Best known for what he once called the “national anthem of Colorado,” Joe Walsh came out to Colorado from Cleveland in the early 1970s. The success of his band the James Gang, with hits like “Funk #49” and “Walk Away,” and in his solo career was largely due to his friendship with legendary producer Bill Szymczyk, who also worked with B.B. King, the Eagles, the J. Geils Band and others.

After moving into the Colorado mountains and living what he would call a “rustic lifestyle,” Walsh formed Barnstorm in 1972 with Joe Vitale from Ohio, who had played in the legendary Amboy Dukes (Ted Nugent’s band), and bassist Kenny Passarelli from southern Colorado. Their self-titled debut, produced by Szymczyk, was the first album to come out of Jim Guercio’s new studio at Caribou Ranch. The “barn” was still not in full operation, but Walsh, Passarelli and Vitale had the freedom to create an entirely new sound that incorporated both the hard rock and the inventiveness of all three. Taking that sound on the road required more than the trio, so they added Rocke Grace and Tom Stephenson, among others, for their touring dates.

Starting out in local bands playing rock and roll, Fogelberg found his passion on acoustic guitar. He left his studies at the University of Illinois and headed for the West Coast, finding inspiration during a week in Colorado before moving on and securing a recording contract. For his second release, Souvenirs, Fogelberg enlisted producer Joe Walsh, who had recently recorded at Caribou Ranch near Nederland, and “Part of the Plan” went to the top of the charts.

While touring through Colorado in the mid-1970s, Fogelberg bought a house from Chris Hillman, situated 9,000 feet up in the Rocky Mountains. His time there resulted in the songs on Nether Lands, a platinum seller. He recorded part of his next venture, Phoenix, in Colorado, and the songs “Heart Hotels” and “Longer” were pop hits.

The Innocent Age, released in October 1981, was Fogelberg’s critical and commercial peak. The double album included four of his biggest hits: “Same Old Lang Syne,” “Hard to Say,” “Leader of the Band” and “Run for the Roses.” He drew inspiration for The Innocent Age from Thomas Wolfe’s novel Of Time and the River.

A 1982 greatest-hits album contained two new songs, both of which were released as singles: “Missing You” and “Make Love Stay.” In 1984, he released the album Windows and Walls, which contained the singles “The Language of Love” and “Believe in Me.”

Denver got his first major break during an audition for the lead singer spot in the Chad Mitchell Trio. He began writing songs after being chosen from over 250 hopefuls, and other performers soon discovered his talents.

In 1969, Peter, Paul and Mary, the most popular folk group of that decade, had a No. 1 hit with a cover of his “Leaving on a Jet Plane.”

Less than two years later, Denver was zooming up the pop charts with “Take Me Home, Country Roads,” and he continued to insinuate himself into the public’s consciousness with “Rocky Mountain High,” “Sunshine on My Shoulders,” “Annie’s Song,” “Back Home Again” and “Thank God I’m a Country Boy.”

Denver’s popularity was measured in record sales that few other artists have achieved, including eight platinum albums in the U.S. alone. John Denver’s Greatest Hits is still the biggest-selling album in the history of RCA Records. A cheerfully optimistic image marked Denver’s 1970s heyday, when he became one of the five top-selling recording artists in the history of the music industry.

Within a few years, the Denver Folklore Center had become a mecca for the national folk revival, with Judy Collins, Arlo Guthrie and the Mamas & the Papas (to cite a few) trading riffs and Bob Dylan taking some guitar lessons during the center’s heyday.

As business thrived and his reputation in the community solidified, Tuft expanded the DFC, eventually taking over the entire block on 17th Avenue. Because of his connections with many leading entertainers, he was soon organizing concerts by some of the biggest names in folk and acoustic music. In 1964, Joan Baez was regarded as folk music’s reigning queen, and Tuft promoted her first show at Red Rocks on August 28, two days after the Beatles appeared there.

Through the years, Tuft promoted performances by Judy Collins, Ramblin’ Jack Elliott and guitar great Doc Watson. In 1965, the Mamas & the Papas made a stop in Denver during their maiden American concert tour; future Colorado governor Dick Lamm partnered with Tuft to secure the concert, personally fronting the $5,000 needed.

The end of the 1960s set the stage for Sugarloaf, with its beginning as the Denver band Chocolate Hair. Keyboardist/vocalist Jerry Corbetta and guitarist Bob Webber of the Moonrakers (Denver’s most popular group during the middle of the decade), plus Bob Raymond on bass and Myron Pollock on drums, recorded demos that got Chocolate Hair signed to Liberty Records. Told by the legal department at Liberty that the name Chocolate Hair inferred racial overtones, the band took the name of a mountain summit in the foothills above Boulder where Webber lived, transforming the rock quartet into Sugarloaf. 

The seven-song demo, a mix of rock, R&B and jazz licks, became the basis for the debut LP with new drummer Bob MacVittie on board to record the last song for the album. The song scored the band a major national hit: “Green-Eyed Lady” which peaked at No. 3 in October 1970. The song resonated with psychedelic rock fans coming down from the high of the Summer of Love and quickly became the group’s biggest hit. Moonrakers singer Veeder Van Dorn was recruited to sing on the record but never became an official member of the group.

The Astronauts began as a three man lineup of Boulder High School graduates with John “Storm” Patterson on bass, Bob Demmon on guitar and Brad Leach on drums. Originally, they performed under the name the Storm Troopers until they rebranded as The Astronauts in order to pay tribute to Boulder’s famous real-life NASA astronaut, Scott Carpenter. 

In the early 1960s, The Astronauts played rock and roll and R&B hits of the day around the University of Colorado campus. Around this time, record label RCA Victor was looking for a surf group of its own to compete with the Beach Boys. The scout asked The Astronauts whether they could play surf music, and they said sure—though they lived in landlocked Boulder and had never surfed. The classic Astronauts lineup of Rich Fifield, Dennis Lindsey and Demmon on guitars, Patterson on bass and a new drummer: Jim Gallagher ended up with a long-term recording contract. The Astronauts were the first Boulder band to make the national charts

Flash Cadillac & the Continental Kids formed at the University of Colorado (CU) in 1968 as a musical throwback to the sounds of the ‘50s. Comprised of CU students Harold “Marty” Fielden (drums), Warren “Butch” Knight (bass), Mick “Flash” Manresa (guitar), Kris “Angelo” Moe (keyboard), Linn “Spike” Phillips III (guitar) and George Robinson (saxophone), the group played their first show on March 7, 1969, getting paid only $100.00.

Flash Cadillac’s lewd and rude shows at the bar and nightclub, Tulagi, quickly became the biggest events in Boulder. A year later, the band drove to Los Angeles to play the legendary Troubadour; Flash Cadillac came on last to a half-empty club but soon had the place packed, with patrons dancing on the tables.

In Denver, the generation that grew up in the 1950s and 1960s had its world-view formed by KIMN Radio, located at 950 on the AM radio dial. The famous cinder block studio with its memorable “KIMN” sign was stationed up on 20th Avenue in the Edgewater neighborhood. From this temple, larger-than-life disc jockeys broadcasted the greatest hits over the airwaves. Under the ownership of Ken Palmer, the station became the dominant Top 40 music station in town. Newspapers reported that anywhere a crowd was gathered waiting for the Beatles to play Red Rocks on August 26, 1964, all of the transistor radios were tuned to KIMN. Young adults listened on their portable radios, at teen department stores and in the car; everyone who wanted a piece of the music scene listened in to KIMN.

During this era of more innocent shock radio, KIMN’s popular record spinners were kings in their own right. Leading the pack was Pogo Poge, who would do almost anything to get people to listen to KIMN Radio. He earned his name after hopping from Denver to Boulder on a pogo stick. He sat atop a flagpole for days and once played the Kingston Trio’s “Tom Dooley” for 18 hours straight. The most famous stunt he masterminded put him in the hospital. After spending nearly two weeks in a snake pit with more than 100 snakes, his camping chair collapsed and a water moccasin bit him three times.

Making his debut in 1963, DJ Jay Mack became notorious for his cast of crazy characters including “Betty Jo Bioloski,” “Niles Lischness” and “Farley McKluth.” Mack would prerecord witty one-liners from these characters to play between songs. Another record-spinner, Hal “Baby” Moore, was consistently voted Denver’s top disc jockey in the local Harmony Records shop poll.  In ‘68, the station brought on Danny Davis as a superstar disc jockey to run the morning show, the same year Billboard Magazine named KIMN Station of the Year. 

The folk boom of the early 1960s spawned numerous purveyors of well-scrubbed folk pop, and one of the most popular ensembles to emerge was The Serendipity Singers, founded at the University of Colorado (CU). Bryan Sennett and Brooks Hatch originally played in The Harlin Trio, organized at the Delta Tau Delta house.

The trio’s success inspired Sennett to expand. They recruited another trio of Delts known as the Mark III (John Madden, Jon Arbenz and Mike Brovsky) and fellow CU students, Bob Young and Lynne Weintraub. This new ensemble called themselves The Newport Singers, and they grew in popularity in and around Boulder through live performances and radio commercials.