How John Denver got huge in Asia
\u201cTake Me Home, Country Roads\u201d is a song about West Virginia, but its message of homecoming has resonance far beyond Appalachia. Songwriter and producer Ian Fitchuk found this out when he was requested to perform Denver\u2019s music at a music festival in Tibet. Fitchuk discovered that Denver has a huge following in East and South East Asia, where Denver toured multiple times from the 70s through the 90s. Denver\u2019s songs first came to the region through the US Armed Forces Network radio as well as a diplomatic performance for China\u2019s leader Deng Xiaoping at the Kennedy Center in 1979. Denver performed alongside the Harlem Globetrotters and the Joffrey ballet, and he left such an impression, the show led to an invitation to be one of the first western musicians to tour China. To better understand Denver\u2019s meaning in the region, Switched On Pop co-host Charlie Harding speaks with Ian Fitchuk about his performance and interviews journalist Jason Jeung who wrote about \u201cCountry Roads\u201d in The Atlantic.\n\nSongs Discussed\n\nJohn Denver - Take Me Home, Country Roads\n\nKacey Musgraves - Oh, What A World\n\nThe East Is Red\n\nJohn Denver - Rocky Mountain High\n\nCreedence Clearwater Revival - Fortunate Son\n\nJames Taylor - Carolina in My Mind\n\nCarpenters - (They Long To Be) Close To You\n\nJohn Denver - Thank God I'm a Country Boy\n\n\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices