Country Roads and Summer Nights Edition Part 1

Summary

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Hit Parade | Country Roads and Summer Nights Edition, Part 1

Host: Chris Molanphy
Release Date: February 14, 2026
Podcast Theme: Parallel ascent of John Denver and Olivia Newton John during the 1970s—and their fraught, controversial, but ultimately influential journey through country-pop crossover.

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Episode Overview

In this episode, Chris Molanphy traces the uncanny, side-by-side rise of John Denver and Olivia Newton John—two unlikely icons who reinvented country-to-pop crossover stardom in the 1970s. Through meticulous storytelling, chart data, music history, and rich personal recollections, Molanphy details how these artists, both outsiders to Nashville, came to dominate country and pop charts, stirring both admiration and controversy within the country music establishment. The episode focuses on their musical breakthroughs, the shifting definition of "country," and the parallel cultural reactions to their fame.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Song that Started It All: “Take Me Home, Country Roads”

• Intro to John Denver’s Crossover (02:44–04:00):

  • John Denver’s 1971 hit “Take Me Home, Country Roads” became a major pop hit (#2 on the Billboard Hot 100), but only peaked at #50 on the country chart—a paradox since it's since become a country standard.
  • Quote:

    “Surprisingly, one of the most celebrated country songs of the 20th century only got as high as number 50 on Hot Country Singles. The country audience wasn't all that interested.” —Chris Molanphy (04:00)

• Olivia Newton John soon covers it, and her own country bona fides will similarly be curious and contested.

2. Parallel Origins: Outsiders in the Country Music World

• Backstory Set-Up (05:14–08:23):

  • Denver (from the Mountain West) and Newton John (British-Australian) begin crossing into country despite not having Southern US roots or established Nashville ties.
  • Both achieved their early chart successes connecting with pop and folk audiences.

• Country Gatekeeping and Backlash (05:57–09:00):

  • Nashville bristled at Denver and Newton John’s success, viewing them as outsiders taking attention and awards from artists with deeper country pedigrees.
  • Their brand of “country-pop” was accessible but controversial, accused of diluting tradition.
  • Quote:

    “Some artists in the country establishment bristled at these outsiders coming into the genre, dominating their charts and even winning prizes over acts that had been recording country music for decades.” —Chris Molanphy (05:57)

3. The Ongoing Country/Pop Culture Clash

• Examples Across Decades (13:37–18:20):

  • Molanphy connects Denver and Newton John to a wider phenomenon of Black artists and pop acts being rebuffed by country gatekeepers—Ray Charles in the ‘60s, Shania Twain and LeAnn Rimes in the ‘90s/2000s, Taylor Swift in the ‘10s, and Lil Nas X more recently.
  • Country’s defining feature is shown to be less about sound, more about cultural belonging and perception.

• Quote:

  “It’s been said that country music’s favorite subject isn’t home, family, pickup trucks or whiskey. It’s the definition of country music that persists to this day.” —Chris Molanphy (17:19)

4. The Rise: Parallel Chart Ascents

• Early Careers: John Denver (20:53–24:01):

  • Denver’s folk start—adopts the John Denver stage name, joins and then leaves the Chad Mitchell Trio, gets his first big break as a songwriter with “Leaving on a Jet Plane” (made famous by Peter, Paul and Mary).

• Early Careers: Olivia Newton John (25:32–33:42):

  • ONJ’s beginnings: Born in England, raised in Australia, wins a competition leading her to London, makes TV appearances, sings harmonies with Pat Carroll, joins Don Kirschner’s failed sci-fi pop group Tomorrow (ironically, her last film until “Grease”).

• First Solo Chart Breakthroughs (34:53–37:23):

  • Newton John’s “If Not For You” (written by Dylan, popularized by George Harrison) cracks the US Top 40 and is a #1 Adult Contemporary hit.
  • Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads” finally breaks him as a solo act, codifying his persona: earnest, folky, homespun.

5. The Country Controversy Peaks: Awards & Backlash

• Newton John Storms the US Country Charts (47:47–51:15):

  • Newton John’s “Let Me Be There” is her first US country hit, peaking at #7 country and #6 pop.
  • Wins a Grammy for Best Country Vocal Performance, Female, upsetting the Nashville establishment—famous country acts protest her win, forming the short-lived “ACE” (Association of Country Entertainment) group.
  • Quote:

    "Upon receiving her Grammy award, Newton John innocently said, ‘It's probably the first time an English person won an award over Nashville people,’ not realizing the shitstorm she was stepping into." —Chris Molanphy (51:15)

• Denver’s Own Chart-Topping Streak (55:20–59:11):

  • Denver’s “Sunshine on My Shoulders” (1974) becomes his first Hot 100 #1, reflecting his new adult-contemporary sound.
  • “Annie’s Song” (a love letter to his wife) becomes his first true country Top 10 hit (#9 country, #1 pop).

6. The CMA Envelope-Burning Incident

• Climax of Country-Pop Tensions: The Charlie Rich Protest (63:13–65:10):
  • In 1975, at the Country Music Association awards, the previous year’s CMA Entertainer of the Year, Charlie Rich, opens the envelope, reads Denver’s name aloud as the winner—and lights the envelope on fire.
  • Seen as a protest against pop's encroachment on country, mirroring the furor over Newton John the year before.
  • Molanphy’s Commentary:

    “To the CMA audience, Rich's act of defiance read as a protest against the perceived popification of country music, especially after the recent Olivia Newton John debate.” (65:10)

  • Irony: Rich himself had also crossed over from pop to country.

7. Peak, Partnership, Divergence (65:58–66:17)

• By mid-70s, Denver and Newton John are the biggest male and female solo acts on both pop and country charts—soon collaborating, as on 1975’s “Fly Away,” and then beginning to forge new, diverging paths: ONJ toward pop stardom (“Physical”), Denver toward family entertainment (“Rocky Mountain Holiday” with the Muppets).

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Parallel Paths:

  “Though neither of them grew up anywhere near Nashville…they would not only be singing together on TV specials and in recording studios, they'd also be building parallel careers as crossover stars of country music.” —Chris Molanphy (05:14)

• On the Country Music “Goalpost”:

  “The very definition of country music is an ever shifting goalpost.” —Chris Molanphy (14:37)

• On John Denver’s “Rocky Mountain High” FCC Ban:

  “Denver did not mean for the lyric 'and everybody's high' to be a drug reference…the high in the song's title meant high on life and the natural wonders of the Colorado Rockies. But Everybody's High briefly got the song banned by the FCC as celebrating drug abuse, an act of censorship that Denver never forgot.” —Chris Molanphy (46:13)

• On Newton John’s Grammy Win Fallout:

  “A debate [was] now raging along Music Row in Nashville over Newton John's country qualifications. It even led to a split among the members of the Country Music Association … a protest group … gathered at the home of [George Jones and Tammy Wynette].” —Chris Molanphy (53:52)

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Important Timestamps

• (02:44–04:00): The breakthrough and odd country chart history of “Take Me Home, Country Roads”
• (05:47–08:23): Denver and Newton John’s intertwined, outsider journeys; impact on country music
• (13:37–18:20): Ongoing issues with the definition of country music, comparisons to Ray Charles, Lil Nas X, Taylor Swift
• (24:01–28:06): Early careers; ONJ’s first UK success; Denver’s songwriting for Peter, Paul, and Mary
• (34:53–37:23): Newton John and Denver’s first solo US chartings; backstory on “Country Roads”
• (47:47–51:15): ONJ’s Grammy win outrage, formation of short-lived “ACE” protest group
• (55:20–59:11): Denver’s first #1s; “Sunshine on My Shoulders” and “Annie’s Song”
• (63:13–65:10): The 1975 envelope-burning incident at CMA Awards
• (65:58–66:17): Teaser for part two: diverging paths—ONJ toward pop, Denver toward family/kids entertainment

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Tone, Storytelling, and Structure

Chris Molanphy’s narration is meticulous yet breezy, blending research, cultural history, and personal reminiscence that reveals why these chart stories matter. His tone is gently bemused at times, candid about his own youthful crush on Newton John and Denver’s ubiquity in his family’s music rotation, but always precise when discussing the data and deeper implications.

Notable personal moments:

“It's embarrassing to say this out loud, but in the summer of 1978...Olivia Newton John was basically my first pop star crush. Or at least Sandy was.” —Chris Molanphy (12:24)

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Conclusion & Next Episode Teaser

By episode’s end, Denver and Newton John have reached their cross-genre commercial peaks, pushed country music into wider pop acceptance (and outcry), and weathered significant backlash from traditionalists. The stage is set for their further divergences: Newton John’s pivot towards mainstream pop stardom (and Grease, then “Physical”); Denver’s embrace of TV and family-friendly entertainment—each representing a distinct aspect of ’70s and ‘80s music crossover.

Teaser:

“How would they stay in the spotlight and who would enter the 1980s with their stardom intact? You have to believe it was magic.” —Chris Molanphy (66:09)

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End of Part 1.
Look for Part 2 at the end of the month!

Transcript

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Now available in Canada too. That's qu U-I-N-C-E.com hit parade free shipping and 365 day returns. Quince.com hit parade hey there Hit Parade listeners. What you're about to hear is Part one of this episode. Part two will arrive in your podcast feed at the end of the month. Would you like to hear this episode all at once the day it drops? Sign up for Slate Plus. It supports not only this show, but all of Slate's acclaimed journalism and podcasts. Just go to slate.com hit parade+ you'll get to hear every Hit Parade episode in full the day it arrives. Plus Hit Parade the Bridge Our bonus episodes with guest interviews, deeper dives on our episode topics and pop chart trivia. Once again to join, that's slate.com hit parade plus thanks and now please enjoy part one of this hit Parade episode Episode.

[John Denver (Singing Voice)]

Almost Heaven, West Virginia.

[Chris Melanfi (Host, Narrator)]

Welcome to Hit Parade, a podcast of pop chart history from Slate Magazine about the hits from coast to coast. I'm Chris Melanfy, chart analyst, pop critic and writer of Slate's why is this song number one series on today's show. 55 years ago, in the winter of 1971, singer songwriter John Denver recorded a song that would change the trajectory of his career. In the 1960s Denver had been a rising star in the world of folk music. He'd even written a song that gave folk trio Peter Paul and mary a number one hit. But this 1971 song moved him closer to the sound of country music. It had the word country right in the title.

[John Denver (Singing Voice)]

Country Road. Take me home to the place I belong West Virginia.

[Chris Melanfi (Host, Narrator)]

Take me Home Country Roads turned out to be a pop smash, eventually climbing to number two on Billboard's Hot 100 in the summer of 71. It also cracked the country charts, but just barely. Surprisingly, one of the most celebrated country songs of the 20th century only got as high as number 50 on hot country Singles. The country audience wasn't all that interested.

[John Denver (Singing Voice)]

Take Me home to the place Two.

[Chris Melanfi (Host, Narrator)]

Years later, Take Me Home Country Roads was recorded by another up and coming vocalist, a pop singer raised in Melbourne, Australia. And her version, improbably, was on an album that reached number one on the American country charts. Her name, Olivia Newton Jean.

[Narrator / Commentator]

John.

[Chris Melanfi (Host, Narrator)]

Denver and Olivia Newton John didn't know each other in 1971. They'd barely heard of each other by 1973. But by the middle of the decade, they would not only be singing together on TV specials and in recording studios, they'd also be building parallel careers as crossover stars of country music. Though neither of them grew up anywhere near Nashville, Colorado.

[John Denver (Singing Voice)]

Rocky Mountain High I've seen It Rain and fire in the sky.

[Chris Melanfi (Host, Narrator)]

These country leaning pop hits would make Denver and Newton John, for a time, the biggest male and female soloists on the charts, But not without controversy. Some artists in the country establishment bristled at these outsiders coming into the genre, dominating their charts and even winning prizes over acts that had been recording country music for decades.

[John Denver (Singing Voice)]

When I can and I work When I should thank God I'm a country boy well, I got me a fine wife I got the old fiddle when the sun's coming up I got cakes on the griddle Life means.

[Chris Melanfi (Host, Narrator)]

When their fame grew too big for either pop or country music, both Denver and Newton John tried their hands at acting with memorable results. But where they each went from there was very different. One of them doubled down on family entertainment.

[John Denver (Singing Voice)]

This will be a Rocky Mountain holiday With you and me and all we can see and all of our friends hey, old pal, we must be daydreaming.

[Chris Melanfi (Host, Narrator)]

And the other went in a very different direction.

[Song Singer / Chorus]

Horizontally. Let's get physical Physical how? Wanna get physical?

[Chris Melanfi (Host, Narrator)]

Today on Hit Parade, we will explore the uncannily parallel careers of John Denver and Olivia Newton John, an outdoors loving middle American and an earnest English Australian who Both reinvented country to pop crossover in the decade of page boy haircuts and easy listening balladry.

[Song Singer / Chorus]

I love you. I love you.

[Chris Melanfi (Host, Narrator)]

And it all peaked right in the middle of the decade when our two fresh faced gentle pop idols teamed up on wax and on the charts.

[John Denver (Singing Voice)]

Fly away.

[Song Singer / Chorus]

Fly away.

[Chris Melanfi (Host, Narrator)]

And that's where your hit parade marches today, the week ending January 31, 1976. 6 When Fly Away by John Denver featuring Olivia Newton John hit number one on the easy listening chart, number 12 on hot country singles and number 13 on the Hot 100. It was a victory lap by two performers in the middle of racking up hit after hit. But how long would the good times last? Join us as we get nevermore mellow and Rocky Mountain high on calypso days and summer nights. And try to figure out just what happened in the 70s that made these two winsome wallflowers colossal pop stars. Stick around.

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[John Denver (Singing Voice)]

Uh, yeah.

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[Chris Melanfi (Host, Narrator)]

Wow, this smells heavenly clean.

[Native Deodorant Advertiser]

Effective 72 hour odor protection isn't a myth, it's native.

[Lizzie O'Leary (Host of What Next TBD)]

Markiplier has 38 million subscribers on YouTube. But when he wanted to break into Hollywood, he ran into a wall.

[Markiplier (YouTuber)]

But it's that stigma. It's like YouTubers, they're not real. You know, their followers aren't real.

[Chris Melanfi (Host, Narrator)]

But honestly, I think they're more real.

[Narrator / Commentator]

Than the followers of a lot of things out there.

[Lizzie O'Leary (Host of What Next TBD)]

I'm Lizzie o', Leary, host of what Next tbd. This week we talked to Markiplier about how his self funded horror movie Iron Lung cracked the top five and whether it's a template for indie filmmaking in a beleaguered industry. Check out what Next TBD wherever you get your podcasts.

[John Denver (Singing Voice)]

It's by far the hardest thing I've ever done to be so in love with you, so alone.

[Narrator / Commentator]

I hope you won't mind indulging me because this hit Parade episode is quite personal.

[Chris Melanfi (Host, Narrator)]

Growing up in the 70s as I did, John Denver's music was on my parents turntable and in our car tape deck constantly. Especially his best selling greatest hits album with the bright green cover and the.

[Narrator / Commentator]

Big photo of Denver smiling in a hat.

[Chris Melanfi (Host, Narrator)]

This version of Follow Me is from that compilation.

[John Denver (Singing Voice)]

I tried to find a way that I can make you understand.

[Narrator / Commentator]

The way.

[John Denver (Singing Voice)]

I feel about You.

[Chris Melanfi (Host, Narrator)]

And as for Olivia Newton John, it's embarrassing to say this out loud, but in the summer of 1978, when my cousins took me to the movies to see Greece for the first time, I was six going on seven. Newton John was basically my first pop star crush. Or at least Sandy was. But of course, that was Newton John's mellifluous voice coming out of Sandy's mouth. Okay, so I have very primal memories of both Newton John and Denver. But then why am I threading their stories together? Because one thing I didn't know until well after childhood was how much they had in common, especially their fraught relationship with country music.

[John Denver (Singing Voice)]

I'm sorry to believe in you Goodbye.

[Chris Melanfi (Host, Narrator)]

Again for example, here's another track from that John Denver Greatest Hits album. This one's called Goodbye Again. Growing up in New York City, I, along with my family, assumed this was some kind of country music, or at least country folk. What did we city slickers know? But when John Denver dropped this single in 1972, just a year after Take Me Home, Country Roads, country radio paid it no mind. It cracked the Hot 100, but didn't chart country at all. Picture that John Denver, bard of the heartland, blown off by the country music industry.

[John Denver (Singing Voice)]

For a little while, it's goodbye again I'm sorry to believe in you Goodbye.

[Chris Melanfi (Host, Narrator)]

Of course, the very definition of country music is an ever shifting goalpost. It might surprise you to learn that in the 70s, the Eagles almost never charted country. Take It Easy, Desperado, Best of My Love. None of these touched the country charts. In fact, the Eagles only top 10 country hit the whole time they were together was the very twangy Lion Eyes, and it peaked at number eight. Country. That's it.

[Song Singer / Chorus]

Eyes.

[John Denver (Singing Voice)]

And your smile.

[Chris Melanfi (Host, Narrator)]

We've also talked in several prior Hit Parade episodes about artists who recorded country music but were rebuffed by what I call the Nashville industrial complex. Black artists in particular have had a tough time. Infamously, Ray Charles's 1962 LP Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music topped the pop and R and B charts, but didn't touch the country charts.

[John Denver (Singing Voice)]

Dreams of you at night and longs.

[Chris Melanfi (Host, Narrator)]

To kiss your lips and longs to hold you tight. And of course, we devoted a whole episode to, and I wrote a whole book about Lil Nas X's 2019 smash, Old Town Road. Billboard actually pulled it from the hot country songs chart. Even artists who were at one time accepted at country radio were given the side eye when they tried to go pop. Whether it was Shania twain in the 1990s man a feet Like a Woman, Leanne rhymes in the 2000s.

[Narrator / Commentator]

Or Taylor.

[Chris Melanfi (Host, Narrator)]

Swift in the 2010s.

[Song Singer / Chorus]

Foreign.

[Chris Melanfi (Host, Narrator)]

It's been said that country music's favorite subject isn't home, family, pickup trucks or whiskey. It's the definition of country music that persists to this day, even as superstars like Morgan Wallen use synthesizers, trap beats and other sonic signifiers miles removed from traditional country. No matter what he records, Wallen is country mostly because of his subject matter and his accent. John Denver and Olivia Newton John are archetypes for this kind of hesitant country acceptance. They were embraced by country audiences but wary by country gatekeepers. I wanted to travel back to the 70s to trace how their crossover came about. In fact, Newton John's later pivot to pop was so successful you may have forgotten, or maybe never even known she got her big break in America through country music. In my writings about Taylor Swift, including our prior Swift episode of Hit Parade, I've compared Taylor to Olivia.

[Narrator / Commentator]

And pointed out that their country history.

[Chris Melanfi (Host, Narrator)]

Is, to many fans, version 1.0 of each woman's career a mere preamble to their later pop success. In this analogy, you can think of hits like Cruel Summer. As Taylor Swift's version of Olivia Newton John's physical. As for John Denver, he is now mostly remembered for his wholesomeness. Frankly, a couple of generations may think of him as a de facto children's.

[Narrator / Commentator]

Entertainer, given how frequently he was paired.

[Chris Melanfi (Host, Narrator)]

On television with Jim Henson's Muppets.

[John Denver (Singing Voice)]

May I have the pleasure of your company and I hope you'll follow anywhere I lead if I can have the pleasure of your company that's all the pleasure I will ever be.

[Narrator / Commentator]

But Denver was a serious hit hitmaker.

[Chris Melanfi (Host, Narrator)]

With adults both urban and rural at a time when Americans craved earnestness. Not for nothing did Denver's biggest hit making period coincide with the end of.

[Narrator / Commentator]

Both Vietnam and Watergate.

[Chris Melanfi (Host, Narrator)]

He was country light, a pacifying reprieve for a convulsive time, Right around the same time that Newton John was providing a similar breezy respite. In short, John Denver and Olivia Newton John were pioneers of country pop crossover in the 70s. However mild their music, they reflected a prevailing mood. Their paths crossed, then diverged. But before they became big, each of them took a rather circuitous route to fame via folk music. Bubblegum, even. A 60s bard and a former Beatle, This is the Weavers, which we're playing because young Henry John Deutschendorf Jr. Was likely trying to play it on his first guitar. The boy loved folk music, and when his grandmother gave him an acoustic at age 11. He carried it everywhere. Born in 1943 in Roswell, New Mexico to Henry John Deutschendorf Senior, A decorated captain in the air force, Deutschendorf Jr. Grew up all over the south and southwestern United States as his dad was transferred from base to base. An introverted loner, John tried to run off to Los angeles at age 16 with his guitar, but was dragged back by his disciplinarian father. He completed high school, enrolled in Texas Tech, began playing folk clubs and dropped out his junior senior year, moving to LA permanently to try and make it as a folk singer. It was only then that he adopted a stage name aligned with his favorite city, John Denver.

[John Denver (Singing Voice)]

My ship will not reach the shore well, I've got a will and a thousand ways I've got a dream of a thousand better days I've got a smile that just stays and stays that's the way it's gonna be Wait and see Even though you say as John.

[Chris Melanfi (Host, Narrator)]

Denver he joined the Chad Mitchell Trio, a folk troupe whose founder and namesake, Chad Mitchell was leaving in 1965 just as the folk scene was giving way to rock and roll. This performance is from TV's Mike Douglas Show. By the end of 65, with Chad Mitchell gone, the trio renamed themselves just the Mitchell Trio and began recording with John Denver. Here he is taking the lead on the Mitchell Trio's cover of the Bells of Rumney, a Pete Seeger song.

[John Denver (Singing Voice)]

They will plunder will leadingly say the Bells of Cafilly.

[Chris Melanfi (Host, Narrator)]

Denver proved to be multi talented. He could sing in a pure tenor, he could play and he could write songs. In fact, it was his songwriting more than his performing that would soon be Denver's first claim to fame. Meanwhile. Meanwhile, half a world away in Melbourne, Australia, a young woman was also trying to make a name for herself on tv.

[Song Singer / Chorus]

When I grow up you'll see me all right. You'll see and could be. Then there'll be other men looking at me and maybe I'll be looking at them, not you.

[Chris Melanfi (Host, Narrator)]

Olivia Newton John was born in 1948 in Cambridge, England, England, to a father who, rather like John Denver's dad, also had impressive civil service credentials. Brinley Newton John, a Welshman, was an MI5 officer who worked on the Enigma project. Olivia's German Jewish mother had escaped the Nazis. When Olivia was 5, her family emigrated to Melbourne where her father became the master of a college at the University of Melbourne and her older sister, Rona Newton John became an actress and model. You might say Olivia came from a family of overachievers. Accordingly, Olivia got the overachiever bug herself. In high school, she formed a girl group that got her comfortable enough performing that she soon became a regular on Melbourne's spate of teen oriented TV shows including the Happy Show, Boomer Ride and the Go Show. On that program and another local TV review called Time for Terry Newton John was often paired with Pat Carroll, who sang harmonies with Olivia. They presented as a spunky teen pair. Though she did not go on to great fame herself, Pat Carroll would be a lifelong friend and pivotal figure in Newton John's life. Pat soon married John Farrar, a singer, songwriter and eventual producer who would later write and produce the bulk of Olivia Newton John's hits. In short, Newton John, with her blonde good looks and winsome voice, was going to be some kind of star. The only question was doing what anyone.

[Song Singer / Chorus]

Who had a heart would take. Take me in his arms and love me to you.

[Chris Melanfi (Host, Narrator)]

In 1965, Olivia Newton John won a talent competition on the Australian TV show Sing Sing Sing, performing the torch ballad Anyone who had a heart. The prize was a trip to Great Britain and after much cajoling from her mother, 18 year old Olivia made the journey. She settled in London, taking gigs singing backup for UK pop acts like the Easy Beats and eventually recording her own material. Here's Newton John's first single for Decca Records, 1966's Til you say you'll be mine. Around this time back in the United States, the Mitchell Trio were falling apart. But before they did, a song John Denver brought to the group would be bigger than anything they'd ever recorded. Only not for that trio.

[John Denver (Singing Voice)]

Hold me like you never let me.

[Song Singer / Chorus]

Go.

[John Denver (Singing Voice)]

Cause I'm leaving on a jet plane don't know it, I'll be back again oh babe, I hate to go.

[Chris Melanfi (Host, Narrator)]

Denver demoed this song under the working title Babe, I hate to go. Then the Mitchell Trio had a crack at it, by which time it had been retitled Leaving on a Jet Plane. But before Denver got around to recording it, his producer, the legendary Milton Okun, passed the song along to a much more famous folk trio. He was also producing Peter, Paul and Mary, The trio who had made the songs of Bob Dylan famous in the early 60s, recorded John Denver's Leaving on a Jet Plane for their 1967 LP album 1700. It wasn't released as a single until 1969. By that time, the lyrics, which Denver had written simply about a lover's regret, had taken on added resonance as a parable for soldiers leaving home for the still raging Vietnam War. Peter, Paul and Mary's Leaving on a Jet Plane reached the top of the Hot 100 in December of 69. Surprisingly the first and only number one hit of Peter, Paul and Mary's career. And songwriter John Denver was the one who provided it to them. Now he just needed to write a big hit it for himself. Meanwhile, Olivia Newton John's career was about to get a boost in visibility when she was discovered by Don Kirschner, the American producer impresario behind such prefab made for TV groups as the Monkees. And the Archies. In 1970, Kirschner was putting together a pop group called To Morrow, spelled T o o Moro more or less. It was conceived as a transatlantic monkeys Tomorrow.

[John Denver (Singing Voice)]

Do you think that's a good name for us? Sure, I dig it. We're too much with too morrow Tomorrow.

[Song Singer / Chorus]

Take My hand and I lead the way.

[Chris Melanfi (Host, Narrator)]

The co ed group would record an album and star in a Barbarella like sci fi musical fantasy film called Tomorrow. It would be Olivia's last major film role until Grease eight years later. You have our assurance that nothing has been damaged. Now look, we'd like to help you but well, you see, we're just music students.

[John Denver (Singing Voice)]

Sure, we have a lot of work and things to do.

[Chris Melanfi (Host, Narrator)]

There's a reason you've probably never heard of Tomorrow. Neither the movie nor the music connected. Several singles were released from the soundtrack, but they charted nowhere. The group probably should have given Newton John more lead vocals. She mostly sang harmonies.

[John Denver (Singing Voice)]

Don't you worry baby Everything will be all right.

[Chris Melanfi (Host, Narrator)]

What was useful about the whole Tomorrow debacle is it gave Olivia Newton John exposure to the American music business and allowed her to try out a range of pop sounds. In particular, the country R B hybrid roll like the River, a tomor B side gave hints of Olivia's 70s direction. A year after Tomorrow imploded, Newton John's work paid off when she had her major solo break breakthrough. In fact, 1971 was a good year for both her and John Denver. They both got onto the charts for the first time. In Olivia's case, the linchpin was a song made famous by some illustrious rock gods.

[Charmin Jingle Singer]

If not for you.

[John Denver (Singing Voice)]

Babe, I Couldn't find the door.

[Chris Melanfi (Host, Narrator)]

If not for your was written by BOB Dylan in 1970. He eventually released it on his late 70 album New Morning. Nearly simultaneously, Dylan helped his friend George Harrison record a version of the song for his first post Beatles solo album, All Things Must Pass. Though it wasn't issued as a single, All Things Must Pass was a number one lp. So Harrison, even more than Dylan, popularized the song. But then Olivia Newton John took a crack at if not for you. Her manager suggested it after hearing Harrison's version and John Farrar produced it along the lines of the Harrison template, complete with a Harrison like slide guitar. And Olivia had an actual hit with it.

[Song Singer / Chorus]

Would not be new.

[Chris Melanfi (Host, Narrator)]

Olivia Newton Johns if Not for you cracked the top 10 in the UK and even made the top 40 in America, peaking at number 25 on the Hot 100 on Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart, which back then was called Easy Listening. If not for you went all the way to number one. Olivia Newton John was finally on her way.

[Song Singer / Chorus]

If not for you.

[Chris Melanfi (Host, Narrator)]

At the same time that Newton John's first hit was climbing both charts, riding right alongside her. At one point they were even back to back on the easy listening chart was this first hit for John Denver.

[John Denver (Singing Voice)]

Growing Like a Breeze Country Road Take Me Home to the Place I Belong.

[Chris Melanfi (Host, Narrator)]

West Virginia Mountain Mama the story of Take Me Home Country Roads goes back to December 1970, when Denver met a husband and wife duo, Bill Danoff and Taffy Nivert, who called themselves Fat City. The duo were opening for Denver at a club in Washington, dc. None of the three were from West Virginia, the state mentioned in the song's lyrics, but Danoff had fond childhood memories of a radio show broadcast from Wheeling, West Virginia. Danoff and Nivert had about half the song written when they played it for Denver, who said he had to have it for his next album. The trio pulled an all nighter to write the song's bridge, one of its best parts, which was mostly Denver's handiwork.

[John Denver (Singing Voice)]

The radio reminds me of my home far away.

[Chris Melanfi (Host, Narrator)]

When the three performers introduced the song at DC's Cellar Door Club later that night, it received a five minute standing ovation. Denver recorded Take Me Home Country Roads with Fat City backing him in January 1971 and added it to his poems, Prayers and Promises LP. Released as a single that spring, Take Me Home Country Roads made a long climb up the Hot 100, debuting at number 99 and taking more than four months to reach number two. It would have topped the chart if not for the Bee Gees. How can you mend a broken heart standing in its way? Nonetheless, Take Me Home Country Roads not only broke John Denver as a soloist, it codified his whole Persona earnest, folky, homespun with an effortless gift for melody. Notwithstanding its title, Country Roads only reach number 50 on Billboard's Hot Country Singles chart. Denver's Poems, Prayers and Promises album did better, reaching number six on the country LPs chart and number 15 on the pop album chart. At the time, country audiences didn't know what to make of John Denver, who straddled folk pop and a bit of rustic country. And they weren't interested at all in Olivia Newton Johnson, whose first major hit was rock based. Frankly, as good as 1971 was for both artists, each of them could have wound up a one hit wonder. They both had trouble following up their respective breakthrough singles.

[John Denver (Singing Voice)]

Friends, I will remember you, think of you, pray for you.

[Chris Melanfi (Host, Narrator)]

The album airy John Denver's LP After Poems, Prayers and Promises peaked at number 75 on the pop album chart. Its lead single, Friends with youh got to number 47 on the Hot 100. And neither the LP nor the single touched the country charts. Newton John did even worse in America with her follow ups down the side. Her follow up single Banks of the Ohio made the UK top 10, but went nowhere on the Hot 100. It did scrape the US easy listening chart. Her album, named if not for you after its big single only reached number 158 in Billboard. For the next two years, Newton John stayed mostly in England and only really scored hits there. Her cover of another George Harrison hit, what Is Life? Made the top 20 only in the UK.

[Song Singer / Chorus]

Without you.

[Chris Melanfi (Host, Narrator)]

She was helped in her birthplace by her partnership with British star Cliff Richard. She opened his concerts and was a frequent guest on his variety show. It kept Livy visible to the British public, so much so that a couple of years later she was chosen to represent the UK at the 1974 edition of the Eurovision Song Contest, singing the anthemic Long Live Love. For the record, Newton John came in fourth. She stood no chance of winning Eurovision because 1974 was the year ABBA won the contest for Sweden with their immortal smash Waterloo. More in a moment.

[Charmin Advertiser]

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[Chris Melanfi (Host, Narrator)]

Was just looking on ebay where I.

[Native Deodorant Advertiser]

Go for all kinds of things I love.

[Chris Melanfi (Host, Narrator)]

And there it was, that hologram trading card. One of the rarest.

[Markiplier (YouTuber)]

The last one I needed for my set.

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Shiny like the designer handbag of my dreams. One of a kind. Ebay had it. And now everyone's asking, ooh, where'd you.

[Chris Melanfi (Host, Narrator)]

Get your windshield wipers? Ebay has all the parts that fit my car. No more annoying, just beautiful.

[Charmin Advertiser]

Millions of finds, each with a story. EBay, things people love.

[Narrator / Commentator]

What defined John Denver as a pop star was his most uncool interest, the great outdoors. He was not too hip to sing about the joys of a campfire, crackling sunshine playing on the water or a bird taking wing wing. But even more than the natural world, Denver's wide eyed earnestness was his brand. Among Denver's favorite topics was the majesty of the mountains in Colorado, the state that gave him his name. And that topic finally gave Denver the follow up hit to Take Me Home Country Roads he'd been seeking for nearly two years.

[John Denver (Singing Voice)]

It keeps changing fast and it don't last for long. It's the Colorado Rocky Mountain High.

[Narrator / Commentator]

I've.

[John Denver (Singing Voice)]

Seen it raining fire in the sky.

[Narrator / Commentator]

Released in The fall of 1972, Rocky Mountain High was the title track to John Denver's sixth student studio album and his first to crack the top 10 on the LP's chart. The song was a slow grower, taking more than a dozen weeks to make the Hot 100's top 10 in the early spring of 1973. A couple of weeks later, the Rocky Mountain High album reached its peak of number four. With its soaring melody and celebration of natural wonders. Rocky Mountain High the song probably did even more than Country Roads to define John Denver's Persona, although for all his plain spokenness, one lyric near the end of the song did give Denver some grief.

[John Denver (Singing Voice)]

Friends around the campfire and everybody's.

[Narrator / Commentator]

Denver did not mean for the lyric and Everybody's High to be a drug reference. The high in the song's title meant high on life and the natural wonders of the Colorado Rockies. But Everybody's High briefly got the song banned by the Federal Communications Commission as celebrating drug abuse, an act of censorship that Denver never forgot and would decry later in his career. The lyric may also have limited the song's appeal with conservative country listeners. Rocky Mountain High didn't make hot country singles at all, and on the country albums chart, the LP only reached number 40. It wasn't until late 1973 that Denver finally returned to the country songs chart, and ironically, it was with a drinking song, a deep cut on his next lp, Farewell Andromeda. The album generated no major hits, but Please Daddy, Don't Get Drunk this Christmas broke through at country radio and became a minor hit that holiday season, eventually reaching number 69.

[John Denver (Singing Voice)]

Please daddy, don't Get Drunk this Christmas I Don't Want See My Mama Cry.

[Narrator / Commentator]

Between John Denver and Olivia Newton John, the one who broke through big time on country radio first was actually Newton John. Prior singles like the aforementioned Banks of the Ohio had shown Newton John to be adept at covering traditional americana, and by 1973 her team decided to nudge her more in that direction to break her fully in the American market. Though it wasn't a big hit. Her cover of John Denver's Country Roads got her back in Billboard for the first time in nearly two years. It bubbled under the hot 100 in the spring of 73. Then in the summer of 73, MCA Records, Newton John's American label, decided to try something new. They would promote her next single to country radio stations. First, they were encouraged by the sound of the record, a twangy mid tempo number called Let me be there.

[Song Singer / Chorus]

In your night Let me change whatever's wrong.

[Narrator / Commentator]

Debuting on Hot country singles in August 1973, all the way down at number 97, Olivia Newton John's first ever appearance on that chart. Let me be There climbed slowly, finally reaching its peak of number seven on the country chart just before Christmas of 73. By then, the song had also debuted on the Hot 100, where it eventually reached number six. Olivia, his first top 10 pop hit in February 74. Around the same time the 1974 Grammy nominations were announced and Newton John's debut country hit was nominated for best country Vocal performance Female. That was already a bit of a surprise, especially given the competition, a who's who of female country veterans and better known vocalists. They included Tammy Wynette, Marie osmond. And Dottie West.

[Song Singer / Chorus]

Last time I saw him, last time I saw my honey Last time I saw him he was play.

[Narrator / Commentator]

Then in March, Newton John stunned Nashville when she beat all of these ladies to take home the Grammy. That same week, Olivia's album let me be there rose to number one on the country albums chart, compounding her upset for the moment, Olivia Newton John, from Cambridge and Melbourne was the top female country singer in America. Upon receiving her Grammy award, Newton John innocently said, quote, it's probably the first time an English person won an award over Nashville. People unquote, not realizing the shitstorm she was stepping into. A few months later, when Olivia also won the Country Music association, or CMA award for female vocalist of the year over Tammy Wynette, Loretta Lynn and Dolly Parton, factions in Nashville were up in arms. They only grew more concerned by the summer of 74, when Newton John became an even bigger crossover chart dominator. If you love me, let me know was the title track of Newton John's Summer 74 album. The single reached number five pop and number two country, Olivia's highest charting country hit. More remarkably, her album topped the country chart for eight weeks, comparable to the latest LPs by Charlie Rich and Conway Twitty. Olivia's music was serving country, but it was accessible to pop audiences. As well. This perceived pop incursion into country music was a point of contempt within Nashville, even among American artists, let alone an act from overseas.

[Song Singer / Chorus]

If you love me, let me know. If you don't, then let me go.

[Narrator / Commentator]

A debate now raging along Music Row in Nashville over Newton John's country qualifications. It even led to a split among the members of the Country Music Association. A few days after Olivia's big win at the cmas, a protest group of singers, musicians, songwriters and executives gathered at the home of married couple and Nashville legends George Jones and Tammy Wynette. Among the disgruntled attendees were Dolly Parton, Porter Wack Wagner, Dottie West, Conway Twitty and Barbara Mandrell. Country veteran Johnny Paycheck, also in attendance, was reported to have said, quote, we don't want somebody out of another field coming in here and taking away what we've worked so hard for, unquote. The group briefly formed a breakaway CMA faction that they called the association of Country Entertainment Trainers, or ace. Dedicated to, quote, preserving and recognizing basic and traditional country singers, unquote. ACE was ultimately short lived and dissolved rather quickly. But the controversy would return when another Nashville outsider, this time an American man, started infiltrating country playlists.

[John Denver (Singing Voice)]

Sunshine on My Shoulders Makes me happy.

[Narrator / Commentator]

John Denver's 1974 started off with a major pop hit. In late 73, his label RCA had issued a compilation, My Beloved John Denver's Greatest Hits. Because he he was now singing better and had access to improved studio facilities, Denver re recorded several of his tracks for this collection. The single that benefited most from this Approach was a 1971 ballad that Denver augmented in 73 with a rich string section, the gentle Sunshine on my Shoulders.

[John Denver (Singing Voice)]

If I had a tale that I could tell you. I'd tell a tale sure to make you smile.

[Narrator / Commentator]

The song got a boost from its use in a 1973 made for TV movie called Sunshine, about a young mother bravely facing a cancer diagnosis. The movie was a rating smash, which made the song a belated chart smash. By March of 74, sunshine on my Shoulders gave John Denver his first number one on the Hot 100. That same week, the John Denver's Greatest Hits LP also rose to number one on the album chart.

[Chris Melanfi (Host, Narrator)]

Still, Denver was primarily perceived as a.

[Narrator / Commentator]

Pop act, not a country act. It took another gentle ballad from his next studio album to finally make John Denver a country and pop star.

[John Denver (Singing Voice)]

Like a sleepy blue ocean, you fill up my senses.

[Narrator / Commentator]

John Denver had been married to Annie Martel since 1967. One day, while riding on a ski lift in his beloved Aspen, Colorado. Denver was taken by the beauty of the mountain and thought fondly of his wife. The clean mountain air and the sun reflecting off the slopes filled his senses, so he conjured the line, you fill up my senses. Ten minutes later, Denver says he had written the basic melody and lyrics of a tune that he called Annie's Song. Was Annie's Song any closer to country music than any prior John Denver song? Not really, but the beautiful melody and the lyrics about married bliss connected with pop and country audiences. By August 1974, Annie's song reached number nine on the country chart, Denver's first song to crack the country top 40, let alone the top 10, and it returned him to number one on the Hot 100. Now that Denver had the country audience's attention, he was going to cater to them as intensely as Olivia Newton John was.

[John Denver (Singing Voice)]

There's a truck out on a four lane mile or more away.

[Narrator / Commentator]

On the COVID of his 1974 album Back Home Again, John Denver was photographed next to his beloved wife Annie straddling a fence on what appeared to be a farmyard. You would never guess the LP had been recorded in Los Angeles. The title track of Back Home Again, a gentle country two step, served as the followup to Ann song. It became John's first hit to do better on the country chart than on the pop chart. It reached number one country and number five pop. The Back Back Home Again LP topped both album charts, spending one week atop the pop chart and 13 weeks atop the country chart. In fact, in the late summer and fall of 74, back home again traded off the country number one spot with Olivia Newton John's if you love Me Let me Know album, which by the way, was generating another smash single in the the fall of 74. I Honestly Love youe was a ballad of unrequited longing written by journeyman songwriters Peter Allen and Jeff Barry. The lyric was about two people in relationships who profess love for each other but stop short of having an affair. You might say it was lyrically country but classically pop. Given the subject matter. Peter Allen thought a man should sing it and he almost recorded it himself. But then Olivia Newton John got hold of it and it became a phenomenon.

[Song Singer / Chorus]

I love you, I honestly love you.

[Narrator / Commentator]

Embraced by both country and pop audiences, I honestly love you reached number six on Hot Country Singles and went all the way to the top of the hot 100. Olivia Newton John first American number one hit on American top 40. Casey Kasem counted it down.

[Casey Kasem (American Top 40 Host)]

Well, now it's time for the number one song in the USA by a female pop star from England, raised in Australia, who's been nominated for four top awards in American country music. However, she says she's really not a country singer. It's just that her last couple of records happen to have sort of a country sound. Well, the awards she's been nominated for include Country Single of the Year, Album of the Year, Female Vocalist of the Year, and Entertainer of the year. Her current hit, which is a top 10 song in the Billboard country charts, is at number one on the pop chart for the second week. Here is Olivia Newton John and I Honestly love you.

[Narrator / Commentator]

In short, in just under two years years, Denver and Newton John had gone from potential one hit wonders to arguably the top pop and country stars on the charts. The following year, at the CMA Awards, Denver would experience some of the same Nashville pushback Newton John had experienced. Only his pushback would happen live on the air.

[Chris Melanfi (Host, Narrator)]

A little back backstory.

[Narrator / Commentator]

First. In 1973, Charlie Rich's hit the Most Beautiful Girl topped both the Hot 100 and the country chart. The following year, at the 1974 CMA, he was named Entertainer of the Year, the CMA's highest honor. One year after that, at the 1975 CMAS, Charlie Rich was tapped to present the new Entertainer of the Year. And he did something truly bizarre. Rich opened the envelope and when he saw John Denver's name there, took out.

[Chris Melanfi (Host, Narrator)]

A light and lit the slip of paper on fire. The winner.

[Narrator / Commentator]

My friend, Mr. John denver.

[Chris Melanfi (Host, Narrator)]

It looks later came out that Charlie.

[Narrator / Commentator]

Rich was both drunk and high on pain meds and he thought he was being funny. But to the CMA's audience, Rich's act of defiance read as a protest against the perceived popification of country music, especially after the recent Olivia Newton John debate. This was, well, a bit rich coming from Charlie Rich. Rich, because after all, he too had crossed over and topped the pop charts. John Denver, for his part, was not in the room.

[Chris Melanfi (Host, Narrator)]

He was connected live via satellite.

[Narrator / Commentator]

So he accepted the prize graciously unaware of what Rich had just done. After the show, the CMA's banned Charlie Rich for a period of years not unlike the Academy Awards with Will Smith after the Chris Rock slap incident. And John Denver, he went right on scoring hits across country and pop. When we come back, John Denver and Olivia Newton John were now the biggest male and female female soloists on the mid-70s charts. Soon they'd even record together.

[Chris Melanfi (Host, Narrator)]

But then their paths would diverge.

[Narrator / Commentator]

Hers towards skin tight pants, his toward felt frogs and pigs.

[Chris Melanfi (Host, Narrator)]

How would they stay in the spotlight.

[Narrator / Commentator]

And who would enter the 1980s with their stardom intact. You have to believe it was magic.

[John Denver (Singing Voice)]

About the Lord and my wife wouldn't take it very good So a fiddle when I can, work when I should. Thank God I'm a cut.

[Narrator / Commentator]

The non Slate plus listeners will hear the rest of this episode in two weeks. For now, I hope you've been enjoying this episode of Hit Parade. Our show was written, edited and narrated by Chris Melanfi. That's me. My producer is Kevin Bendis, our Supervising producer producer is Joel Meyer, and the Executive Producer of Slate Podcasts is Mia lobel. Check out Slate's roster of [e-mail] podcasts. You can subscribe to Hit Parade wherever you get your podcasts, in addition to finding it in the Slate Culture feed. If you're subscribing on Apple Podcasts, please rate and review us while you're there. It helps other listeners find the show show.

[Chris Melanfi (Host, Narrator)]

Thanks for listening and I look forward to leading the Hit Parade back your way.

[Narrator / Commentator]

We'll see you for part two in.

[Chris Melanfi (Host, Narrator)]

A couple of weeks.

[Narrator / Commentator]

Until then, keep on marching on the one. I'm Chris Melanfe.

[John Denver (Singing Voice)]

Thank God I'm a country boy.

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