Our band, Liberty, evolves

During the week of January 7, 1974, we taped a segment on John Denver’s first TV special for ABC. Included on the show was Lily Tomlin, the comedian George Gobel, and the actor David Carridine. Today, I recall clearly the feelings of self-importance that surfaced in me while in that TV studio. Those emotions were in sharp contrast to the joyful enthusiasm I had grown accustomed to feeling.

In the aftermath of his unsuccessful attempt to remake our band into the picture he had in his mind, John Denver abandoned plans for a Liberty album, and our segment on the TV show turned into our participation in an instrumental jam with a fair number of other people. I’m certain it was a disappointment to most everyone involved, but I don’t remember being particularly upset. It was already clear to me that these and all of the other opportunities to come were a gift from the Universe. What has become clearer for me since then, is that the roadblocks we encounter are gifts too.

After that episode, John Denver invited John Sommers to leave our band and join his. Returning to Aspen to fulfill some club dates that were already set up, Liberty was ready for a transformation. In July, right at the end of the original version of Liberty, we went to Silverton, Colorado, to play some dates at the San Juan Bar and Grill, and we shared some of those dates with another band from California called Lost in the Shuffle. The upshot was that the three of us joined with three of the guys from the other band, and out came the new Liberty. It now consisted of Jerry Fletcher, Jan, Dan Wheetman, Vic, Kent Lewis, and me.

Liberty and the “Big Time Road”

When Somebody of John’s Caliber Calls, You Do What It Takes