"Leaving on a Jet Plane" is a

song A song is a musical composition performed by the human voice. The voice often carries the melody (a series of distinct and fixed pitches) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs have a structure, such as the common ABA form, and are usu ...

written and recorded by American singer

John Denver Henry John Deutschendorf Jr. (December 31, 1943 – October 12, 1997), known professionally as John Denver, was an American Country music, country and Folk music, folk singer, songwriter, and actor. He was one of the most popular acoustic m ...

in 1966, originally included on his debut demo recording ''John Denver Sings''. Its original title was "Babe I Hate to Go". He made several copies and gave them out as presents for

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...

of that year. Denver's then-producer Milt Okun convinced him to change the title; it was renamed "Leaving on a Jet Plane" in 1967. In 1969, folk group

Peter, Paul and Mary Peter, Paul and Mary were an American Contemporary folk music, folk group formed in New York City in 1961 during the American folk music revival. The trio consisted of Peter Yarrow (guitar, tenor vocals), Paul Stookey (guitar, baritone vocals), ...

's version hit number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, their most successful single. It also reached number one in Canada and number two in the United Kingdom. That same year, 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 RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records (its former longtime rival), Arista Records and Epic R ...

. 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 album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one Performing arts#Performers, performer or by several performers. If the recordings are from ...

s. A version by Chantal Kreviazuk reached No. 33 in Canada in 1998.

Background

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 BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927. The service provides national radio stations cove ...

specials, Denver said about the song: Though not written about the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

, 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.

Certifications

Peter, Paul and Mary version

The most well known version was recorded by American folk group

, for their 1967 studio album, '' Album 1700'', and Warner Bros.- Seven Arts released it as a single in 1969 after being one of four songs on a promo EP in 1967. 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 The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. It was the penultimate #1 single of the 1960s, and the song also spent three weeks atop the

easy listening chart The Adult Contemporary chart is published weekly by ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' magazine and lists the most popular songs on adult contemporary music, adult contemporary radio stations in the United States. The chart is compiled based on ...

and was used in commercials for

United Airlines United Airlines, Inc. is a Major airlines of the United States, major airline in the United States headquartered in Chicago, Chicago, Illinois that operates an extensive domestic and international route network across the United States and six ...

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 Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

in February 1970. In fact, it was the only version of the song that charted. ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', is an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' described this version as "stunning material" with "an especially fine

arrangement In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchestr ...

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

All-time charts

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.

References

External links

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Leaving On A Jet Plane
at 45cat.com {{authority control 1966 songs 1969 singles John Denver songs Peter, Paul and Mary songs Songs written by John Denver Song recordings produced by Milt Okun Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Cashbox number-one singles RPM Top Singles number-one singles RCA Records singles Warner Records singles Songs about parting Songs about airplanes Songs of the Vietnam War