| Leaving on a Jet Plane | |
| Cover: | Leaving on a jet plane John Denver.webp |
| Type: | single |
| Artist: | John Denver |
| Album: | Rhymes & Reasons |
| B-Side: | Jimmy Newman |
| Released: | October 1969 |
| Genre: | Folk |
| Length: | 3:37 |
| Label: | RCA |
| Producer: | Milton Okun |
| Prev Title: | Daydream |
| Prev Year: | 1969 |
| Next Title: | Anthem-Revelation |
| Next Year: | 1970 |
"Leaving on a Jet Plane" is a song written and recorded by American singer-songwriter John Denver[1] in 1966, originally included on his debut demo recording John Denver Sings as "Babe I Hate to Go". He made several copies and gave them out as presents for Christmas of that year.[2] Denver's then-producer Milt Okun convinced him to change the title; it was renamed "Leaving on a Jet Plane" in 1967.
In 1969, simultaneous to the success of the Peter, Paul and Mary version, Denver recorded the song again for his debut studio album, Rhymes & Reasons, and it was released as a single in October 1969 through RCA Records.[3] Although it is one of John Denver's best-known songs, his single failed to chart.
"Leaving on a Jet Plane" was re-recorded for the third and final time in 1973 for John Denver's Greatest Hits, the version that also appears on most of his compilation albums. A version by Chantal Kreviazuk reached No. 33 in Canada in 1998.[4]
John Denver, then a relatively unknown 23 year old musician in the Los Angeles folk scene, wrote the song during a layover at Washington National Airport in 1966.
In one of his BBC Radio specials, Denver said about the song:
Though not written about the Vietnam War, the Peter, Paul and Mary cover of the song was interpreted by at least one writer to be a protest song about a soldier's impending deployment.[5]
| Leaving on a Jet Plane | |
| Cover: | Leaving on a Jet Plane Peter Paul and Mary.jpg |
| Type: | single |
| Artist: | Peter, Paul and Mary |
| Album: | Album 1700 |
| B-Side: | The House Song |
| Released: | September 1969 |
| Genre: | Folk |
| Label: | Warner Bros.- Seven Arts 7340 |
| Producer: | Milt Okun |
| Prev Title: | Day Is Done |
| Prev Year: | 1969 |
| Next Title: | The Marvelous Toy |
| Next Year: | 1969 |
The most well known version was recorded by American folk group Peter, Paul and Mary, for their 1967 studio album, Album 1700, and Warner Bros.- Seven Arts released it as a single in 1969[6] after being one of four songs on a promo EP in 1967.[7] John Denver was a close friend of theirs and they shared the same producer in that time, Milt Okun.
It was Peter, Paul and Mary's biggest (and final) hit, becoming their only No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States. It was the penultimate #1 single of the 1960s, and the song also spent three weeks atop the easy listening chart[8] and was used in commercials for United Airlines in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The song also topped the charts in Canada, and reached No. 2 in both the UK and Ireland in February 1970. In fact, it was the only version of the song that charted.
Cash Box described this version as "stunning material" with "an especially fine arrangement."[9]
| Chart (1969–70) | Peak position | |
|---|---|---|
| Australia KMR[10] | 30 | |
| Canada RPM Top Singles[11] | 1 | |
| Canada RPM Adult Contemporary[12] | 1 | |
| South Africa (Springbok Radio)[13] | 6 | |
| UK | 2 | |
| US Billboard Hot 100[14] | 1 | |
| US Easy Listening (Billboard) | 1 | |
| US Cash Box Top 100[15] | 1 |
| Chart (1969) | Rank |
|---|---|
| Canada (RPM Magazine)[16] | 51 |
| US (Joel Whitburn's Pop Annual)[17] | 13 |
| US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[18] | 50 |
In the 1980s, the song prompted litigation involving the British group New Order. The band's single "Run 2" (1989) was the subject of a lawsuit brought by Denver, who argued that its wordless guitar break was based on his "Leaving on a Jet Plane". The case was settled out of court, and Denver subsequently received a co-writer credit for the song.[21]
