45 years since John Denver went number one with a song inspired by Minnesota weather
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John Denver's "Sunshine On My Shoulders" was number one on the Billboard pop chart 45 years ago today.
Denver's first wife was Minnesota native Annie Martell, and the couple lived in Edina for several years — which is when Denver wrote this song.
"It was one of those late-winter early-spring days. It was one of those cold, dreary days where everything is gray," Denver later told the Star Tribune. "Spring is in fact happening. That's why the song is slow and melancholy."
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