''I Want to Live'' is the 12th studio album by American singer-songwriter John Denver released by

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also A ...

in November 1977. The title song was dedicated to the "Hunger Project", of which Denver was on the board of directors. The lead single was "How Can I Leave You Again", of which '' Record World'' said "It moves slowly but with feeling, and is bound to be a favorite with female audiences of all ages this autumn."

Track listing

All tracks composed by John Denver; except where indicated

Side one

# "How Can I Leave You Again" – 3:07 # "Tradewinds" – 3:17 # "Bet on the Blues" (

Tom Paxton Thomas Richard Paxton (born October 31, 1937) is an American folk singer-songwriter who has had a music career spanning more than fifty years. In 2009, Paxton received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.

) – 3:50 # "It Amazes Me" – 2:35 # "To the Wild Country" – 4:31 # "Ripplin' Waters" (

Jimmy Ibbotson James Arvey Ibbotson (born January 21, 1947) is an American musician who is best known as a longtime member of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. He has also released albums as a solo artist, as a member of the Wild Jimbos, and with John McEuen. Ca ...

) – 3:56

Side two

# "

Thirsty Boots "Thirsty Boots" is a civil-rights-era folksong by American singer-songwriter Eric Andersen that first appeared on his 1966 album '' 'Bout Changes 'n' Things''. According to the album's liner notes, the song "was written to a civil rights worker-fr ...

" (

Eric Andersen Eric Andersen (born February 14, 1943) is an American folk music singer-songwriter, who has written songs recorded by Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan, Judy Collins, Linda Ronstadt, the Grateful Dead and many others. Early in his career, in the 1960s, ...

) – 4:35 # "Dearest Esmeralda" (

Bill Danoff William Thomas Danoff (born May 7, 1946) is an American songwriter and singer. He is known for “Afternoon Delight", which he wrote and performed as a member of the Starland Vocal Band, and for writing multiple hits for John Denver, including " ...

) – 3:29 # "Singing Skies and Dancing Waters" – 4:01 # " I Want to Live" – 3:45 # "Druthers" – 2:43

Personnel

*John Denver – guitar, vocals *

James Burton James Edward Burton (born August 21, 1939, in Dubberly, Louisiana) is an American guitarist. A member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame since 2001 (his induction speech was given by longtime fan Keith Richards), Burton has also been recognized ...

– guitar *Renée Armand – vocals *

Hal Blaine Hal Blaine (born Harold Simon Belsky; February 5, 1929 – March 11, 2019) was an American drummer and session musician, thought to be among the most recorded studio drummers in the music industry, claiming over 35,000 sessions and 6,000 singles. ...

– drums *Mike Crumm – vocals *

Chuck Domanico Charles Louis Domanico (January 20, 1944 – October 17, 2002), better known as Chuck Domanico, was an American jazz bassist who played double bass and bass guitar on the West Coast jazz scene. Domanico was born in Chicago. He settled i ...

– bass * Michael Lang – keyboards *

Herb Pedersen Herbert Joseph Pedersen (born April 27, 1944 in Berkeley, California) is an American musician, guitarist, banjo player, and singer-songwriter who has played a variety of musical styles over the past fifty years including country, bluegrass, p ...

– banjo, guitar, vocals * Lee Ritenour – guitar *

Lee Holdridge Lee Elwood Holdridge (born March 3, 1944) is a Haitian-born American composer, conductor, and orchestrator. A 18-time Emmy Award nominee, he has won two Primetime Emmy Awards, two Daytime Emmy Awards, two News & Documentary Emmy Awards, and one ...

– orchestral arrangements ;Technical *Don Wardell – Executive Producer *Kris O'Connor – production assistance *Mickey Crofford – engineer *Acy Lehman – art direction *Mark English – cover illustration

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

John Denver albums 1977 albums Albums produced by Milt Okun RCA Records albums {{1970s-folk-album-stub