Before There Was Taylor Swift and Kanye, There Was John Denver and Charlie Rich

With so many people tuning in at once and plenty of booze to loosen celebrities’ inhibitions, award shows offer a unique opportunity that, in the best cases, provide impromptu moments of levity and, in the worst cases, create surprising moments of aggressive or brash behavior. We’ve seen several examples of the latter in recent memory, including Will Smith slapping Chris Rock and Kanye West interrupting Taylor Swift at the MTV Awards to say how much better Beyoncé’s record was.

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But decades before either pop culture moment took place, there was John Denver and Charlie Rich, two easy-listening country artists playing different roles at the Grand Ole Opry’s Country Music Awards in October 1975. Rich, who was enjoying a peak in his fame thanks to the 1973 hits “Behind Closed Doors” and “The Most Beautiful Girl”, was presenting the Entertainer of the Year Award. John Denver was the winner. 

After clumsily struggling with the envelope in what appeared to be a comedic bit, Rich took a step away from the mic and pulled a cigarette lighter out of his pocket. He lit one corner of the paper on fire and, as it burned, announced Denver’s name. Denver, who was joining the ceremony via satellite linkup, didn’t know Rich had just burned his name card and began his acceptance speech like nothing had happened.

The Aftermath of the Charlie Rich and John Denver Incident

The stunt lasted for only a few seconds. By the time people realized what Charlie Rich was doing, he had already named John Denver as the CMA Entertainer of the Year. The overwhelming crowd reaction was cheers and claps for Denver’s win, but Rich’s actions stunned much of the audience. Some people assumed Rich was taking a pro-traditional country stance by denouncing Denver’s victory, despite introducing the “Sunshine on My Shoulders” singer-songwriter as his “good buddy.”

Years later, Rich’s son said of the ordeal, “Anybody that knows anything at all about the history of my father will know that it simply wasn’t in his mindset to judge someone for not being ‘country enough,’ ‘blues enough,’ ‘rock enough,’ or ‘anything enough.’ It went against his philosophy. For years people said my father wasn’t country enough. So, let me make it clear: I don’t believe my father burned that envelope because of that.”

“He had recently broken his foot in a freak accident at his home in Memphis,” Rich Jr. continued. “He cracked several bones in his foot. Due to the pain, he took pain medication the night of the show. Bad idea! He and another country star got to drinking gin and tonics while waiting in the dressing room. The show was long, so by the time Dad was supposed to go on, the drinks on top of the medication got him buzzed. That’s why I think he did it. Primarily, he thought it would be funny.”

A popular rumor surrounding this story is that Rich was never able to chart a major hit again after the infamous incident. Although this isn’t entirely true, he never did get another CMA after that.

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