Henry John Deutschendorf, Jr. (December 31, 1943 – October 12, 1997), known professionally as John Denver, was an American singer-songwriter, actor, activist and humanitarian, whose greatest commercial success was as a solo singer, starting in the 1970s.

(Source: Wikipedia)

John Denver died on October 12, 1997 at the age of 53 when the plane he was piloting crashed into Monterey Bay near Pacific Grove, California.