On this day (October 23) in 1973, John Denver released “Sunshine on My Shoulders” as the sole single from this Greatest Hits album. This marked the song’s third release. He initially recorded it for his 1971 album Poems, Prayers, & Promises. Then, he released it as the B-side to his May 1973 single “I’d Rather Be a Cowboy.” Finally, he released it as an A-side, backed with “Around and Around.”
On November 9, roughly three weeks after Denver released “Sunshine on My Shoulders,” the made-for-TV movie Sunshine premiered on CBS. It became one of the most-watched TV movies in history. The film was about a young mother who is diagnosed with bone cancer. She eventually stops taking chemotherapy so she can spend time with her family. While her health declines, she journals frequently. The woman whose story inspired the movie was a John Denver fan. As a result, “Sunshine on My Shoulders” was the film’s theme song. The movie also inspired a series of the same name, which used the song.
The single debuted on the Hot 100 on January 26, 1974. It reached No. 1 on March 30.
John Denver Reflects on Sunshine
According to Songfacts, John Denver was happy to have his songs used in the film and its spin-off series. “It was the true story of Lyn Helton, an incredibly courageous lady who chose to live her short life to the fullest, even though she knew she would die of a rare bone cancer,” Denver said. “It seems that in the last year of her life, she found some happiness in my music. I was most honored to have my songs used as part of that television show.”
[RELATED: A Trip Halfway Around the World Inspired John Denver’s Final No. 1 Single in 1982]
Finding happiness was at the heart of the song. “On one level, it was about the virtues of love,” Denver said. “On another, more deeply felt level, it reached for something the whole world could embrace.”
Featured Image by TV Times via Getty Images
The post On This Day in 1973, John Denver Released a Song That Reached No. 1 After Appearing in a Heartbreaking TV Movie appeared first on American Songwriter.