The Midnight Special Archives

Cass Elliott was an amazing talent who left us too soon in 1974. With the Mamas and the Papas, her voice always stood out. Similarly, John Denver had a wonderful tenor voice and was a great songwriter (although some music fans ignore the talent as a reaction to Denver becoming so popular in his heyday). Despite their talents, one might think they never crossed paths due to being in slightly different music genres. But one night on television in 1972, Elliot and Denver joined forces on one of Denver’s classic songs, “Leaving on a Jet Plane.”

The duet is from the August 19, 1972 premiere of the 90-minute NBC television show The Midnight Special. Those of us who grew up in the 1970s remember the Friday night show fondly. As a kid, I would stay up late to watch the show to see the latest music. Long before we had MTV, The Midnight Special was one of the few places to regularly catch current rock and pop stars performing on television.

So, one night on television in 1972, Elliot and Denver joined forces. Their voices intertwined on the choruses to create something special. Check it out.

This episode of The Midnight Special featured the Mamas and the Papas and Denver. And it was a special treat to hear Elliot and Denver together on the song. The tune had originally been a hit for Peter, Paul & Mary when they released it in 1969. But by 1972, Denver had become so popular, he could keep the songs he wrote as hits for himself.

In addition to being wonderful singers, both Cass Elliot and John Denver were involved in important social causes during their lives. You hear a little of that in Elliot’s introduction to the song about the importance of voting.

The country was divided at the time, as the Vietnam War continued with President Richard Richard M. Nixon in the White House. Two days after the Elliot-Denver performance, the Republican National Convention nominated Nixon and Spiro Agnew for a second term. But amidst the divisions in the country at the time, Mama Cass and John Denver showed America a little harmony.

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Buy from Amazon

The Music Is You, John Denver

Peter Paul & Mary’s First Contract . . . and Puff

With Glowing Hearts: “O Holy Night” By John Denver

Trini Lopez: Hammerin’ Out Danger

Favorite Live Albums: An Evening With John Denver

Peter, Paul & Mary’s Ode to Playing “Right Field”

( Some related Chimesfreedom posts.)

On February 8, 1990, Del Shannon died after shooting himself in the head with a .22 caliber rifle. Shannon, who had long struggled with depression, left no suicide note for his wife and children. But he left us some great music.

The singer, whose birth name was Charles Westover, is best-known for his 1961 hit “Little Runaway.” Here he is singing the song in 1973 on The Midnight Special TV show.

Shannon had some other hits with songs like “Hats Off To Larry,” “Little Town Flirt,” and “Keep Searchin’ (We’ll Follow The Sun).” Below is “Hats Off To Larry.”

But by the time the 1970s and the 1980s arrived, Shannon’s music career was not going well. He spent much of the 1970s battling alcoholism.

Other musicians such as the Beatles and Tom Petty admired Shannon’s music. And despite the lack of another big hit, Shannon continued to work.

He finally became sober in 1978. He even scored a top 40 song in the early 1980s with a cover of “Sea of Love,” which appeared on the Petty-produced album Drop Down and Get Me (1981).

Below, Shannon performs “Sea of Love” on the TV show Solid Gold in January 1982.

Around the time of his death in 1990, Shannon was on the verge of a comeback. He was preparing to release a new album called Rock On.

Also, it is rumored that Shannon was being considered to replace the late Roy Orbison in The Traveling Wilburys. Listening to his voice from that time, one can easily imagine him fitting into that group. But it was not to be.

The posthumous album Rock On was released on October 1, 1991 and received good reviews. Jeff Lynne (of ELO) and Mike Campbell (of Tom Petty’s The Heartbreakers) worked on the production of the album, so your enjoyment may depend on how much you like Lynne’s production sound at the time.

But it is worth checking out Rock On, which reveals that Del Shannon still had great talent to share with the world. Below is “Lost in a Memory,” which like most of the songs on the album was written by Del Shannon. I love it.

The Traveling Wilburys later covered “Runaway” in tribute to Shannon. And in 1999, Del Shannon was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Rock on.