A Trip Halfway Around the World Inspired John Denver’s Final No. 1 Single in 1982

In 1982, John Denver released “Shanghai Breezes”. The song, written solely by Denver, appears on his Seasons Of The Heart record.

“Shanghai Breezes” is an interesting release from Denver. The song comes after Denver had success with hits like “Take Me Home, Country Roads”, “Rocky Mountain High”, “Thank God I’m A Country Boy“, and more. By the time Denver released “Shanghai Breezes”, he had already made a name for himself with more Americana themes. But “Shanghai Breezes”, the final No. 1 single of his career, was inspired by a trip Denver took to China.

Denver traveled to China after the country’s then-leader, Deng Xiaoping, invited Denver to perform. In 1979, Denver performed for him at the Kennedy Center. Denver later visited Shanghai, where, according to Denver’s producer, Milt Okun, his time over there led to “Shanghai Breezes”.

“John went to Shanghai to get away from everything and had this profound, deeply personal experience,” Okun says. “He wrote ‘Shanghai Breezes’ while he was there about what he’d been through. It’s a great song about love and about the importance of his relationship with [his wife] Annie.”

The Message in “Shanghai Breezes” by John Denver

“Shanghai Breezes” has a lot of visual imagery, a hallmark of Denver songs. “Shanghai Breezes” says, “It’s funny how you sound as if you’re right next door when you’re really half a world away / I just can’t seem to find the words I’m looking for to say the things that I want to say / I can’t remember when I felt so close to you, it’s almost more than I can bear / And though I seem a half a million miles from you, you are in my heart and living there / And the moon and the stars are the same ones you see, it’s the same old sun up in the sky / And your voice in my ear is like heaven to me like the breezes here in old Shanghai.”

Sadly, Denver and his wife, Annie Martell, divorced in 1982.

Although “Shanghai Breezes” is Denver’s last song to reach the top of the charts, he did have other hits throughout the remainder of his career. In 1983, he had a crossover hit single with “Wild Montana Skies”, a duet with Emmylou Harris. In 1985, Denver had his final Top 10 single, with “Dreamland Express”.

Denver passed away on October 12, 1997, in an airplane crash. Denver was piloting the plane and was also the only person in the aircraft. Denver was just 53 years old when he was killed.

Photo by Paul Natkin/Getty Images

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