Ambroses said on 1/Jul/22
Yes...John Denver was between 5' 9.5" and 5' 10" WITHOUT his 2-3inch western boots...some of them are about three inches high and most are 2.5 inches. John was neither tall nor short barefoot...but normal American average height for a man. Anyone who says he was short is foolish or lying. Period. The song was just using poetic liberty.
Miss Sandy Cowell said on 31/Dec/20
John Denver was born 77 years ago today.
The talented but unfortunate singer/songwriter died tragically in a plane crash aged just 53. 😢
5ft10.5 - I've gone higher because I trust what Trish wrote, having actually met him.
RIP John 🕯️ XXX
(31/12/43 - 12/10/97)
Trish said on 6/Mar/18
I met John three times between 1978 and 1995. I am 5'6" and with a slight 'heel,' I was 5'8" with John easily being 5'11" to 6'. John was never wearing any type of boot when I met him. I recall having to really look up at John to speak with him, which gave me the impression he was at least 5'11" to 6'. In the photo I had taken with him, I came up to his shoulder. John had long, lean legs, which probably also gave the illusion of his being taller than he actually was. John was a quiet, gentle, shy soul. A sweetheart of a man. I miss him every day.
Unsub 5'10 said on 5/Aug/17
John has been my favorite Singer for years and he still is. I grew up listening to his songs. I've always thought John was 5'1O" barefoot, 2 inches taller wearing cowboy boots, no doubt. Amazing singer and human being, He would hit the high notes of The Eagle and the Hawk and Wooden Indian effortlessly. He appeared on a t.v show singing with Placido Domingo, John was like 1.5" shorter, I had been told Placido was more like 5'11.5 by that time. I think John was taller when singing Annie's song and Rocky Mountain High, that music was like a mountain stream. God bless him
Namor said on 13/May/17
Rip may not have been the smartest when talking height but sure was a great lyricist x
BrianK said on 10/Mar/17
Watch the TV Special "Montana Christmas Skies" At the 43:56 mark on youtube John is at least 2 inches taller than Clint Black who is listed at 5.9' That said, Clint could be barefoot and John in 3 inch heals. I say 5'10.5.
Brad said on 7/Oct/13
As listed next to me in Aspen March 1976.
Marlene said on 17/Nov/10
I use to go hear John play and sing at the Cellar Door in DC back in the early 70's. Then I got to meet (and kiss) him after a concert in the mid-80's. I am 5"9", and he was taller than me - and I had boots with 2" heels on. He was at least my height, but I think taller. His persona made him look bigger I guess. I miss him still...
KSW said on 7/May/09
Back in the early 70's, I was a huge John Denver fan and wrote hundreds of fan letters to him. I once asked his height and received a return letter stating he was 5'11" I still have that letter.
David Melton said on 18/Apr/09
A list of heights in a celebrity almanac I read also listed John Denver as 5'9.5"
Jeff said on 17/Apr/09
I am absolutely positive that John Denver was 5 feet 10 inches tall. I met him in an elevator in New York in 1995. We talked for about 20 seconds - and shook hands when we both got off on the ground floor. I am exactly 6 feet tall - and I was standing right beside him!! He was 5"10" tall!!! PERIOD!!! I always though he was taller!!!
TMM said on 26/Jan/09
Yeah, rob it's for a song. I mean how great does "Once I was just two feet high, today i'm 5 feet and 9 and half inches tall" sound for a song? It's just an expression
Linda said on 20/Dec/08
To say 'today I'm six feet tall' in a song lyric is only using that phrase as an expression - it's not meant to be taken literally. Those of us who were born a few years back have heard that phrase used in that way many times, and that's all it means. John Denver has been reported between 5'9" and 5'11", but never at 6'0". He always looked taller because he was always thin.
Tyler said on 10/Nov/08
I met John Denver in 1986, i'm 5'9, i'd say he was 5'10
Marty said on 20/Sep/08
I just saw a video of John Denver accompanied by Glen Campbell and Johnny Cash and they're all standing side by side and Glen Campbell looks a lot taller than John, I'd say a good 3" to 4" taller and Glen is also taller than Johnny Cash who is supposed to be 6 ft1.5 inso how tall is Glen Campbell supposed to be ???
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Scott B. said on 24/May/08
My Dad met him in a Bar back in the 90's. He said he was no more than 5'9. He said he was a real nice guy.
Kai said on 11/Mar/07
At the end of a speech he gave in Aspen in 1980, someone asked him about his special diet to help make him taller. He said he was taller as he had been taught to tuck fanny in, put pelvis back and stand straight, and that in a year he hoped to be taller due to the physical therapy exercises he used to stretch. He said that helped more than even his chiropractor, and that he had started going to him due to severe back pain, having to get up at night and walk to relieve it, and that standing 2 hours playing guitar in concert had been excruciating until he started the exercises he had been taught, and what a huge difference it had made it the way his back felt, just learning to stand correctly using the right posture. He also said the foods he ate made him feel tons better, he had much more energy and stamina and had lost some weight but was more toned as well, was somewhat a vegetarian but still couldn't resist a good taco and that the diet had nothing to do with the height he had actually gained, an additional 3/4 at that time.
Lise said on 24/Nov/06
Anna Zapp,who created those brilliant flower-print cowboy shirts that John wore in the 70s,stated he was about 5'10''.You would think she would know!
I think John tended to look taller because he had those long skinny stovepipe legs.Add cowboy boots &hats(which John wore a lot)that would make him look a lot taller!
This has been a fave topic for giggles among fans for many yrs!I think because he always looked so tall on tv,& it was always a surprise at concerts & book signings to find he was(before he gained weight in the last few yrs of his life)a small-framed man in RL.
Cid said on 6/Oct/06
In the song "Come and let me look in your eyes" where the lyric reads, "Today I'm six feet tall" John Denver wrote the music, the lyrics were written by his friend and writing partner Joe Henry, Joe is at least six feet tall.
Brad said on 15/Aug/06
5' 9" at a bar in Aspen in March of 1976, 5' 9" at his book signing about 20 years later. Nice guy.
DW said on 18/May/06
I met John back in 1995 I think it was. It was after he played the Harbor Lights Concert. He and I both had cowboy boots on, and I might add the same brand, I was then and still am 5'9", he was eye to eye with me. With my boots on I stand 5'10".Also back in 1997 about a month,I believe, before his plane crashed, John went to his docter for a physical as part of renewing his aircraft license. It was reported he was 5'9". P.S. Look at pictures of John with Frank Sinatra, Sinatra was 5'8 1/2", John is just a slight hair taller.
lefty said on 9/May/06
ok,here's how john denver was at least 5'11",when he was on the tonight show,when he stood next to Johnny Carson,who was maybe 5'10",john denver was not "NOT" shorter than carson,Denver was a little taller,Making denver 5'11".....!
Frank2 said on 5/May/06
He could say he was 5'11" all he wanted, but he was nowhere near that height. He was just 5'9".
lefty said on 4/May/06
actually john was 5'11"....with heels on he'd be 6 foot,that's why that line is in the song.He was on the merv giffin show in the early '70's & said he was about 5'11".
Viv said on 26/Mar/06
Frank2 is right. My fiance Jack knew John back in the mid-60's when he was living in Aspen. He and John used to hang out at the same bar where John would do some gigs in the basement and they became friends. They communicated every so often up until John died. When I asked Jack how tall John was, Jack replied that they stood "eye to eye". Jack was about 5'9", then. Jack also stated that he never saw John wearing cowboy boots at that time, so they were wearing similar shoes when they stood "eye to eye". John Denver was about 5'9" back in the mid-sixties and was probably about that height throughout his life. If he was wearing cowboy boots when he was more famous, that would explain how people conceived him to be taller.
Frank2 said on 14/Mar/06
Denver was no more than 5'9".