Who wrote the song "Leaving on a Jet Plane"?

John Denver was just a hopeful 23-year-old folk singer when he wrote "Leaving on a Jet Plane" while grinding it out in Los Angeles coffeehouses. He originally titled it "Babe I Hate to Go" and made demo recordings to hand out as Christmas gifts in 1966. When Peter, Paul and Mary released their version in 1969, it shot straight to number one and became their biggest hit ever. Early in his solo career, Denver's gigs were promoted as "John Denver, writer of 'Leaving On A Jet Plane'" because that was his only claim to fame. Denver tried releasing his own version the same year, but it completely bombed on the charts. Of course, a few years later Denver would get his to have his own success with massive hits like "Take Me Home, Country Roads," "Rocky Mountain High," and "Sunshine On My Shoulders," becoming one of the biggest-selling artists of the 1970s.