Remember When Charle Rich Lit John Denver’s Acceptance Letter on Fire at the CMAs

Recently on This Past Weekend with Theo Von, Brooks & Dunn opened up about the competitive nature of Nashville’s country music industry. They revealed that not everyone likes each other and that the relationships between artists aren’t how they appear to be on TV. It seems modern country artists may resort to a more undertoned and undetectable way to get their jabs in. Even though competition has seemingly always been present in country music, it used to be more overt—especially between Charlie Rich and John Denver.

Not much is known about the feud between Denver and Rich. However, the most polarizing event to transpire in their feud was at the CMAs in 1975. We don’t want to give specifics quite yet, though, the events of that night reportedly prove Brooks & Dunn’s comments. After all, country music is—to a degree—an extension of the entertainment business. And famously, every facet of the entertainment business is known to be cutthroat. This story between Charlie Rich and John Denver will remind you of just that.

Charlie Rich Announces John Denver as Entertainer of The Year

1975 was the year of John Denver. Consequently, Denver had won CMA’s Entertainer of The Year Award, and many believed he deserved it. Charlie Rich, who was tasked with announcing the winner, opened the envelope and read Denver’s name. From there, he pulled out a cigarette lighter and lit it on fire.

To this day, nobody really knows exactly why Rich did what he did. Although, some believe it was due to Denver’s pop-like take-over of the country music scene. Which quieted the presence of some of country’s more traditionalist musicians. However, Denver, Rich, nor a secondary source has ever confirmed that hunch to be true. So, all the information in question is just that of country music folklore.

The Aftermath

As a consequence of his actions, Charlie Rich was banned from the CMAs for the rest of his career. Rich’s son would later respond to the event saying, “He used bad judgment. He was human after all” and “I know the last thing my father would have wanted to do was set himself up as judge of another musician,” per History.

Contrary to Rich, Denver didn’t think much of the night. As a matter of fact, Denver was not even present at the awards and didn’t learn about the incident until later. Regardless of the punishments or reactions, the night was one of the many ways country music can entertain its fandom.

Photo by David Redfern/Redferns