Denis & Diane 1968

Like the First Time, Only Better

I can't remember the last time I was so excited about something. Way back when I was in grade 10 at high school, I found a guitar in the attic of the house. It was my mother's and it was a little beaten up and missing most of the strings. My Mom said I could have it; she tried learning it as a youngster but couldn't get the hang of it.
I put new strings on it and bought a 50-cent booklet called "EZ Method for the Guitar." Before too long I was strumming chords and learning Bob Dylan songs. In those days, part of the daily opening exercises at school was to stand and sing God Save the Queen. (The other was to recite the Lord's Prayer). A girl named Diane had the desk to the right of me and I noticed what a lovely voice she had. I thought it would be neat if we got together as a group and sang. It took me two years to get up the nerve to ask, but when I finally did run it by her she said yes.
We put together a repertoire and did a circuit of concerts at various schools. The pinnacle of our career was during the summer of 1969 when we we hired by a coffee shop in Bala, Ontario. It was right next door to the famous Kee to Bala. It was a large two-storey house made into a restaurant with a small stage. The operator, in a fit of creativity, had named it The Iron Tadpole.
We were asked to give our group a name, something we hadn't even thought about. We were always just Denis & Diane. We tried toying with names, but they were either taken or just didn't sound right. (The Soul Seekers was particularly lame). So it stayed as Denis & Diane.
There were two songs that we'd rehearsed, both taken from Peter Paul and Mary Albums. One was "And When I Die" by Laura Nyro, the other "Leaving on a Jet Plane" whose composer was listed as H.J Deutschendorf, Jr. (Better known as John Denver). Neither of the songs had been released on the charts, so nobody knew them. We would be asked to sing both songs over and over, sometimes as much as five times in a row. After our gig ended, the songs were released in the fall - Leaving on a Jet Plane by Peter, Paul and Mary followed by And When I Die by David Clayton-Thomas and Blood Sweat & Tears.
Soon after I got phone calls from people who had heard us in Bala saying "you guys' songs made it on radio - aren't you excited?" Apparently many of the audience members thought those songs were written by us. If Diane and I really had written them, both of us would be in different spaces today.
In 1970, we both went to different schools and lost touch with one another. But every so often when I would pick up a guitar or perform a solo gig I would think of Diane and picture us back together again. As the years went by I kept telling myself that I must try to contact Diane but I kept putting it off. When 2008 rolled in I said to myself I'm not going to put it off any longer, I am GOING to try to contact Diane. It was easier than I thought. I got hold of her mother on the first try, and her Mom remembered me.

When I spoke to Diane, it was as if we had never left off. We weren't then, nor are now, romantically linked but it's one of those special friendships that are so few and far between you just have to preserve them. Diane agreed to put our act back together, and we've had a few practice sessions during which I just couldn't contain the smile on my face. And we have a gig! Next June will be the 40th year reunion of Denis & Diane. And you can bet that "Leaving on a Jet Plane" will be one of the featured numbers!