver’s career. In photo from left to right: Neal Bond, Joel King, Bobby Drengler, and Bonnie Ubl.

Attendees gathered at the Minnesota Music Hall of Fame Saturday for the second event in a new music series that provides a deep dive on inductees. This one focused on the early days of John Denver. 

Born Henry John Deutschendorf Jr. and better known as John Denver, he was inducted into the Minnesota Music Hall of Fame in 2017 and remains one of its inductees alongside names like Prince, Bob Dylan, and Judy Garland. He married Annie Martell from St. Peter in 1967.

Minnesota musician Bobby Drengler, founder of the band “City Mouse,” and “People’s Fair,” (a Mankato summer music festival,)  shared personal stories about Denver from his experiences with him just starting out in his career.

Drengler worked with a young Denver back in the late ’60s and early ’70s, helping record some of his first solo demos in Minnesota. 

When Denver decided to go solo after his time with the Chad Mitchell Trio, Drengler was there to help him record those early demos. 

“Leaving on a Jet Plane” became a huge hit, and soon RCA took over, cutting ties with Minnesota connections and handling all promotions themselves

Drengler said, “John’s biggest inspiration was Annie, and his best-selling song ever, was one he wrote for her, called “Annie’s song.”

It was at the Holiday Supper Club, owned by Annie’s parents, Al and Ruth Martell of St. Peter, where John and Annie met. 

It was at this “bottle club” where Annie would often be waiting for John to come in after performances.

Drengler explained what a “bottle club” was. It is a type of private club where patrons brought their own bottles of liquor because full bars weren’t always available or allowed back then. 

Marian and her husband Jerry Kamm recalled visiting the Holiday Supper Club in St. Peter. Marian shared that it was always special to go on Friday nights with another couple. 

“We just used to wait and see. We would stay as long as we could, to see if John would come in after closing. We missed him one night,” she said with a smile.

Susan Loose, who has lived in New Ulm for about 35 years, shared some of the most memorable moments of the morning. She told the crowd that Denver babysat her when she was just 2 years old, back when he was still known as John Deutschendorf, a story reaching back to their time in Texas.

She also recounted a funny local “baby Jesus nativity scandal” from 1986 in Denver, where the Baby Jesus figure disappeared from a nativity scene. She said. “It was later discovered in the mountains where John Denver was filming a movie. People were saying, ‘John Denver stole baby Jesus,’ even though it was just a misunderstanding.”

MMHF museum administrator John Kass and longtime staff member Bonnie Ubl, were there to greet attendees.

Kass explained why the music series was held Saturday morning.

“It just happens to fall on the Fourth of July,” Kass said with a smile.

While there isn’t a direct tie to Independence Day, Denver is considered an American treasure, Kass said.

Kass has volunteered for over five years at the Hall of Fame, since right after the pandemic. He walked in on the first day it reopened and said, “Put me to work.” 

Now retired and living just two blocks away, the Minnesota music-lover volunteers hundreds of hours because he loves it. 

“Hundreds of volunteers have put so much effort into this place over 37 years,” he  said.

“Neal Bond, president of the Minnesota Music History Channel, is a key figure in preserving Minnesota music history, and continues to do important work keeping these stories alive for all of us. He does so much for the Minnesota Music Hall of Fame,” said musician Peter Wendinger.

Bond is a videographer with a love of preserving Minnesota music history.

He has a new video series and will be releasing it soon. The first video in the series will be available in October on YouTube.  It is called, “MMHC Legends Series: Voices of Minnesota Women part 1.”

The Minnesota Music Hall of Fame has been in New Ulm since 1988. Over the course of 37 years, the Hall of Fame has inducted 229 different musical acts.

Kass said, “Keep an eye on their website and Facebook page, there are plenty more good things coming.”

The MMH will host a special Prince Legacy project with Joel King, 11 a.m. Saturday. King worked closely with Prince on projects like Graffiti Bridge, will share stories, insights on Prince’s life, music, and lasting legacy.