Big time

The New York Times (pinch me, the New York Times!) notes the ascension of John Denver's Rocky Mountain High to Colorado co-state song, and goes to the trouble of finding a flak to quote:

“A lot of people probably think it’s already the state song,” said Richard Grant, a spokesman for the Denver Metro Convention and Visitors Bureau. . . .

“It’s certainly going to appeal to a lot of young people,” Mr. Grant said. “It’s just a cool thing to take a rock song and make it the official song.”

Rock song? Young people? Right. Reminds me of another quote about a not-quite-so-famous musician from some time ago:

First brother Roger Clinton really wowed them in North Korea. He's "well-known among the pop-music circles for presenting many lively and optimistic songs," government apparatchik Ri Jong-Hyok told the official Korean Central News Agency.