John Denver wrote "Sunshine on My Shoulders" on a drizzling spring day in Minnesota. It originally was the B-side of "I'd Rather Be a Cowboy." As the Vietnam War began to end, "Sunshine..." took on a new significance and began to receive airplay on adult contemporary radio stations. It was also featured in the 1973 CBS-TV movie named Sunshine and its 1974 NBC-TV spin-off series. Produced by Milt Okun, the million-selling single went to number one pop, number one adult contemporary for two weeks in the spring of 1974. It was included on John Denver's Greatest Hits went gold, parking at number one pop for three weeks.