the
family
CHRISTMA
Denver’s
music
expressed
love of
fellowman,
country,
nature and
love of family.
Written by ET Russell, journalist
and news editor for Big Bear Lake
NewsRoom, owner of Rim of the
World Media Marketing
16 | S Magazine
nce again it was a Rocky
Mountain Christmas
in the San Bernardino
Mountains by Jim Curry
and his Band. Over the
years, the Curry’s including
the band members have become a part of
an extended family in the mountain community. Entertaining audiences throughout
the country with the familiar music of singer/songwriter John Denver, Jim Curry has
continued to carry out Denver’s legacy.
When invited to meet Jim and Anne
Curry at the home of Chad Michell Trio
Bass-singer Joe Frazier a few years ago,
I was so impressed by the generosity and
kindness of this couple. After leaving the
introductory gathering, I reflected that
those two new friends were exactly like
I would’ve expected John Denver to be,
had I met him. John Denver’s sudden
death in an aircraft accident saddened the
world in 1997. Denver’s music expressed
love of fellowman, country, nature and love
of family.
Family is of the utmost importance to
the Curry’s as well as their band members: Chris Wills, Gene Wagner, Diane
Ireland and Tom Williams. When performing, Jim Curry and his Band come
across to their audiences as one whole,
harmonizing family. The music of John
Denver has been a welcomed part of life
for thousands since the 80’s. Jim Curry
has capitalized on this and delivered his
music as a tribute to Denver, to audiences
everywhere.
Questioning Anne Curry about, ‘How do
you do it? How do you keep the family
image so consistent?’ Audiences quickly
pick-up on being real, being genuine,
being themselves, a team effort performance. Do we, the audience know what
goes on behind the scene?
Jim and Anne met over 40 years ago,
when they were kids and eventually their
childhood friendship developed into a
lifelong love affair.
The Curry’s met flutist Diane Ireland, a
resident of Colorado Springs, at the Annual John Denver Gathering in Aspen,
fourteen years ago. Once they heard her
play her flute they just knew they had to
ask her to play in the band! Diane was a
big fan of John Denver’s and she knew all
of the flute parts to Denver’s music. Jim
and Anne strongly believe that the flute
is the soul of John Denver music, and so
they continue to make the flute a focal
point in their concerts.
Keyboard player, Chris Wills lives in La
Habra, California. Twenty years ago,
www.southcoastmagazine.com
before Jim and Anne started playing John
Denver music full-time, they met Chris
who had a gig at a craft fair. After Chris
introduced himself and expressed an
interest in joining the Curry’s band, they
checked Chris out online. They nearly fell
on the floor….he was so highly, musically
educated! Jim and Anne looked at each
other questioning, “Why would he want
to play with us?” They were right on the
verge of making a big life-changing decision to specialize in John Denver music.
Chris was the perfect fit for playing all of
the beautiful piano lines and orchestra
lines that John Denver recorded with Lee
Holdridge.
Gene Wagner, the Drummer, lives in Palm
Springs. Jim and Anne met Gene fifteen
years ago, through Church connections.
The most seasoned professional of all the
band members, Gene had played drums
in clubs and cruise ships behind big stars
like Rita Moreno, Jerry Van Dyke and
Phyllis Diller – just to name a few.
Gene had promised his wife many years
previously, that he would give up music to
live a non-nomadic life when they married
and had their baby girl; however, Gene
came out of retirement to play drums
for the Curry’s. Gene has been a steady
source of encouragement from the begin-