Song · America
“Sister Golden Hair” by America
From the album Hearts (1975)
“Sister Golden Hair” by America appears on 14 radio countdowns from 7 stations between 1997 and 2026. It was first released in 1975 on the album Hearts. Its best result is #58 on the WMGK Philly 500 (2022). In the combined RockLists rankings it is #5,223 indie & aaa song of all time.
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"Sister Golden Hair" came off Hearts, America's fifth album, in 1975, and it's Gerry Beckley's song from top to bottom. He's said there was never a real Sister Golden Hair; what he was chasing was Jackson Browne's way with a lyric, that plain-spoken, slightly bruised Los Angeles candor, and he reckoned this was the most L.A. thing he'd written. It was one of the first times he let an "ain't" into a song. Record World summed up its hero as a guy who'd finally found love but wasn't sure he wanted to walk down the aisle.
George Martin produced and arranged it, Geoff Emerick engineered, and David Dickey and Willie Leacox keep the rhythm easy while the harmonies glide. It became their second number one on the Billboard Hot 100, holding the top for a week.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Indie & Adult Alternative
Classic Rock
All Rock Formats
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | 317 | 102.3 WBAB | WBAB Top 1,023 Rock and Roll Songs of All Time (1997) | 1023 |
| 2013 | 68 | Big 100 | BIG 500 Labor Day Countdown (2013) | 500 |
| 2014 | 537 | Big 100 | BIG 1000 New Year's Countdown (2014) | 1000 |
| 2020 | 1791 | WXPN | WXPN 2020 Greatest Songs of All Time | 2020 |
| 2022 | 564 | 90.9 The Bridge | 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '70s | 908 |
| 2022 | 58 | WMGK | WMGK Philly 500 (2022) | 500 |
| 2023 | 720 | Q104.3 | Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2023) | 1043 |
| 2023 | 718 | 90.9 The Bridge | 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of All Time | 909 |
| 2023 | 313 | WMGK | WMGK Philly 500 (2023) | 500 |
| 2024 | 890 | Q104.3 | Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2024) | 1043 |
| 2024 | 128 | WMGK | WMGK Philly 500 (2024) | 500 |
| 2025 | 318 | WMGK | WMGK Philly 500 (2025) | 500 |
| 2026 | 1001 | WYEP | WYEP Greatest Songs of All Time | 1180 |
| 2026 | 380 | WMGK | WMGK Philly 500 (2026) | 500 |
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