The song was originally recorded by Smokey Roberds, a friend of Nichols, singing under the name of "Freddie Allen". It debuted within a wedding-themed television commercial for Crocker National Bank in California in the winter of 1970, with Paul Williams on vocals. Hal Riney of the San Francisco-based advertising agency Hal Riney & Partners had commissioned the song to help Crocker appeal to young people. The song played over footage of a couple getting married and just starting out. In the song, direct reference to the bank was left out, in part to make the song more marketable. The commercial turned out to be very popular, but it attracted customers in which the bank was not interested: young adult customers with no collateral for loans. The campaign was eventually suspended, and Crocker subsequently franchised it to other banks.