Soul Strings

Rocky Mountain High, Reimagined

• In Your City Show With Kelley and Gordon

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A teenage athlete in St. Louis puts on glasses and gets told he looks like the biggest star on TV. That small twist becomes a calling. We sit down with Rick Shuler to explore how resemblance opened a door to craft, faith, and a tribute that feels startlingly alive—without losing his own voice. From the first time he saw John Denver perform with his mom to the day the phone rang when Denver died, Rick shares the moments that stitched his story to a legacy millions still cherish.

The heart of the conversation is intimacy: a last‑minute Aspen show, a living room performance for Hal Thau—John’s longtime manager—tears over a cherished guitar, and a friendship that lasted fourteen years. Rick explains why timbre isn’t imitation, how anatomy shapes tone, and why songwriting influences like James Taylor and Dan Fogelberg sit alongside a clear, joyful Christian faith. We talk C.S. Lewis and the three longings of the soul—home, love, and God—and why songs like Rocky Mountain High and Annie’s Song feel timeless, borderless, and endlessly singable. Younger listeners may not know Denver firsthand, but they follow the story through parents, memory, and the communal magic of a room that sings together.

We also preview Rocky Mountain High Christmas at The Factory: conductor and arranger Bill Lennihan, the Starlight String Ensemble, beloved hits, and new originals from Rick’s album Colorado. Expect vivid stories, a warm orchestral glow, and a show built for families to experience together. Rick calls it a gathering more than a concert, a place where nostalgia meets new wonder and where faith and artistry share the same breath. If John were in the audience, Rick imagines a grin and a simple “Far out”—a nod to gratitude over mimicry. Join us, subscribe for more soulful artist stories, and leave a review to tell us the lyric that still brings you home.

SPEAKER_01:

Welcome to Soul Strings, where we explore the stories and sounds that strike the deepest chords in our hearts. Today we're joined by a special guest who carries for the voice and spirit of one of the most beloved artists of our time. He looks like him, he sounds like him, and through his Rocky Mountain High Christmas experience, he brings John Denver's timeless music to life, coming to the factory on December 21st at 3 p.m. Please welcome Rick Shuler. Rick, welcome to the show.

SPEAKER_03:

Well, thank you, Gordon. It's a great privilege and honor to be here with you.

SPEAKER_01:

Well, thank you so much. You know, you got a great show coming up. You know, Rick, people say you look and sound so much like John Denver. In fact, when you first came on the call this morning before we started the show, I was I was like, wow, I feel like I'm actually talking to John Denver here. Where did you first when did you first realize you had this unique connection and how did it lead to building this tribute career?

SPEAKER_03:

Well, that's a really good question. Um, yeah, you know, it uh at the age of 13, I had to wear glasses, which was very traumatic for me growing up in St. Louis and having to wear glasses. Uh as a kid, I was very athletic and I just thought life was over, man. And then all of a sudden people were telling me that I looked like this guy, and I didn't know who he was, but he was only the biggest star in the world, you know. And and when I watched him and you know, on television and when my mom and I went to see him in concert, it freaked me out because we were so, I don't know, his gesticulations, his his mannerisms, and really even his voice seemed very similar to me, um, which I didn't really understand a lot about vocal timbre and texture and all that kind of stuff. Um, but it's fascinating to me um because uh, you know, it really has stayed with me my whole life, ironically. And um, you know, and it's funny because uh when I got into my 20s, I couldn't wait to get rid of my glasses because you know, I'm not John, man, I've got blue eyes, he's got brown, you know, you know, and the the funny thing is when he died on October 12th, 1997, man, that was a really hard day for me. I mean, my friends would all call me for some reason. They were all calling me if I wondering if I was okay, you know. And I'm like, wow, I wasn't in the plane, you know. But you know, but ironically, that that day, October 12, 1997, wound up 14 years later, bringing me uh close to a gentleman who was having a bad day that day himself, which was Hal Thaw, who was John Denver's manager. And uh we became friends, and for 14 years we were very close friends, and he just passed away uh a couple weeks ago.

SPEAKER_02:

And uh so sorry.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, yeah, we were very close. He was very close to John Denver and very close to me, and I didn't realize how much he loved me. Um, his wife and daughter told me how much you know he loved me, and and how you know I was kind of connected to John for him in some way, because he was like a brother to John, and he was like a father to me.

SPEAKER_01:

Was that difficult for him when he first met you? I mean, was it what was that?

SPEAKER_03:

You know, it was the craziest thing in the world, Gordon. It was a really funny thing because I uh I was I was performing as a last minute replacement at a at a home, uh the home of Robert and Lexi Batamkin, very prominent couple in Aspen. And uh and I was just starting to do shows, and we uh I was singing, and all I could, you know, it was it was I was singing all day that day. Yeah, we were doing a recording in a church. We I did a little show, and this is in Aspen, Colorado, and I um and I was looking forward to getting some food after I was singing, but I was singing my heart out as I always do, you know, and this couple, beautiful couple, was staring at me and really just kind of looking at me. And after the show, they came up to me and and Robert, uh Lexi's husband, comes up and says, Rick, would you like to meet Hal Thaw? And I said, Sure, who's Hal Thaw? He goes, Well, that's John Deber's manager, his his lifelong manager. And I said, Well, absolutely. He goes, You know, Rick, I think he's gonna really want to meet you. And when the first time we met Gordon, Hal and I could literally finish each other's sentences, and he wanted me to perform for him and his little his friends in his living room. He invited me to breakfast. We had breakfast in a small group of their close friends, including Robert and Lexi Potamkin. And um, and uh I was singing with my guitar, and and Hal comes out with his other guitar, he said, play this. And it was a guitar that they said was owned by John and beautiful guitar. And I I played uh couple songs on it, and we all cried, and we all became like a family, and uh for 14 years we were very, very close, and uh, and I mean I'm gonna have to write a book because it's a crazy thing. I have to put on glasses because I couldn't see, and the next thing you know, you know, people are telling you you look like the biggest star in the world, and then you're discovering your own voice, and it sounds similar, and it's like, man, this is like a movie or something, you know.

SPEAKER_01:

So, do you write your own music?

SPEAKER_03:

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah. So, how is that transition? Is that difficult for you to kind of uh separate the two?

SPEAKER_03:

Not at all. In fact, you know, it's so funny, it's so organic. Um, because really, uh I never tried to sound like John Denver anyway. Our voices are our timbre, our vocal timbre, because of our facial structure and how we resonate, is very similar. It's a vocal color, but our texture of voice is is different. And um, and so, and also as a songwriter, I mean, I've been influenced by a lot of people, John Denver particularly, but also James Taylor, Dan Fogelberg, you know, Christian musicians like Phil Cage and Keith Green and others. And um, you know, but but John is probably my biggest influence because as a singer, he sang from his heart and and and he smiled at people, you know, which is kind of funny because I I've always been similar to that, you know, uh uh to John. I also have a very deep faith as a Christian. And so for me, um Amen, brother.

SPEAKER_01:

Amen.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah. I mean, for me, singing is is really a way of expressing my love for for for the Lord Jesus and also for for humanity and for my friends and family, and and really just life. And uh and John's hit songs hit all and C. S. Lewis says there are three great longings of the soul, eternal longings, the longing for home, the longing for love, and the longing for God. And John's hit songs hit all those themes and resonate in such a beautiful way that these songs are timeless, cultureless, ageless, no boundaries. Everyone in the world is singing country roads.

SPEAKER_01:

Wow.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

So you got me a little cheered up here because it's like I get emotional anywhere. My wife always laughs at me. She goes, Oh my god.

SPEAKER_03:

I'm a sap too, man. No, I was just gonna say to add to what you're saying, Kurt Cobain is a songwriter from Nirvana from the 90s. He wrote a lyric that said, The finest day I ever had was when I learned to cry like a man. Yeah, I like that line.

SPEAKER_01:

So true. You know what? I want to play something real quick because we're talking about your camber, we're talking about your facial structure, we're talking about the smile. And I want to play this. Honestly, Rick, when I saw this, the first thing that hit me was your smile. It's so much like your inverse. I mean, yeah. So I'm gonna play this real quick and I want the I want the audience to kind of watch it. Let's see.

SPEAKER_00:

Um right there.

SPEAKER_01:

It was that smile when you do that little laugh and that smile, I was like, oh my gosh, I mean, that's identical. Let's talk a little bit about like you guys, gosh, I could talk to you all day because of these stories. Real quick, before we jump to this Christmas show, you were talking about some of your other influences in life. Have you been able to meet any of these other influences in your life and have and any like stars that grew up with John Dever and then they meet you? And what was the reaction to that?

SPEAKER_03:

You know, I had a really fascinating uh interaction with a guy named Jackson Brown. I met him uh at a friend of mine's wedding, uh doctor buddy of mine, lived uh right below him. They were neighbors, and uh we were sitting at the same table at the wedding, and we just totally hit it off talking about songwriting. And and he was so cool because you know, we were talking about ways of seeing and you know, just just the whole um, I don't know, is is artists and and writers particularly songwriters do, and and it turned out that he was also a surfer, and he's also a goofy foot surfer like me. I surf right foot forward, and you know how you find that out is when you're a kid and you would slide, which foot would you lead when you slide? And you do it without even thinking, and that's you know, if you're right foot, that's goofy foot. And so Jackson and I had just the most magical conversation, you know, and he just talked, you know, he didn't he didn't talk down in any way, you know, he was a big star, you know, he's a famous songwriter, but he talked to me like he knew me, you know. We were just talking about stuff, he was listening to me, like, wow, yeah, you're right, you know, it was just the coolest thing, and people think that they know me because that my face is familiar to them, but they don't particularly know why. And even famous people who actually knew John would would come up to me and talk to me and stuff, you know, they thought they, you know, it's it's a strange, quite frankly, I may have to write a book or something, but it's a crazy thing, really. And nobody didn't like John. I mean, and and after John died, particularly, I think that, you know, there's something about, you know, you know, in life, you know, people make mistakes or they, you know, they do things or you know, or whatever, you know, maybe the last album wasn't so great, but uh all of a sudden people remember all the good stuff and what they're missing, you know, and that that really changed, I think.

SPEAKER_01:

So you have a Rocky Mountain High Christmas experience. It's not just a concert, it's a full experience. What can the audience expect from this when they come to the factory on on the 21st of December?

SPEAKER_03:

You know, it's gonna be a wonderful, wonderful concert. This particular concert, we're doing um my show with my very dear friend Bill Lennihan, who is my um my conductor and a ranger. And uh Bill and I had worked on one of my albums years ago called The Aura of Laura. Uh, we did that in St. Louis with Perry MJ at his studio there. And uh, and Bill Bill is one of the finest musicians, conductors, arrangers, composers you'd ever want to meet. I think he's the most talented musician on planet earth. And uh, we're gonna have a little orchestra, mini orchestra with us, the Starlight String Ensemble, and it's gonna be special, great stories. Um I mean, I swear I'm having more fun than the law allows, man. I I swear, and my audience has fun too. The music is just, man, it's just like bringing back, you know, several of my family and friends have have gone on to be with the Lord, and it just brings everybody back, man. You know, it's just it's just something it brings John back too. And for me, um, John Denver used to say in in when he was in his heyday that he would actually like to come to one of his own concerts. They were that good. And modesty forbid, I'd I'd like to say the same thing because I swear I I'm having so much fun uh singing these songs. It's just they're so beautiful, and I just absolutely love them every time, even more when I sing them. And uh some of my songs are we're releasing my album called Colorado, and so I'll be doing some of those songs. And but it's just uh I just can't wait to start the tour. We're starting it next week in Nashville, next weekend, and we're releasing the album Colorado, and then we're gonna be just taking it all over the country and ending up at the end in Hawaii. But the St. Louis factory show is probably my favorite because at home I'm a St. Louis and I have such memories of Ted Drews and growing up, you know. Um, I actually went inside the arch when I was a kid, and um, you know, just all the wonderful memories I have growing up, and it's like a childhood treasure chest. Uh, my favorite poet Rainer Rilka used to say that you'll be dipping into that chest the rest of your life. And and I feel with John Denver and his music and his times and the television specials and just the family watching all that stuff together, it just brings everybody back. And we were all younger, we were all um, I don't know, there was just something special about being an American and being uh, you know, a part of all of John's life and his world with his music. It's beautiful.

SPEAKER_01:

Let me ask you a question. When you that is so awesome. Um, and you know what? That's the whole reason I started this podcast to begin with, is it's called Soul Strings. And I don't know if you noticed the cross in the middle of the it's cool, man. It's something that I wanted to do to tie in, kind of tie to reach musicians. I have a lot of musician friends that I want to see those to be saved. And uh you know, it it's we grow up and like you said, we see some of them pass, and we wish that they were still a part of still here, still wish that we had taken the time to talk to them, you know. So that's the whole reason this podcast exists. Um when you talk about your shows, how do the younger audience, how did how do they react? Because they didn't grow up seeing John Denver.

SPEAKER_03:

You know, they're mesmerized, you know. They may not have grown up with John Denver, but they did grow up with somebody who grew up with John Denver. I mean, the irony of it is that you know, C. S. Lewis has a great saying. I I quote him so often, my show is almost a crypto C. Lewis show, really. My promoter, actually, uh Paul Emery, does a C. S. Lewis show. Um, if you have never seen the C. S. Lewis show that that uh David Payne does and his team, it's unbelievable. But uh, but C. S. Lewis says that a story can break past the watchful dragons of reason. And I add to engage the heart. That's with music, because music engages the heart. And so the story is what really draws people in. And so it's a contiguous line of thought. And even the the best example of that is when the Lord was telling the parables that the Pharisees, who were actually the punchline of the parable, had to hear the end, you know, because they wanted to know what they they wanted to hear the end of the story. And so once you get on that story train, uh you're gonna stay on that until it ends. And quite frankly, the kids just kind of are mesmerized because their uh their culture, the the the world culture right now is so fractured and it's so um it's so lost really, and it needs a you know uh a contiguous uh um uh a contiguous line to follow, really. And I think that's the beauty of you know the story and basically talking to people, faith, you know, my faith in in Christ is is really the very core of who I am. John was always a little bit more nebulous about that, but I'm very open about it. Um yeah, I don't proselytize, but I I do like to share like poems, prayers, and promises. You know, we you know, we talk about what we believe in, you know. You know, we don't have to agree on everything, but I think that's the beauty of it, really.

SPEAKER_01:

If John Denver were here today and sat in the audience at the factory, what do you think he'd say to you after the show? Far out!

SPEAKER_03:

I think he'd have a blast. You know, I really do. You know, it's funny. I think in life, you know, friends of mine have told me that that that knew John felt that he would probably be more competitive or maybe insecure. Or, you know, one couple of guys that played with John as musicians when I when I played with them, they were they just were stunned, you know, they were like, man, if John knew that you were around, man, there'd be a lot of practical jokes, you know, um, with you um, you know, uh pretending, you know, being and he would he would have a lot of fun with it. I don't really know, you know, because no one knows, but I personally feel that that John um was really a believer. Um his mother was a believer. And I I think you can't write songs like that, you know. Um there the songs really, especially the hit songs, hit those themes that Lewis was talking about home, love, and and God, really the longing for those deep things. He hit those better than anybody. I don't think there's anybody. Rocky Mountain High is an anthem to the glory of God and the majesty of creation and the mountains and and and and annie's song is so beautifully rooted in the senses. When you uh I was I had an experience one night when I was in the in the forest, you know, I was getting ready to play a uh concert uh for John Denver's manager and his friend, a very close circle of his friends. And uh I pulled my guitars out. I was I was uh I had to find this place in the rain, and then the rain stopped. And I was up on it, it was actually up by the independence pass, and I've grabbed my guitars out and I'm looking up and I can see the stars, the clouds disappeared, and and this piny scent filled my senses. And I'm like, you fill up my senses like a night in a forest. Like the mountains in springtime. I mean the whole the the whole thing, the lyrics, um, the meaning, um, all of the the beautiful aspects of this music really are to the glory of God. It's the human experience and really um interacting with God and and and with each other. And I I just think I I just think John would probably love what I'm doing. I think he would actually find it fascinating to hear. Pure perspective put on himself, which John himself couldn't do. I can't put perspective on myself either, really. You know, we we can't, that's not really our job or role to do, you know. But that's how special he is. And and really, um, to our culture, I think he's John Denver is the very best of what America has ever produced, as far as I'm concerned, regarding music.

SPEAKER_01:

You know, you were talking, and when you were talking about sitting out in that forest and seeing the stars, all I could think of was David singing psalms to God.

SPEAKER_00:

Oh, yeah. Oh yeah. Oh yeah, the Psalm 19.

SPEAKER_01:

The heavens declare the glory of the world. So the thing is, I agree with that. It hit me.

unknown:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03:

Well, it hits me too, man. I mean, it you know, it it's a funny thing because it hits me even when I'm on stage, you know, where wherever I am, you know. I mean, to me, um, I I'm a surfer and I like to be on my paddleboard, you know, I'm a stand-up paddleboard surfer. And I I love getting on my paddleboard, and when I'm singing, it's the same, you know, especially when I'm standing, it's the same stance. You know, your knees are slightly bent, you know, your core is engaged. And you know, it I envision myself a lot of times, you know, on my on my paddle board. And there's uh there's something about um music that that has that uh capacity to express the heart and really the longing for God, which is really something deep that God has put deep in us. Um Ecclesiastes 3.11 says that you know that God has put eternity in the hearts of man. And it's just Lewis talks a lot about heart tethering. Um, to you know, and he his his um book, The Weight of Glory. I don't know if you ever read that book, but it's The Weight of Glory, W-E-I-G-H-T. It's one of the most amazing books, and my whole show is The Weight of Glory. That's really what it is. He he has a poetic way of describing all of this that nobody does. But John's music, um, the Dead Sea Scrolls thing, which is a whole archaeology thing that I do, um, and also with um you know, with uh John and the Dead Sea Scrolls and music is just so cool how they all intertwine.

SPEAKER_01:

Rick, I just can't tell you how much I appreciate you being on the show today, getting to know you, getting to meet you. I can't wait for your show to come here on the 21st of December. It is at the factory. Have you played the factory before?

SPEAKER_03:

You know, I've never played the factory. We uh we played a few, several other venues in St. Louis and of course all around the country, um, some beautiful performing art centers. But I've heard so much about the factory, I've actually seen pictures of it, but I can't wait to perform it, and especially with the Starlight String Ensemble and Bill Lennihan, we're really excited about that. Bill and I Bill and I have had such a history together for so many years. He's like a musical mentor. I mean, um, Bill Lennihan is uh is a composer, uh professor of composition and director of jazz studies at Washington University and also in in Florence, Italy. Um, one of the most accomplished guitarists in the world. And uh, I mean, I'll tell you, the the musicians we have lined up for that show, wow. I'm just honored to be on stage with them. You know.

SPEAKER_01:

Well, I'm honored to have you on the show today. Thank you so much for your time. And uh looking to see the show December 21st. I'm gonna let you take us out with this little video here. And uh I want to encourage everyone to come see the show uh on December 21st. Rick, thank you. Have a fantastic day, and uh, I look forward to seeing you in December.

SPEAKER_03:

Well, God bless you, brother Gordon. Look forward to getting a man hug from you and meeting your wife, and we're gonna have a blast, man.

SPEAKER_01:

Sounds great, Rick. Thanks, brother.

SPEAKER_03:

Thank you, brother. God bless you.

SPEAKER_02:

My musical director, best friend, Mr. Bill Lenahan, and the Starlight String Ensemble. We're gonna have a blast this Christmas, folks. We're gonna be at the factory. We want you to bring your family and your friends for the Rocky Mountain High Experience, John Denver Christmas. We'll see you there. It's gonna knock you out.