Get ready for goosebumps hearing late greats John Denver and Cass Elliot’s live duet on “Leaving on a Jet Plane” – this has to be one of the greatest vocal duos ever!

John Denver and Cass Elliot joined forces for a live rendition of Denver’s “Leaving on a Jet Plane,” pairing their voices with his acoustic-guitar accompaniment. The performance alternated between solo passages and harmonies, bringing together two singers the source identifies as major figures in folk music. Both artists are now deceased, giving the surviving footage the character of an archival encounter between the two performers.

The duet was recorded for Burt Sugarman’s Midnight Special and initially aired on August 19, 1972. Denver and Elliot had one live take to complete their respective parts. The source judges both the individual vocals and the harmonized sections to have been delivered flawlessly, while also praising the way their voices combined. Denver’s acoustic playing provided the performance’s only noted instrumental support.

Uploaded through Denver’s official YouTube channel, the video reached 12.6 million views. Its reception included a prominent comment describing the harmonies as exceptionally beautiful. Another viewer emphasized that the performance depended on direct musicianship, without Auto-Tune or computer-generated assistance, and expressed gratitude to Denver and Elliot for what they created together.

A separate commenter said the song still caused chills and tears despite the viewer being almost 65 years old, then paid tribute to both singers. The source likewise responds enthusiastically to the pairing, calling it one of the finest vocal duos and saying Denver and Elliot could be heard together indefinitely. Those assessments are presented as reactions to this specific Midnight Special performance rather than claims about another collaboration.

Watch the full performance on page two