The 1975 John Denver Classic About Flying, Featuring Olivia Newton-John

By the early 1970s, Olivia Newton-John was hitting the Country charts with her first three albums, including her 1971 debut, If Not For You, a covers album of contemporary artists from the 1960s and early ’70s. She also broke onto the charts with hits “If You Love Me (Let Me Know),” “Have You Never Been Mellow,” a cover of Dolly Parton‘s classic “Jolene,” and “Let Me Be There,” which earned her a Grammy Award for Best Female Country Vocal Performance in 1973.

As she continued navigating through the genre, her friend John Denver, who picked up the Entertainer of the Year Award from the Country Music Association in 1975, was doing the same, yet both were never fully accepted into the traditional fold of country music.

Denver and Newton-John became friends, and she even appeared on Denver’s Rocky Mountain Christmas Special on TV in 1975. On the show, Newton-John performed “Let It Shine” from her album Clearly Love and another song she recorded that year with Denver for his ninth album Windsong.

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[RELATED: 13 Songs You Didn’t Know Were Written by Olivia Newton-John]

“Fly Away”

Released on Denver’s 1975 album Windsong, “Fly Away” navigated the feeling of loneliness and wanting to escape … and fly away somewhere. The song was a natural for Denver, who was an avid pilot from the 1970s through his death in a plane crash in 1997.

All of her days have gone soft and cloudy
All of her dreams have gone dry
All of her nights have gone sad and shady
She’s getting ready to fly

Fly away
Fly away
Fly away

Life in the city can make you crazy
The sounds of the sand and the sea (I’m of the sea)
Life in a high-rise can make you hungry
For things that you can’t even see

“I loved Olivia’s contribution,” said Denver’s producer Milt Okun. “She has a really lovely voice. That made a pretty song even prettier.”

Windsong went to No. 1 on the Billboard 200, and “Fly Away” was one of three hits on the album, along with “Looking for Space” and “I’m Sorry,” which topped the Hot 100. Along with the AC chart, “Fly Away” also peaked at No. 13 on the Hot 100 and at No. 12 on the Country chart.

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