Leaving on a Jet Plane
"Leaving on a Jet Plane" | ||||
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Single by John Denver | ||||
from the album Rhymes & Reasons | ||||
B-side | "Jimmy Newman" | |||
Released | October 1969 | |||
Genre | Folk | |||
Length | 3:37 | |||
Label | RCA Records | |||
Songwriter(s) | John Denver | |||
Producer(s) | Milton Okun | |||
John Denver singles chronology | ||||
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"Leaving on a Jet Plane" is a song written and recorded by 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 and 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 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 enter the charts.
"Leaving on a Jet Plane" was re-recorded for the third and final time in 1973 for John Denver's Greatest Hits, version that also appears on most of his compilation albums.
Background[]
John Denver, then a relatively unknown musician in the Los Angeles folk scene of 23 years old, had written the song during a layover at Washington Airport in 1966.
It’s pretty clear from the lyrics that it’s all about an unfaithful traveling musician who often had to leave his girlfriend to do his shows, apparently referring to himself: "There’s so many times I’ve let you down / So many times I’ve played around / I tell you now, they don’t mean a thing."
In one of BBC Radio specials, Denver said about the song:
This is a very personal and very special song for me. It doesn’t conjure up Boeing 707s or 747s for me as much as it does the simple scenes of leaving. Bags packed and standing by the front door, taxi pulling up in the early morning hours, the sound of a door closing behind you, and the thought of leaving someone that you care for very much. I was fortunate to have Peter, Paul and Mary record it and have it become a hit, but it still strikes a lonely and anguished chord in me, because the separation still continues, although not so long and not so often nowadays.[4]
Peter, Paul and Mary version[]
"Leaving on a Jet Plane" | ||||
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Single by Peter, Paul and Mary | ||||
from the album Album 1700 | ||||
B-side | "The House Song" | |||
Released | October 1969 | |||
Genre | Folk | |||
Length | 3:27 | |||
Label | Warner Bros.- Seven Arts 7340 | |||
Songwriter(s) | John Denver | |||
Producer(s) | Milt Okun | |||
Peter, Paul and Mary singles chronology | ||||
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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.[5] John Denver was a close friend of them 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 chart in the United States. The song also spent three weeks atop the easy listening chart[6] 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 Singles Chart and Irish Singles Chart in February 1970.
Chart performance[]
Weekly charts[]
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Year-end charts[]
All-time charts[]
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Usage in media[]
The song was used on various TV shows and movies, such as The Rock (1996), Girls' Night (1998), Armageddon (1998), Superstar (1999), Catch Me If You Can (2002) and in the end credits of the 2011 Irish film The Guard.
Lawsuit[]
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.[17]
References[]
- ^ "John Denver Dies in Plane Crash". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2017-12-26.
- ^ Current Events Archived December 5, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "John Denver – Leaving On A Jet Plane".
- ^ www.countrythangdaily.com
- ^ Amy Willis (September 17, 2009). "Peter, Paul and Mary: Career timeline". The Daily Telegraph.
- ^ Jump up to: a b Whitburn, Joel (2002). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961-2001. Record Research. p. 192.
- ^ David Kent's "Australian Chart Book 1970-1992" Archived 2016-03-05 at archive.today
- ^ RPM Adult Contemporary, December 13, 1969
- ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Leaving on a Jet Plane". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved September 6, 2018.
- ^ "SA Charts 1965–March 1989". Retrieved 5 September 2018.
- ^ [Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-2002]
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2016-10-05. Retrieved 2016-10-05.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (1999). Pop Annual. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. ISBN 0-89820-142-X.
- ^ Top Records on 1969 (Based on Billboard Charts)", Billboard, December 27, 1969. pp. 16-17. Accessed December 7, 2016.
- ^ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". collectionscanada.gc.ca.
- ^ "Billboard Hot 100 60th Anniversary Interactive Chart". Billboard. Retrieved 10 December 2018.
- ^ "New Order:Singles:Run 2". Niagara.edu. Retrieved 2016-10-02.
External links[]
- 1966 songs
- 1969 singles
- Warner Records singles
- Songs written by John Denver
- John Denver songs
- Peter, Paul and Mary songs
- Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles
- Cashbox number-one singles
- RPM Top Singles number-one singles
- Songs about aviation
- Song recordings produced by Milt Okun