Did you know that the iconic John Denver song, Take Me Home, Country Roads, wasn’t intended to be recorded by John Denver at all? Instead, it was intended to be reserved for Johnny Cash…

Songwriters Bill Dandoff and Taff Nivert were driving to a family reunion in Gaithersburg, Maryland and developed lyrics about Clopper Road, the road they were traveling along. They were considering using the state of Massachusettes rather than West Virginia briefly, however they didn’t want the song to be confused with the song from the Bee Gee’s.

Dandoff and Nivert were musicians who were trying to create a career from singing and were opening for Denver at the Cellar Door in Washington, D.C. on December 29th, 1970. Afterwards, the 3 were heading back to Dandoff and Nivert’s apartment. Up until that part, the song was left unfinished with just the bridge needing to be written.

On Denver’s way over, he was in a car crash which broke his thumb, prompting him to seek emergency medical care. After being released, he continued his way to the apartment for a “jam session”. He became enraged upon finding out that the song was intended for Cash. Denver convinced them to let him record the song, and subsequently, finished the song at 6 AM the next morning.

The next evening, Denver read the lyrics at the same venue along with Dandoff and Nivert and recieved a 5 minute standing ovation just for reading the lyrics. The song went on to be released on his “Poems, Prayers & Promises” LP, reaching to #2 spot on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart and #1 on the Record World Pop Singles Chart, as well as the Cash Box Top 100.