“THE NIGHT HIS MOTHER HEARD A SONG… AND REALIZED HER BOY WASN’T A BOY ANYMORE.” John Denver wrote “Sunshine On My Shoulders” on a quiet afternoon in a little cabin, the kind of day when the light feels softer and time moves slower. When he brought the demo home for his mother to hear, she sat perfectly still, her hands gently pressed together in her lap. When the last line faded, she turned her face away for just a moment — long enough to wipe her eyes. John thought he had done something wrong. But she shook her head and whispered, “You’ve grown up, John. I can’t keep you all to myself anymore.” It was the first time she understood that his music would carry him far — farther than her arms ever could.
There are moments in a musician’s life that don’t happen onstage, don’t come with applause, and never make the headlines — yet they become turning points. For John Denver, one…