Hit singer John Denver, whose records Rocky Moun- tain High and Take Me Home, Country Roads sold millions, was killed yesterday when his plane crashed into the sea off California. He was 53.
"He loved flying. He died doing something he loved," said Ms Teri Martell, whose sister Annie was Denver's first wife. Ms Martell was speaking from her home in Minnesota. His body was recovered from the sea in Monterey Bay. An autopsy is planned.
Waves broke against the rocks as the sun rose over the crash site, turning the sky pink and orange, when searchers went to find his body.
A coastguard helicopter circled overhead, apparently to look for more debris from the crash, and a Coastguard ship floated over the site about 100 yards from shore.
The two-seater plane, which Denver owned, was made of glass fibre with a single engine.
It was considered an experimental aircraft.
Police Lieutenant Carl Miller said the plane took off from Monterey Airport and first reports of a crash came 27 minutes later. Only one person was aboard.
He said the plane was flying about 500 feet "when it just sort of dropped unexpectedly into the ocean. When it hit the water it broke into numerous parts."
Witness Carolyn Pearl said she saw a puff and heard a "popping" sound before the crash.
Denver, a qualified pilot, also had a plane accident in April 1989. He walked away uninjured after the 1931 biplane he was piloting spun around while taxiing at an airport in northern Arizona.
"We are all very broken up over this," said a family friend, Mr Jerry McClain. "The person John was in public was the person he really was."
John Denver was born Henry John Deutschendorf, the son of a US Air Force pilot, when his father was stationed at Roswell, New Mexico. He took his stage name from the Colorado city he eventually made his home.
In the mid-1960s, he was chosen from 250 other hopefuls as lead singer for the Chad Mitchell Trio as a replacement for the departing Mitchell. He left in 1969 for a solo career.
That year, his song Leaving on a Jet Plane became a big hit for Peter, Paul and Mary.
True to his folk music roots, Denver's pop hits were personal, but he was sometimes criticised for being corny, banal or lacking in bite.
His career began to wane as he grew older and he became a strong supporter of environmental causes, founding the non-profit Windstar Foundation. He was also a space program enthusiast.
In recent months, there had been hints of renewed interest in Denver. A greatest-hits album has been climbing the country and western charts.
But in the early years, Denver's records - melodic, light folk-pop with touches of country - were hugely successful.
He scored with songs such as Sunshine on My Shoulders, Annie's Song (written for his first wife), Back Home Again and Thank God I'm a Country Boy.
Fourteen of his albums went gold and eight went platinum.
His LP John Denver's Greatest Hits is still one of the largest selling albums in the history of RCA Records, with worldwide sales of more than 10 million.
His trademark wire-rimmed glasses and handsome smile - a clean-cut hippie who could appeal to all generations - served him well.
In 1976, Denver cofounded the Windstar Foundation, a non-profit making environmental education and research centre that works toward a sustainable future for the world.
He also was active in fighting world hunger.
Denver also has had his troubles. He was arrested in August 1993 on a drunk driving charge and pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of driving while impaired.
The singer was arrested exactly a year later - August 21st, 1994 - on a second drunken-driving charge. The first trial ended in a hung jury; the second trial had been set for early next year.
His former manager, Mr Tim Mooney, said Denver sometimes had trouble expressing himself in speech, but "he knew he could deliver with a guitar and his voice."
He is survived by a son, Zachary, and daughter, AnnaKate, from his first marriage; his second wife, Cassandra Delaney and their daughter, Jesse Belle.