"Sister Golden Hair" is a song written by Gerry Beckley

Gerry Beckley

Gerald Linford "Gerry" Beckley is a founding member of the band America.Beckley was born to an American father, and an English mother. He began playing the piano at the age of three and the guitar a few years later. By 1962, Beckley was playing guitar in The Vanguards, an instrumental surf music...

 and recorded by the band America

America (band)

America is an English-American folk rock band that originally included members Gerry Beckley, Dewey Bunnell and Dan Peek. The three members were barely out of their teens when they became a musical sensation during 1972, scoring #1 hits and winning a Grammy for best new musical artist...

 for their fifth album Hearts

Hearts (album)

-Track listing:#"Daisy Jane" – 3:07#"Half a Man" – 3:33#"Midnight" – 2:41#"Bell Tree" – 2:32#"Old Virginia" – 3:28#"People in the Valley" – 2:43#"Company" – 3:23...

(1975). It was their second single to reach number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100

Billboard Hot 100

The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...

, remaining in the top position for just one week.

Although the song is a message from a man to his lover, explaining that he still loves her despite being not ready for marriage

Marriage

Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...

, the title was initially inspired by the mothers of all three members of the group, all of whom were blondes.

"Sister Golden Hair" has been remade by New Jersey

New Jersey

New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...

-based band Midtown

Midtown (band)

Midtown was an American pop punk band from Springfield, New Jersey. Midtown was formed in November 1998 by three Rutgers University students, but soon became a quartet. The band took advantage of the fertile New Jersey punk scene to develop a sound that combined elements of pop punk and punk rock...

 as well as Portland, Oregon

Portland, Oregon

Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...

-based band The Dandy Warhols

The Dandy Warhols

The Dandy Warhols are an American alternative rock band formed in Portland, Oregon in 1994. The band was founded by singer-guitarist Courtney Taylor-Taylor and guitarist Peter Holmström, with keyboardist Zia McCabe and drummer Eric Hedford later joining. Hedford left in 1998 and was replaced by...

, released as a bonus track on their ...Earth to the Dandy Warhols...

Earth to The Dandy Warhols

...Earth to the Dandy Warhols... is the sixth studio album by American alternative rock band The Dandy Warhols, released for download and streaming play on 19 May 2008, with the CD version of the album released on 18 August 2008...

album. Declan Galbraith

Declan Galbraith

Declan John Galbraith is an English singer. He is best known for his 2002 hit single, "Tell Me Why", which peaked at #29 in the UK Singles Chart.-Early influence:...

 remade "Sister Golden Hair" for his 2007 album You and Me

You and Me (Declan Galbraith album)

You and Me is the third studio album by singer Declan Galbraith, released on 23 November 2007.-Track listing:# "You and Me"# "Leavin' Today"# "Ego You"# "I Think I Love You"# "I Do Love You"# "Nothing Else Matters"# "Missing You"...

. Ilse DeLange

Ilse DeLange

Ilse Annoeska de Lange is a Dutch country and pop singer, better known as Ilse DeLange .-Biography:...

 features a performance of the song on her 2009 concert album Live in Ahoy. Arto Sotavalta had a 1978 single of the Finnish rendering "Sisar Hento Valkoinen" for which Sotavalta was the lyricist.