Who is Annie Martell? Wiki
“You fill up my senses, like a night in a forest, like the mountains in springtime, like a walk in the rain…” Yes, you are right, these are the words of “Annie’s Song” by John Denver, and he wrote it for his first wife, Annie Martell.
When the two parted ways, people wanted to know what happened, what caused the end of such a wonderful love story. This, and much more about Annie, you’ll find out by reading this article.
Early life, family, and education
Annie Martell was born under the zodiac sign of Virgos, on 6 September 1946, which makes her aged 76 as of 2022. Raised in Nicollet, Minnesota USA, she holds American nationality, and her ethnicity is White.
There is nothing known about her upbringing, her parents, and her siblings since she rose to prominence only after marrying the famous singer-songwriter.
Speaking of her educational background, upon matriculating from high school in 1964, Annie enrolled into Aldophus College, Minnesota, graduating with a BA degree in 1968.
Marriage with John Denver
Sometime in 1966, Annie went to a concert and there she met her future husband, John Denver. The two began dating, and after a few months he proposed to her. Annie and John exchanged their wedding vows in 1967, and seven years later, John wrote “Annie’s Song”, which topped the music charts.
The two didn’t have biological children, however, they adopted a boy whom they named Zachary John, and a girl named Anna Kate. John Denver once stated that these children were ‘meant to be theirs’.
The family lived in Edina, Minnesota until 1971, when John bought them a house in Aspen, Colorado USA.
Annie was following John at his concerts, and they would often be photographed with big smiles on their faces. They were one of the favorite celebrity couples, often referred as a ‘perfect match’.
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Divorce
In the late ‘70s and early ‘80s, John Denver was at the peak of his career – both he and Annie claimed that they were too young to deal with John’s sudden success. They believe that this was the reason for their separation, as John said in one of his interviews that Annie has always been the love of his life.
They divorced in 1982 – and one thing that marked it was when John cut their marital bed in half with a chainsaw. Their divorce settlement hasn’t been revealed, however, some rumors were saying that they shared half of all their property.
Where is Annie Martell today?
Annie and John stayed close friends after their divorce, however, she decided to keep a private life away from the media’s attention for years, but did make an appearance in the TV special “A Song’s Best Friend: John Denver Remembered” in 2005.
Annie was also seen in the 2013 TV movie “John Denver: Country Boy”, a biographical documentary about John’s life and career.
Most recently, Annie was a guest on the podcast series “Mobituaries with Mo Rocca” in 2022.
🎶 June 7, 1975: "Thank God I'm a Country Boy" by John Denver hits No. 1.#1970s #music #musichistory #country #countrywestern #folk #popularmusic #johndenver #countryboy #billboardcharts #no1 #ThisDayInHistory #generationx #OnThisDay #babyboomers #generationjones pic.twitter.com/0qFOfy2O7S
— ✦ᴊᴏɴᴇsɪɴɢ ғᴏʀ ᴘʀᴏsᴘᴇʀɪᴛʏ™✦ 🟦🟧 (@GenJones1964) June 6, 2022
Briefly about John Denver
Born Henry John Deutschendorf Junior on 31 December 1943, in Roswell, New Mexico USA, as the eldest son of Captain Henry John ‘Dutch’ Deutschendorf Senior, a US Air Force pilot and his wife, Erma Louise; John had a younger brother, Ron.
The family relocated frequently because of their father’s job, and for John, this was a big problem, as it was hard for him to socialize and so make friends. In his autobiography “Take Me Home”, he said that he was constantly a ‘new kid’, and since he was an introvert, he grew up with a feeling that he should be somewhere else.
He matriculated in 1961, from Arlington Heights High School, Fort Worth, Texas, then enrolled at Texas Tech University to study architecture. There he began singing in a folk-music group, and in 1963, decided to drop out of college and move to Los Angeles, California to pursue his music career.
There he sang in folk clubs before he joined The Chad Mitchell Trio in 1965. It took him four years to launch his solo career, and his debut album “Rhymes & Reasons” was released soon afterwards. In 1970 he released two more albums – “Take Me to Tomorrow” and “Whose Garden Was This”.
John’s breakthrough album was “Poems, Prayers & Promises” released in 1971, and his single “Take Me Home, Country Roads” reached #2 on the Billboard charts. John then signed with his new manager, Jerry Weintraub, who began a radio airplay campaign, and John’s career flourished thereafter.
John ultimately released 25 studio albums, and received numerous accolades and awards, including the American Music Award-Favorite Pop/Rock Male Artist. In 1996, he was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, for the song “Take me Home, Country Roads”.
Speaking of his personal life, after he divorced Annie Martell, in 1988 John married Australian actress Cassandra Delaney, who is probably still known best for her role in the 1986 cult movie “Fair Game”. The two resided in John’s house in Aspen, where they raised their daughter Jesse Belle, who is John’s only biological child, but in 1991 John and Cassandra separated, and their divorce was finalized in 1993.
Death
John’s love for flying was second only to his love of music and singing, and he was a pilot with over 2,700 hours of experience. On 12 December 1997, his aircraft crashed into Monterey Bay, near Pacific Grove in California. John was alone in the plane, and at that time, he was not legally permitted to fly, since he had several arrests for drunk driving in previous years.
John died due to multiple blunt force trauma resulting from the crash of his plane. An autopsy found no sign of drugs or alcohol in John’s body, and the post-accident investigation showed that the main cause of the accident was John’s inability to switch fuel tanks during the flight, although the suspicion was that John had taken his own life.
After John’s death was announced to the world, Roy Romer, Governor of Colorado, ordered all state flags to be lowered to half-staff in honor of this great singer-songwriter. His remains were cremated, and his ashes scattered in the Rocky Mountains.
John was 53 years old at the time of his death, and his net worth was estimated at over $60 million. As the legal administrator of his assets, Annie Martell divided it equally between their children and John and Cassandra’s daughter.
