"Sunshine on My Shoulders" | ||||
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Single by John Denver | ||||
from the album Poems, Prayers & Promises | ||||
A-side | "I'd Rather Be a Cowboy" (original) | |||
B-side | "Around and Around" (reissue) | |||
Released | May 1973 (original) October 22, 1973 (reissue) | |||
Recorded | 1971 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 3:18(Single version) 5:12 (Album version) | |||
Label | RCA Records | |||
Songwriter(s) |
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Producer(s) | Milt Okun | |||
John Denver singles chronology | ||||
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"Sunshine on My Shoulders" (sometimes titled simply "Sunshine") is a song recorded and co-written by American singer-songwriter John Denver. It was originally released as an album track on 1971's Poems, Prayers & Promises and later, as a single in 1973. It went to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the U.S. in early 1974.
Denver described how he wrote "Sunshine on My Shoulders": "I wrote the song in Minnesota at the time I call 'late winter, early spring'. It was a dreary day, gray and slushy. The snow was melting and it was too cold to go outside and have fun, but God, you're ready for spring. You want to get outdoors again and you're waiting for that sun to shine, and you remember how sometimes just the sun itself can make you feel good. And in that very melancholy frame of mind I wrote 'Sunshine on My Shoulders'."
The song was slightly remixed for single release, with the addition of strings and woodwinds to enhance the background of the song. The album version features an extra verse, not heard on the Singles charts, due to the song's length. In addition to Denver's first verse describing if he had a day and a song, the second verse mentions Denver's describing if he had a tale and a wish. The song ends with the words "Sunshine almost always" (instead of "Sunshine always"), being held on until the song's end. The full length single mix with the second verse has been released on most of Denver's hits compilations.
It was originally the B-side of one of his earlier songs, "I'd Rather Be a Cowboy". As the Vietnam War came to an end, the song took on a new significance and began to receive airplay on adult contemporary radio stations. It entered the Billboard Hot 100 at number 90 on January 26, 1974, topped the charts for one week. The song also topped the adult contemporary chart for two weeks in 1974. [4] Billboard ranked it as the No. 18 song for 1974. Cash Box said "Soft, tender ballad receives a treatment equal to the task and the pretty lyrics come shining through as a result. A good remedy for relaxation in these troubled times." [5] Record World said that "Denver scores with this ballad which will send him back home to the top of the charts." [6]
The song also features strings and winds, including oboes.
A 2+1⁄2-hour made-for-television movie titled Sunshine , which aired on NBC in 1973, used the song as a theme. The movie starred Cliff DeYoung and Cristina Raines. It told the story of a young mother dying from cancer. [7] High ratings prompted a TV series (also Sunshine ) which ran for three months during the summer of 1974. The short-lived series began where the movie left off with the young widowed father (DeYoung) raising his stepdaughter (Elizabeth Cheshire).
In the John Denver biographical film Take Me Home: The John Denver Story (2000) it is played when Denver (Chad Lowe) takes his new glider out for a test flight. This final scene is based on the real life event that killed Denver in 1997. The 1996 re-recorded version is the one that is played.
Chart (1974) | Peak position |
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Canada Top Singles ( RPM ) [8] | 1 |
Canada Adult Contemporary ( RPM ) [9] | 2 |
US Billboard Hot 100 [10] | 1 |
US Adult Contemporary ( Billboard ) [11] | 1 |
US Hot Country Singles ( Billboard ) [12] | 42 |
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
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Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil) [13] | Gold | 100,000 [13] |
United States (RIAA) [14] | Gold | 1,000,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
"Sunshine on My Shoulders" | ||||
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Single by Carly Rae Jepsen | ||||
from the album Tug of War | ||||
Released | June 16, 2008 | |||
Recorded | 2008 | |||
Genre | Acoustic, pop rock | |||
Length | 3:35 | |||
Label | Fontana North, MapleMusic | |||
Songwriter(s) | John Denver, Dick Kniss, Mike Taylor | |||
Carly Rae Jepsen singles chronology | ||||
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The song was covered by Canadian singer-songwriter Carly Rae Jepsen as the lead single from her debut studio album, Tug of War , released on June 16, 2008.
"Annie's Song" (also known as "Annie's Song (You Fill Up My Senses)") is a song written and recorded by American singer-songwriter John Denver. The song was released as the lead single from his eighth studio album Back Home Again. It was his second number-one song in the United States, occupying that spot for two weeks in July 1974. "Annie's Song" also went to number one on the Easy Listening chart. Billboard ranked it as the No. 25 song for 1974.
"You're All I Need to Get By" is a song recorded by the American R&B/soul duo Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell and released on Motown Records' Tamla label in 1968. It was the basis for the 1995 single "I'll Be There for You/You're All I Need to Get By" from Method Man and Mary J. Blige.
"Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing" is a 1968 single released by American R&B/soul duo Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell, on the Tamla label in 1968. The B-side of the single is "Little Ole Boy, Little Ole Girl" from the duo's United LP. The first release off the duo's second album: You're All I Need, the song—written and produced by regular Gaye/Terrell collaborators Ashford & Simpson—became a hit within weeks of release eventually peaking at number eight on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number one on the Hot Soul Singles chart, the first of the duo's two number-one R&B hits. In the UK "Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing" reached number 34.
"Brandy", later called "Mandy", is a song written by Scott English and Richard Kerr. It was originally recorded by English in 1971 and reached the top 20 of the UK Singles Chart.
"Handy Man" is a song written by singer Jimmy Jones and songwriter Otis Blackwell. Recordings by Del Shannon and also The Sparks Of Rhythm list Charles Merenstein as a co-writer, as does BMI. The Sparks Of Rhythm version on the Apollo 541 single version released in 1959 credits Andrew Barksdale and Merenstein as writers omitting Jimmy Jones. The song is noted for Jones singing "Come-a, come-a come-a come-a, come come-a, yeah" lyrics, which are heard at the beginning as well as in the coda of the song, before the song's fade.
"Keep It Comin' Love" is a song by KC and the Sunshine Band, released as a single in 1977. It appeared on their 1976 album, Part 3. The song, like its predecessor "That's the Way ", became widely successful due to its sexual double entendres.
"Best of My Love" is a song written by Don Henley, Glenn Frey, and J. D. Souther. It was originally recorded by the Eagles, and included on their 1974 album On the Border. The song was released as the third single from the album, and it became the band's first Billboard Hot 100 number 1 single in March 1975. The song also topped the easy listening chart for one week a month earlier. Billboard ranked it as the number 12 song for 1975.
"You Are the Sunshine of My Life" is a 1973 single released by Stevie Wonder. The song became Wonder's third number-one single on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and his first number-one on the Easy Listening chart. It won Wonder a Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance, and was nominated for both Record of the Year and Song of the Year. This song was the second single released from the 1972 album entitled Talking Book, which stayed at number one on the R&B albums chart for three weeks.
"My Life" is a song by Billy Joel that first appeared on his 1978 album 52nd Street. A single version was released in the fall of 1978 and reached No. 2 on the U.S. adult contemporary chart. Early the next year, it peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100.
"These Dreams" is a song by American rock band Heart from their 1985 self-titled eighth studio album Heart. It was released on January 18, 1986, as the album's third single, becoming the band's first song to top the Billboard Hot 100. The single's B-side track "Shell Shock", was also the B-side of Heart's previous single "Never".
"Heartache Tonight" is a song written by Don Henley, Glenn Frey, Bob Seger and J. D. Souther, recorded by the Eagles and features Glenn Frey on lead vocals. The track was included on their album The Long Run and released as a single in 1979. It reached No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 in November of that year and was certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America representing one million copies sold. It was the Eagles' final chart-topping song on the Hot 100.
"Don't Ask Me Why" is a 1980 song by Billy Joel released as the third single from the album Glass Houses. The song spent two weeks at number one on the Adult Contemporary chart and peaked at number 19 on the Billboard Hot 100.
"I'm Sorry" is a song written and recorded by American country-folk singer-songwriter John Denver and released in 1975. It was the final number-one pop hit released during his career.
"A Love Song" is a song written by Kenny Loggins and Dona Lyn George, first released by the folk-rock duo Loggins and Messina in 1973 on their album Full Sail. Country artist Anne Murray covered the song later that year for her album of the same name.
"Never My Love" is a pop standard written by American siblings Don and Dick Addrisi, and best known from a hit 1967 recording by the Association. The Addrisi Brothers had two Top 40 hits as recording artists, but their biggest success as songwriters was "Never My Love". Recorded by dozens of notable artists in the decades since, in 1999 the music publishing rights organization Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI) announced it was the second most-played song on radio and television of the 20th century in the U.S.
"Sweet Surrender" is a song written and recorded by American singer-songwriter John Denver. It was originally recorded for his 1974 album Back Home Again, but was chosen as the lead single from the concert album An Evening with John Denver. "Sweet Surrender" reached No. 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in February 1975, remaining in the Top 40 for eight weeks. It also rose to No. 1 on the adult contemporary chart, Denver's fourth song to reach the top on this survey.
"When Will I Be Loved" is a popular song written by Phil Everly of the Everly Brothers, who had a US top-ten hit with it in 1960. Linda Ronstadt covered the song in 1975, and her version was an even bigger hit in the US, peaking at No. 2. Vince Gill also covered it in 1994 on the soundtrack of the film 8 Seconds.
"Morning Girl" is a 1969 song by The Neon Philharmonic. It was a hit in Canada and the United States. The recording featured a chamber-sized orchestra of Nashville Symphony Orchestra musicians, and the project was headed by composer Tupper Saussy and vocalist Don Gant.
"With Pen in Hand" is a song written by Bobby Goldsboro and first released on his March 1968 album, Honey. The song's lyrics address the subjects of divorce and losing custody of one's child, and are sung from the perspective of the parent who expects to be losing custody of their child, as they make a final plea to their spouse to reconcile before the divorce is finalized. "With Pen in Hand" has been a hit for multiple artists in the late 1960s and 1970s.
"Set the Night to Music" is a song written by Diane Warren and recorded by Starship for their LP, No Protection (1987). It became a major hit for Roberta Flack in 1991. Starship's original version became a Top 10 hit on the U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary chart, reaching number nine in the spring of 1988, and also charted minorly in Canada. The song appeared at the end credits of the 1988 fantasy-comedy film Vice Versa starring Judge Reinhold and Fred Savage.
And while it's kind of a cynical move to add overdubbed strings to an acoustic folk song that you're trying to get onto the radio...