John Denver

A month ago, John Denver's Greatest Hits was a certified gold album. Today it is nine times platinum, according to the Recording Industry Association of America. No, the country isn't Rocky Mountain high. RCA Records, Denver's longtime label until his 1997 death, finally requested that the RIAA audit the singer/songwriter's catalog. Michael Omansky, the senior vice president of strategic marketing for RCA and a former friend of Denver's, spearheaded the project. According to Omansky, the label had gone through so many changes during the past two decades that some artists' sales figures had gone unreported. He spent a year gathering Denver's data and recently asked the RIAA to approve it.

"It was really just about recognition," Omansky said. "I started working on a reissue program shortly before his death. When he died, it suddenly wasn't uncool to like John Denver anymore and he started selling a lot more records. John was a great artist and a great songwriter." The RIAA found 19 million unrecognized units after researching how many Denver albums have been shipped since the prior audit of his catalog in 1973. So when certifications were announced for the month of May, Denver's albums were showered in gold and platinum.† Denver's Greatest Hits, Volume Two jumped from platinum status to double platinum, Greatest Hits, Volume 3 went from uncertified to gold and The Rocky Mountain Collection went from uncertified to platinum.

Five Denver titles went from gold to double platinum: An Evening With John Denver, Back Home Again, Rocky Mountain Christmas, Rocky Mountain High and Windsong. Certifying is a different process than tracking album sales for royalty purposes, Omansky said, noting that Denver's estate and his publishers have been receiving royalty payments for the sold music. In fact, he added, an artist usually has sold more copies than are certified. "John Denver's catalog is huge. It's a beast to stay on top of," said John Henkle, director of the RIAA's gold and platinum program. "But RCA's efforts will pay off in that John will get the official recognition he earned." Denver, who died in a plane crash on October 12, 1997, was a gentle performer whose many hits included "Sunshine on My Shoulders," "Thank God I'm a Country Boy" and "Rocky Mountain High." His album sales in the United States have reached 32.5 million, Henkle said.

• John Denver

October 13 [Updated 16:00 EDT] -- John Denver, whose folk-pop stylings made him one of the 70s most popular recording artists, has died in a plane crash. According to Reuters, officials have confirmed that the 53-year-old singer was piloting his fiberglass, single-engine experimental plane that went down off of the coast of Northern California on Sunday afternoon.

While Denver's former sister-in-law, Terri Martell, first reported Denver's death to the press early Monday morning, but police did not confirm the identity of the crash victim until Monday afternoon.

In a statement released early Monday morning, the Pacific Grove Police Department released details of the crash, but did not announce the identity of the victim. The police say that at 5:27 p.m. Sunday afternoon the plane was flying approximately 100 yards off of the coast when it unexpectedly dove into the ocean some 130 miles north of San Francisco.

The police went on to say that representatives of the National Transportation Safety Board are due in Pacific Grove on Monday to investigate the crash.

The singer scored 12 platinum albums over the course of his career, which was fueled by hits like "Rocky Mountain High," "Take Me Home, Country Roads," and "Thank God I'm A Country Boy."

Denver also directed a good deal of his energies away from music, supporting a number of environmental causes including anti-nuclear power groups. Denver was also a dedicated supporter of space exploration, and was a board member of the National Space Institute. In 1994, Denver was recognized for his non-music efforts when he was given the Albert Schweitzer Music Award for his humanitarian efforts, becoming the first non-classical musician to earn the honor.

• John Denver