Country Sunshine (song)

"Country Sunshine"
Single by Dottie West
from the album Country Sunshine
Released	1973
Genre	Country, pop
Length	2:05
Label	RCA Records
Writer(s)	Dottie West, Billy Davis
Dottie West singles chronology
"If It's All Right With You"; 1973 "Country Sunshine" (1973) "Last Time I Saw Him"; 1974

"Country Sunshine" is the name of a popular country song written by Dottie West in 1973, which is remembered both as one of West's biggest chart hits, as well as a Coca Cola jingle in a popular commercial.

"Country Sunshine" is about a person persuaded to leave a small town to go to the big city with a love interest. Because the person likes living in the country, and was "raised on country sunshine", the offer is declined.

History

The song "Country Sunshine" had originally been released as a commercial for the Coca Cola company, after West's 1968 hit "Country Girl" was used in another Coke commercial. West wrote "Country Sunshine" specifically for the commercial. It was produced by Billy Davis, who wrote such other famous jingles at the McCann-Erickson advertising agency, where his primary client was The Coca-Cola Company, as "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing (In Perfect Harmony)", "It's the Real Thing", and "Things Go Better With Coke".

After the TV spot was released, West issued "Country Sunshine" as a single. The song ultimately became one of her biggest hits, just missing the top spot of the country singles charts (reaching No. 2), and making to the pop top 50 (reaching No. 49). Because of "Country Sunshine"s success in the commercial, West was awarded a Clio in 1974. The song became West's signature song. After the success of the song, she has been nicknamed The Country Sunshine. "Country Sunshine" is also West's "theme song".

Chart performance

Chart (1973)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles	2
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	49
U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks	37
Canadian RPM Country Tracks	9
Canadian RPM Top Singles	68
Canadian RPM Adult Contemporary Tracks	42