When Tonight Shows or Late Late Nights were unspoken TV shows of the future, we have Midnight Specials in the 70s and early 80s. If you are born in that era, you definitely knew that NBC created an American late-night musical variety show under the creation and production of Burt Sugarman.  Singers and artists alike are therefore invited as guests and bring some good ole music for people watching their TVs at home. It was one of those moments when artists of before were very much alive to sing their gamut of songs. One of the episodes that stand out the most for me is that one John Denver episode with Cass Elliot as the both sang ‘Leaving on a Jet Plane.’

Leaving on a Jet Plane, John Denver, Cass Elliot

We all know that John Denver wrote the song ‘Leaving on a Jet Plane’ in 1966 and it was made famous by the trio, Peter, Paul, and Mary. ‘Leaving on a Jet Plane’ was originally titled, Babe, I Hate to Go but John Denver was luckily convinced by a producer to change its name. Sadly, it was Peter, Paul and Mary’s one and only hit as Leaving on a Jet Plane bagged the number one spot in Billboard.

In one of BBC radio specials, John Denver went personal with the said 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.”

Meanwhile, I can totally say that it Cass Elliot was a talent that would never grace the Earth again.

Here’s Mama Cass and John Denver singing Leaving on a Jet Plane: