Country Song Let That Black Dress Hit the Floor
Songs That Mention California
With Comments and Lyrics
(Alphabetically Listed by Band Name / Artist Last Name)
| This list has become much too long to scroll through. Instead of trying to browse here, it's easier to go the Title List or the Artist List, look up the song there, then click on the "Artist" link which will take you to back here for comments and lyrics. California is the main subject of some of these songs, but others simply refer to either a place in the state, such as a city or a highway, or to anything else about the state such as the weather, a "California girl," or an attitude or lifestyle that the state embodies for the singer. A lot of songs have been written about California. Some songs use California as a metaphor for the American Dream, others use it as a metaphor for the American nightmare. Many of them describe a journey to or a longing to return to a coastal paradise with constant sun, abundant opportunities, where everyone is eternally young and beautiful - basically a fictional place that bears little resemblance to the real Golden State now or in the past. (The Spanish named the territory after a mythical island paradise they were searching for that was supposed to be full of gold and ruled by a queen named Califa. That was also a myth.) Other songs describe the disappointment found after getting to California and discovering that it's no better than where the singer came from. It seems that recording a California song is a requirement for musicians, even if it's only to show that they hate California stereotypes or the Entertainment Industry based in L.A. Musicians such as Local H and Brooke White even wrote songs about California Songs, while other musicians wrote songs about how much they hate the state. It's all good, and there's room for all of them on the list. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ This list is in alphabetical order by artist last name or band name. If the band name starts with an article such as "The" ignore it and search by the next word (unless the name is in a non-English language, such as La, or El, etc.) I'll add new songs to the list as I discover them. Let me know if there are any good songs missing. The lyrics are as accurate as I can get, but some words might be wrong. I have censored the seven deadly words and other offensive words (not to protect you, but to protect this site from being censored) but beware that I might have missed some. YouTube links to the song are included if I could find them. My apologies in advance for bad links. YouTube can be fickle. For another list, also divided by regions, check out Wickipedia's List of songs about California. Finally, here's a list in progress of Songs With Herps to go along with the list of songs about California to make songs about CaliforniaHerps complete. The lyrics shown here are all the property of their owners who have the copyright. They are provided here only for educational purposes and for your entertainment. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Shortcuts to the Band Name or Artist Last Name (Ignore any article at the beginning such as "The" or "A.") | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Artist | Title (Click the link to listen to the song.) | Description | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2 Chainz | It's a Vibe | I like hypnotic trap music like this song, even though I'm not a girl. It's from 2 Chainz' 2017 album "Pretty Girls Like Trap Music" and features three rappers - Ty Dolla $ign, Trey Songz, Jhene Aiko, along with Georgia Rapper 2 Chainz, who says his ego is as enormous as his crib in California, which, according to Lyrics Genius, is a 3,400 square foot home in the Hollywood Hills that cost 2.45 million dollars in 2016. [Trey Songz] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2Pac (see Shakur, Tupac) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 24KGoldn | City of Angels | 24kGoldn is a rapper, singer, and composer from San Francisco, who, In 2020, at the age of 19, was attending the University of Southern California, so maybe the name of the 2019 album this song comes from "Dropped Outta College" is premature. Once again, the title of the song refers to the literal translation of the Spanish language name for the city of Los Angeles, the city where the song's protagonist is addicted to designer clothes. The song is an interesting mix of hip-hop and alternative, and it's even getting airplay on alternative stations that wouldn't dare play straight up hip-hop. "I sold my soul to the devil for designer We've had our fun, 'un I sold my soul to the devil for designer | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 10,000 Maniacs | City of Angels | 10,000 Maniacs is an alternative rock band founded in New York in 1981, with most of their success between 1987 and 1993 when Natalie Merchant was the lead singer and main songwriter. This song is from their 1987 album "In My Tribe." The title of the song refers to the literal translation of the Spanish language name for the city of Los Angeles. "Heaven, is this Heaven Where is the blessed table to feed all who hunger on Earth, Where is the halo that should glow 'round your face, Sobering sights I've seen in the City of Angels There would have been heavenly music I was convinced before. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| A | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Above The Law (featuring Kokane) | Kalifornia | Above the Law was a hip hop group from Pomona active from 1989-2021. This classic G-funk from their third album "Uncle Sam's Curse," released in 1994, name checks classic California songs and shows lots of love for all of Southern California - as long as you don't visit the Valley. "[Cold 187um] [KM.G] [Hook] [Kokane] [Hook] [Cold 187um:] [Cold 187um] [KM.G] [Cold 187um] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Miss Abrams and the Strawberry Point Third Grade Class | Mill Valley | This soft pop song was written by Rita Abrams and recorded by the class she was teaching in 1970. Somehow it got played on the radio and made it onto the Billboard charts, peaking at #5 on the Easy Listening chart, so then they recorded an entire album. Abrams quit teaching to pursue a successful career in writing music after that. Mill Valley is a small town 14 miles north of San Francisco in Marin County. "I'm gonna talk about a place | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Acousticats, The | California Republic | The Acousticats were a bluegrass group active in the early 1990s who formed in Santa Barbara. This is from their 1992 debut album "Down at Evangelina's." "Roll on California From the streets of San Diego From Shasta to goldfields | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ryan Adams | Goodnight, Hollywood Blvd. | Alt country, indie rock... genres seem pretty meaningless these days, but whatever you want to call it, New Yorker Adams does it very well. From 2001, this is one of those slow sad piano songs with strings. "La Cienega Just Smiled" - which is probably a reference to another street in LA - La Cienega blvd. - is another slow Adams song from the same album "Gold" released in 2001. "It's happening baby So close your eyes So goodnight Hollywood Blvd, goodnight, | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Admiral Radley | I Heart California | A 2010 song from a California Indie rock band made up of members of two influential California Indie rock bands, Earlimart, from LA, and Grandaddy, from Modesto. Long walks on the 5? What, did they break down? "I am California... yeah? I heart California... I love California | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Adele | Hello | Adele does a little bit of California Dreaming In this song from her 2015 album "25" in which she also shows that she doesn't understand how Caller ID works. "Hello, it's me Hello, can you hear me? There's such a difference between us Hello from the other side Hello from the outside | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Adolescents, The | L.A. Girl | The Adolescents are a punk band from Fullerton formed in 1980. This song is from their first studio album "Adolescents" released in 1981. The song was also featured in the 1995 movie "Empire Records." "We don't care, you say we're too young L.A. girl, L.A. world We don't care Stuck in your world of dreams again L.A. girl, L.A. world | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The After Party | California | The After Party is a group from Kansas City. This is a pop song that was released in 2011. "Its too late for me, If there's love I'm going to chase it, Oh California, Sweet sweet Virginia, You want me to be, I believe in love and chase it, Oh California, Sweet sweet Virginia, All the things that we've been though, When times get hard know in the end, Oh California, | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Afroman | Palmdale | Afroman is the stage name of Joseph Foreman, a rapper from L.A. This song is from his second studio album "Sell Your Dope" released in 2000. "Just like bums, we used to stay in the slums of L.A. by the way Palmdale, come back to me. No more rats and no more roaches, livin' next door to football coaches. Palmdale, (Hell, yeah.) come back to me. I knew I couldn't make it in the white man's world, so I bought me some khakis and a jheri curl. Palmdale, (Hell, yeah) come back to me. Can't get drunk. Can't get blunted. L.A. County, 95 hundred. Palmdale, (Hell, yeah.) come back to me. Now I got a f**ked up life. Two bad kids and a naggin' wife. Palmdale, come back to me. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Airborne Toxic Event, The | California | The Airborne Toxic Event is a rock band from Los Angeles formed in 2006. This song is from the album "Dope Machines" released in 2015. "Someday they're going to write about us, living here in the shadow of this gathering dust, And the words she said… I could barely hear over the blare of the speakers and the smell of beer, Here in California, I was She said, "I got money, but I got no friends," as we drove through the valley in her daddy's Benz. And the thing about her that haunts me still: as her hands fell down to the steering wheel, Here in California, I was And oh, I hope it's clear: there's no room for us anymore in the atmosphere, Someday they're gonna forget about us and we'll wonder if we were ever good enough. Here in California, I was | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Airborne Toxic Event, The | Hollywood Park | This song is from the band's album "Hollywood Park" released in 2020. The singer must have really liked going to the track to sing so passionately about it, or maybe he was just a gambling addict. Hollywood Park was a horse racetrack in Inglewood, California that was demolished beginning in 2014 to make room for a planned neighborhood also named Hollywood Park that includes an NFL football stadium, a concert hall, a casino, office buildings, housing and more, all of which made me realize that a racetrack takes up a lot of real estate. "A73-581 was the number, they burned it in my brain And the fourteen dollars I made on the bus ride from Chino And they were writing their names up in the sky For fifteen years I had lived in a room with my heart on my sleeve And we would laugh as the horses thundered by And when they tore it down, there was a wrecking sound And there's only the wreckage and this dirt still on my hands Where do we go? As I stare out from the highway at these miles and miles of graves Yeah I wonder if it's lucky, or if you just forget the cost In fifty years I will dream of this moment from a bed But I never claimed I knew how this would end | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Aislers Set, The | California | The Aislers Set is an indie pop band formed in San Francisco in 1997. This is from their debut album "Terrible Things Happen," released in 1998. "I've had a bit too much tonight | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| AJR | Way Less Sad | AJR is an indie pop trio of brothers from New York City, named after the first initials of their names. This song is from their fourth studio album "OK Orchestra" released in 2021. I like it because it acknowledges that constant sunshine can be depressing, too. That's why I moved north. "I should move I'm A-okay Don't you love it Don't you love it I wake up I'm A-okay | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gary Allan | She's So California | A country song from 2008. "She's a warm summer breeze with bleach blonde hair 'Cause she's so California | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lilly Allen | Trigger Bang | Lily Allen is a singer, songwriter, author and actress from the UK. Giggs is a London rapper. This is an apparently autobiographical pop song from her 2018 album "No Shame." I like Allen's music and her attitude and the fact that she doesn't try to sing with an American accent as most Brits do, so I'm happy to have a song of hers to put on this list, even if it only briefly mentions L.A. and the Chateau-Marmont (Hollywood's version of the Chelsea Hotel.) "... When I was young I was blameless And it fuels my addictions That's why I can't hang with the cool gang Back in the day like at Yo-Yo And it fuels my addictions | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Alesso | Cool | Alesso is a Swedish DJ, producer, and musician. This song is from his 2015 album "Forever." It's a hit upbeat dance track that heavily samples the piano intro from one of the better Kylie Minogue songs "Get Outta My Way." It throws a little shade on Hollywood in the beginning, where the stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame are visible, but those in the sky are not (either because of the smog or the broken dreams...) "I saw stars on the pavement You said, "It's all yours if you take it there." It's only you Before you, love, I was lost | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Dave Alvin | California Snow | Dave Alvin was in the Blasters, an 80s roots rock band who also sings beautiful folksy/country acoustic guitar-based songs like this one. In this 1998 song, Alvin takes on the persona of a Border Patrol Officer who drives at night in San Diego County. "I'm just tryin' to make a livin' I'm workin' down on the border Where the California summer sun | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Dave Alvin | Here In California | A nice cover version of the Kate Wolf song discussed below. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Dave Alvin | King of California | A poor 19th century guy from east of the Ohio river promises his love that he will return and marry her after he makes his fortune in the California gold rush. That didn't work out too well for him, but it probably woudn't have been a great song if it had. This rootsy acoustic song from 1994 beautifully conjures up the era and the spirit of "Go west young man." One of my favorites. "Well I left my home and my one true love But my darling dear, please shed no tears | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Dave Alvin | Out in California | This is from Dave Alvin's Interstate City album released in 1996. "I'm sitting here drinkin' in the last bar on earth The mountains out the window - they're a woman lyin' on a bed Out in California... They killed off the Indians, they shot all the grizzly bears If a man keeps runnin', he'll run right into himself Out in California... Gonna buy me a Chevy, as soon as my luck turns around I'm sitting here drinkin' in the last bar on earth | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Dave Alvin and the Guilty Women | California's Burning | After the death of a member of his backing band, The Guilty Men, Alvin assembled a new band composed of women called The Guilty Women, whose voices add a nice dimension to his harmonies. This song needs no explanation to those of us who have watched hillsides and homes go up in flames in the summer and fall and mudslides cover what remains the next winter... "California's burning, California's burning, | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Amen Dunes | L. A. | Singer-songwriter Samon McMahon created his musical project Amen Dunes in New York in 2006. This song is hard to squeeze into a genre - psychedelic indie electro folk - something like that. It's from his 2018 album "Freedom." (Also check out the great song Miki Dora below from the same album.) "Throw the saint in the fire, baby High up in the Hollywood Hills, I'm barely awake Some say fake it | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Amen Dunes | Miki Dora | This 2018 song from the album "Freedom" is very much a California song, even if it mentions only one obscure location in the state - North Beach, which is in Malibu. It's about a charismatic surfer based in Malibu, California, Miki Dora. He had his own line of surf boards and appeared in several "Beach Party" movies in the 1960s as well as the 1966 classic surf movie "The Endless Summer" which praises his surfing style. But he was also a controversial figure, known as the Black Knight of Malibu. Songwriter Damon McMahon describes him this way: "Miki Dora was arguably the most gifted and innovative surfer of his generation and the foremost opponent of surfing's commercialization. He was also a lifelong criminal and retrograde: a true embodiment of the distorted male psyche. He was a living contradiction; both a symbol of free-living and inspiration, and of the false heroics American culture has always celebrated. With lyrics of regret and redemption at the end of one's youth, the song is about Dora, and myself, but ultimately it is a reflection on all manifestations of mythical heroic maleness and its illusions." (Anna Gaca, Spin.com January 17, 2018.) But enough about him. I must have listened to this song dozens of times before I bothered to find out what it was about. I'm usually pulled in by the music and the beat before I pay attention to the lyrics, and this song's hypnotic rhythm and quirky vocal style hooked me right away. "Getting on fine Coasting all day The waves are gone Pride destroyed me man Miki Dora 1963 Sitting on the pier Miki so fine The waves they are gone Pride destroyed me man I shouldn't have gone Getting on fine | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| America | California Revisited | America is a great soft rock band from the '70's, made up of Americans who lived in Britain as military dependants and didn't want anyone to think they were Brits. That was before they re-located to L.A. This is from their 1972 album "Homecoming." "Heaven may be an answer Everyone I meet is from California In California you watch the shadow dancer Everyone I meet is from California | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| America | Christmas in California | This is from the Christmas album "Holiday Harmony" released in 2002. "Oh, look out kids it's that time of year Headin' on down the coast The boulevard, lights of red and green Headin' on down the coast People say it can't be true Headin' on down the coast Make no mistake, it's here | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| America | Everyone I Meet Is From California | This is from the B-side of the 1971 three-song single "A Horse with No Name," which was the band's big hit. It's the same song as "California Revisited" from the 1972 "Homecoming" album. The lyrics are the same as those above, but the mix is different, leading me to think that the name was changed to "California Revisited" because the song was re-recorded for the album. This song is the one that was put on all of the band's greatest hits albums. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| America | Hollywood | This is from the album "Holiday" released in 1974. "Orange and yellow and purple and green In Hollywood Heartbeats echo through a cavern of love In Hollywood | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| America | Ventura Highway | From their 1972 album "Homecoming." An upbeat soft rock classic with a catchy acoustic guitar riff from the band who have been to the desert on a horse with no name. For 30 years I wondered how those lizards got up in the air, but thanks to the imaginatiion-killing-internet I now know that they're only supposed to be cloud formations.This is one of the few songs about both California, and herps. (Or at least clouds that look like herps.) "Wishin' on a falling star Ventura Highway 'Cause the free wind is blowin' through your hair | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Americanos, The | In My Foreign | The Americanos are an American electronic dance music DJ trio based in Los Angeles. This song is built on a sample of Chicago's Saturday in the Park and features rapping and singing by Ty Dolla $ign, French Montana & Lil Yachty. It's the lead off track on the soundtrack for xXx: Return of Xander Cage, released in 2016. [Ty Dolla $ign:] [French Montana:] [Ty Dolla $ign:] Girl it feels like Saturday, everyday Do you wanna ride, ride, ride in my foreign? (In my foreign?) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| American Music Club | California Dreamin' | A very good 1994 indie rock cover (with sitar!) of the 1966 Mamas and Papas classic. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| American Music Club | Highway 5 | A dark slow dirge off "California," a 1988 album from this San Francisco based alternative rock band. Maybe back in 1988 75 was the cruising speed, but 85 is more like it these days, and that's in the slow lane... "Highway five To the left, a beautiful California landscape Make pretend that the landscape ain't so dry | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The Andrews Sisters | The Lady From 29 Palms | The Andrews Sisters were a close harmony singing group of the swing and boogie-woogie eras consisting of three sisters from Minnesota, active from 1925 to 1967. They have been called the most popular female vocal group of the first half of the 20th century. This song was a top ten hit in 1947. (Twentynine Palms is a city in the desert just north of Joshua Tree National Park.) "She left twenty-nine broken hearts She got twenty-nine Cadillacs She's a yip-yip-yippy-eyed dolly She rides twenty-nine trails to bliss She left twenty-nine broken hearts, baby She got twenty-nine Cadillacs, baby | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tori Amos | Maybe California | Tori Amos is an American singer-songwriter originally from the East Coast. This song is from her 2009 album "Abnormally Attracted To Sin." The singer is a mother who is trying to talk a woman out of jumping off a cliff for the sake of her children. I don't know what "Maybe California" means in the context of the song, but Amos fractures and repeats and stretches those six syllables like a jazz singer until the words themselves almost disappear. "Hey Mrs. C., please don't jump From one mother to the other Maybe California As mothers we have our troubles Maybe California Until then there will be starlight shining down | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Animals, The (Eric Burdon and) | Monterey | The Animals (aka Eric Burdon and the Animals) is a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame-inducted English band formed in the early 1960s. This psychedelic rock tribute to the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival, which took place two years before Woodstock, is from the band's second album "The Twain Shall Meet," released in 1968. "The people came and listened Young gods smiled upon the crowd The Byrds and the Airplane The Who exploded The Grateful Dead His majesty If you wanna find the truth in life Hu! huh-huh! Alright! Three days of understanding Down in Monterey | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Animals, The (Eric Burdon and) | San Francisco Nights | A 1967 song about San Francisco and the Summer of Love, and all that Hippy stuff. But a WARM San Franciscan night? That doesn't sound like summer in The City. Mark Twain gets credit for saying the coldest winter he ever spent was a summer in San Francisco. Whether he said it or not, it's hard to argue with it after the summer fog rolls in. "This following program is dedicated to the city and people of San Francisco Particularly those of you who are European residents Strobe lights beam creates dreams Angels sing leather wings I wasn't born there perhaps I'll die there | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The Anxiety | Meet Me at Our Spot | The Anxiety is a rock band with Willow Smith and Tyler Cole. This song is from their album "The Anxiety" released in 2020. Both musicians are from Los Angeles so there's no doubt the "405" they sing about is the 405 freeway, aka the "San Diego" freeway. I have no idea why they want to hit that particular freeway, maybe it's how they get to their spot, but it's one of many songs to mention a road or highway in the state, including all the songs about the Pacific Coast Highway, the 101, the 5, Ventura Highway, California 37, and don't forget Route 66. "When I wake up When I go to sleep | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Aqualung | California | Aqualung is Matthew Hales, an English musician working since 1990. This song is from "Magnetic North" released in 2010. It's too short. I could listen to it a lot longer. "Come with me to California Let's make our grand escape before we come undone Come with me to California | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Arctic Monkeys | Fake Tales of San Francisco | Arctic Monkeys are an English rock band formed in 2002. They're in that lineage of snide, snotty, overly superior British rockers that runs through The Rolling Stones, The Sex Pistols, Oasis and The Prodigy. That's good company to keep. This song is from their acclaimed debut studio album "Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not" which was released in 2006. It's about a pretentious British band that talks about the USA even though they've never been there. I'll bet that band's lyrics are so wank that they rhyme "San Francisco" with "Disco." "Fake tales of San Francisco I don't want to hear you Fake tales of San Francisco And as the microphone squeaks I don't want to hear you Yeah, but his bird said it's amazing, though He talks of San Francisco, he's from Hunter's Bar And yeah, I'd love to tell you all my problem | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti | Life in L.A. | Ariel Pink is the stage name of a singer-songwriter from Los Angeles active since 1996. He has released records credited to "Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti" including this one, so he is filed here under that name. (Figuring out how to list and alphabetize all these insane band and musician names is not always easy for a non-librarian such as myself.) This is from Mr. Pink's seventh studio album "Worn Copy" released in 2003. If you like a song that opens with a half a minute of wind sounds and features kazoos, you're in luck. "Life in L.A. You could be so lonely Life in L.A. The weather is your boyfriend And you could be so lonely A girl in my car Life in L.A. And did you know you could be so lonely? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ashe | Cold in California | Ashe (Ashlyn Rae Wilson) is a singer-songwriter from San Jose. This song is from her EP "Moral of the Story: Chapter 2" released in 2019. It's a reminder to all visitors to the Golden State to bring a jacket. "Just out of reach is the gold you're rushing for with bags under your eyes It's not quite like I imagined, like I did before Don't mind what anybody told ya We can dance in the streets with the sun upon our skin and wake up feeling burned It's not quite like I imagined, like I did before Don't mind what anybody told ya Talk about the pretty parts Cause it gets dark in California | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ashford & Simpson | Nobody Walks in L.A. | Ashford & Simpson were a husband and wife team of songwriters and performers from New York and South Carolina who started their careers in the mid 60s writing some of the great Motown hits including "Ain't No Mountain High Enough." This song is from their 1986 album "Real Love." "Got off the plane where they say it don't rain Don't know if I read it or heard somebody say I had some dreams Don't know if I read it or heard somebody say I been around and I like New York and Chinatown I've been around and I don't understand this town But the most important rule Don't know if I read it or heard somebody say Don't know if I read it or heard somebody say | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Atherton | California | I don't know anything about this band except that they are from Atherton, a small city in San Mateo County near Palo Alto. After lots of Googling I gave up trying to find more information. I guess that's what happens when you name yourself after a city. This is the lead off song from the album "Pale Summer" released in 2003. It's a great but obscure indie rock song that I only learned about because someone suggested it for this list. The song was also released on the soundtrack compilation to the MTV series "Laguna Beach" - "MTV Presents Laguna Beach: Summer Can Last Forever" released in 2006. "Hello hello hello You are, you are the only reason I have found Come back home to California We can drive the coast of San Fransisco You are, you are the only reason I have found Come on home to California Come home to California | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Augustana | California's Burning | A 2005 song from a San Diego rock band. "California's burning, burning, burning to the ground... and I'm here, wondering where the sun has gone... Encinitas likes to miss me, like nobody's child.. and I'm here, wondering where the sun has gone... | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Avicii | Gonna Love Ya | Avicii is a Swedish DJ/producer/musician who has made some great dance tracks. This is another one from 2015 with a tropical house feel. It's got a quick mention of California, too. "I'm gonna love ya, like no one could Livin' up in California I'm gonna love ya, I'm gonna love ya I'm gonna love ya, like no one could Sometimes it's hard to have the upper hand I'm gonna love ya, like no one could | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Hoyt Axton | California Women | Hoyt Axton was a singer-songwriter originallly from Oklahoma who got his start singing folk songs in San Francisco clubs in the late 1950s. He's best known for writing songs that were hits for other singers, notably "Joy to the World" and "Never Been to Spain" for Three Dog Night. This is from the album "Joy to the World" released in 1971. "Talk about your women in Birmingham, Singin' California women, in the heat God Almighty. California women, in the heat God Almighty De, da'd 'n, de, de, de, de'd 'n, de, de'd 'n, de ... Singin' California women, in the heat God Almighty California women, in the heat God Almighty California women, in the Greek, God, Amon. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Babys, The | California | The Babys are a British rock band that started in 1975. This song comes from their third album "Head First," released in 1979. "When I came back home Here I am on this side of the stars Though I spent some Here I am on this side of the stars | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bad Religion | Land of Competition | Bad Religion is a punk rock band (with harmonies) formed in Los Angeles in 1979. This song is from their 3rd album Suffer, released in 1988. "See there's a girl who's afraid of the world so she stays at home. And they know they are best 'cause of the way they are dressed, Southern California will destroy them, Southern California doesn't breed them. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bad Religion | Los Angeles is Burning | This is another song about California wildfires, from the band's 2004 album The Empire Strikes First. "Somewhere high in the desert near a curtain of a blue When the hills of Los Angeles are burning This is not a test When the hills of Los Angeles are burning A placard reads More a question than a curse The flames are stunning When the hills of Los Angeles are burnin | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bahari | California | Bahari is a trio of female pop singer-songwriters and muscians that formed in Manhattan Beach in 2013. One member grew up in Kenya speaking Swahili and "Bahari" means "ocean" in Swahili. One thing I don't understand about this song is the line "Drive down to heaven on the 105." That's not exactly a scenic highway - it leads from Norwalk to El Segundo, but I guess if you go a few miles south you'll get to Manhattan Beach so maybe that's why they mention it. This is beginning to sound like that Saturday Night Live Californians sketch where all they do is give driving directions around L.A. "It's a state of mind, it's a state of grace I can be your California A kiss from the sun, let it burn your skin I can be your California California-fornia love I can be your California | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| B. J. Baker | Grant Avenue | This is a big musical number in the Chinese New Year's parade scene from the musical "Flower Drum Song" which was set in San Francisco's Chinatown. The 1961 movie features the star Nancy Kwan lip syncing, but the real singer is B.J. Baker. Kwan and Baker's "I Enjoy Being a Girl" number is another highlight of the movie musical which was groundbreaking in that it featured entertainers of Asian heritage instead of non-Asian actors in "yellow-face" makeup, which was common in those days. I wish someone would have told Rogers and Hammerstein, who wrote the song for the original 1958 musical, that they're called "Cable Cars" not "trolleys" in San Francisco. "A western street with eastern manners, You can shop for precious jade We call it You travel there in a trolley, You can eat, if you are in the mood, You know you | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Warren Barker Orchestra | 77 Sunset Strip - TV Show Theme | This is a version of the original theme song to the private detective TV series (based on a non-existant address on the Sunset Strip in Los Angeles) that ran from 1958-1964. This version comes from the show's soundtrack album that was released in 1958. The much better original theme, with a faster tempo and finger snaps that sound like a whip cracking, was written by Mack David and Jerry Livingston, but I don't know who performed it. Listen to the original theme here. "Seventy Seven Sunset Strip The street that wears a fancy label Seventy Seven Sunset Strip You'll meet the high brow and the hipster Seventy Seven Sunset Strip | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Courtney Barnett | Kim's Caravan | Courtney Barnett, from Melbourne, Australia, is an outstanding singer-songwriter and a great guitar player, too. With a deadpan delivery she speak/sings about asthma attacks, organic vegetables, and house shopping, turning the mundane into the universal. After a couple of great EPs she released her first full album in March 2015 "Sometimes I Sit and Think, And Sometimes I Just Sit" on which you'll find this song which describes the devastation of Australia's environment, not California's, and mentions the Sunset Strip in Los Angeleeze only to clarify that she's not singing about it, she's singing about the Sunset Strip on Phillip Island, which is south of Melbourne, Australia, but it's a good excuse for me to put her on my list. For more great songs of hers check out Dead Fox, Avant Gardener, Depreston, Pedestrian at Best, An Illustration of Loneliness, and History Eraser. "Watermarks on the ceiling I was walking down Sunset Strip, Phillip Island, not Los Angeles Don't ask me what I really mean | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Eef Barzelay | Shaker Star | Eef Barzelay is an Israeli-born singer-songwriter from New Jersey, previously with the noise rock band Clem Snide. This song is from a 2009 EP he made of covers of songs from the band The Transmissionary Six called "Black Tin Rocket (Songs of the Transmissionary Six.) It's a solo acoustic guitar song that mentions the song "Death Valley Rain" which as far as I know is the song released in 2001 by Steve Wynn. Terri Tarantula wrote this song and released it in 2009, but I prefer Barzelay's version because of his slight changes to the melody that make the song soar. "We could be unfettered (Chorus) Sky might drench tomorrow (Chorus) This might sound unteathered (Chorus)" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Be Calm Honcho | Pretty on the West Coast | 2013 - Together' EP According to her website "A mountain kid living in San Francisco, Shannon Harney blends forest folk and indie pop…. Previously she recorded under the name Shannon Harney & the Everybody Band. The West Coast refers to more than California, but, no offense to Oregon or Washington, this song is obviously not about either of those states with lines such as "...the land that the sun loves most..." "Ain't if fun I know that we are kings I know we are cool | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Beach Boys, The | California Calling | One of many of the Beach Boys' California songs, this one is from 1985 during their later incarnations. "If everybody in the U.S.A Now there's a touch o' Californ-i-a California callin' Now I've joined the surfin' nation and so And I'll take ya' boogie boardin' with me | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Beach Boys, The | California Dreaming | This version of the Mamas and the Papas 1963 classic is one of my favorites. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Beach Boys, The | California Girls | The classic 1965 surf pop song that probably started the regional wars over whose girls look the best - another unnecessary war that can't ever be won.... "Well East coast girls are hip The Mid-West farmer's daughters really make you feel alright I wish they all could be California | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Beach Boys, The | California Saga: Beaks of Eagles California Saga: Big Sur California Saga: California | The Beach Boys were sent to the Netherlands in 1972 to try to snap Brian Wilson out of his depression. The album that followed, Holland, contained three "California Saga" songs - Beaks of Eagles, Big Sur, and California: Beaks of Eagles "...An eagle's nest on the head of an old redwood on one of the In a broken shack an old man takes his time about dyin' The she-eagle is older than I: she was here when the fires of eighty-five Big Sur "...Big Sur I've got plans for you California "Water, water, get yourself in the cool, clear, water Have you ever been down Salinas way? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Beach Boys, The | Had to Phone Ya | This song is from the "15 Big Ones" album released in 1976. Brian Wilson said that it's about letting his friends know that they were free to call him for help when their world was upside down. That meant a lot more in 1976 when everybody didn't carry an instant communicator in their pocket. "Had to phone ya It lifts my spirits every single time An when I phone ya I visualize that you're looking fine You (you) you (you) you (you) you (you) Come on | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Beach House | Drunk in L.A. | Beach House is a duo formed in Baltimore in 2004 that became synonymous with "dream pop" in the 2010s. This song is from their album "7" released in 2018. It's set in L.A. even though it doesn't mention the city except in the title. According to the notes on notes on Genius.com, the singer and lyricist Victoria Legrand said this about the song in an interview "There's a lot of imagery throughout the record, like the shooting stars on "Woo," that could be related to that kind of thing. Like an old starlet sitting in a bar in the dark by herself, someone who maybe had an insane life that no one will know about because there's no one to talk to but themselves now. I think the song's title symbolizes the darkness of L.A., but it's more of a poetic acknowledgement of the L.A. of the mind. The actual place too, but we're aware of the glamour from an outside perspective." "Can't help seeking corners I had a good run playing horses in my mind Strawberries in springtime I had a good run playing horses in my mind I had a good run playing horses in my mind | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The Beat Farmers | Riverside | The Beat Farmers were a cowpunk band formed in San Diego in 1983. This is from their 1986 album "Van Go." There's probably a town called Riverside in every state, but this song is definitely about Riverside California, which still has some orange groves left for a late night rendezvous. "When you moved up to Riverside So meet me on out in the orange grove baby The moon-cat might be walkin' tonight So meet me on out in the orange grove baby And if I look at you with a wicked smile | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Beatles, The | Blue Jay Way | The Beatles were a rock band formed in Liverpool, England in 1960. The band broke up in 1970 but it is still the best-selling music act of all time, and is often regarded as the most influential band of all time. George Harrison wrote the song. Blue Jay Way is a street in "The Bird Streets" region of the Hollywood Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles where Harrison stayed in 1967. "There's a fog upon L.A., Please don't be long Well, it only goes to show Please don't be long Now it's past my bed I know Please don't be long Please don't be long Please don't be long Please don't be long Don't be long, don't be long, don't be long | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Beatles, The, with Billy Preston | Get Back | This is a 1969 single that reached #1 on the Billboard charts. There is another version on the band's last album "Let it Be" released in 1969. (Useless trivia: It's the 12th and final song on the 12th and final Beatles studio album.) I don't think the California grass Jojo seeks is the kind in the yard you have to mow. "Jojo was a man who thought he was a loner Get back, get back | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Beau Brummels, The | Bless You California | The Beau Brummels were a San Francisco band in the mid 1960s, one of the creators of the "San Francisco Sound." This is from their 1968 album "Bradley's Barn." The mixing engineer must have been late for a hot date because this song has one of the world's fastest fade-outs. "i'm forced to admit wasted once again and i think i've fallen pick me up, dust me off, but don't run me through it if you're lookin' for a platform every little person with a little radio waitin for somebody to tell 'em where to go | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Beck | Debra | Beck is a Grammy-winning singer/songwriter/producer from Los Angeles active since 1989. His breakthrough hit "Loser" in 1994 put him on the map. This song is from his 1999 album "Midnight Vultures." I'm so sick of rappers and pop stars product-placing their expensive cars and other luxuries, so it always makes me smile when I hear Beck sing "...lady, step into my Hyndai" which in 1999 was about as cheap a car as you could buy. Besides the shout out to Glendale, there's a hidden L.A. reference: Zankou Chicken is a chain of restaurants in the L.A. area. "I met you at JC Penney I want to get with you I want to get with you I pick you up late at night after work Cause when our eyes did meet I want to get with you, girl | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Beck | Hollywood Freaks | This is another song from Beck's album "Midnight Vultures" released in 1999. "....We drop lobotomy beats I wanna know what makes you scream Touch it real good if you want a piece People look so snooty Hot like a cheetah Do you want to feel this? Norman Schwartzkopf! Jocking my Mercedes! Do you wanna feel this? Dance floors, all the talk shows | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bee Gees | Massachusetts | The Bee Gees were a pop group from England and Australia that formed in 1958 and became one of the best-selling artists of all time and rock 'n' roll hall of fame members. Unlike a lot of pop groups, they wrote their own songs. This one was a huge hit from 1967. The singer has returned to his home from San Francisco only to find that everybody else had left to become a San Francisco hippie, too. "Feel I'm goin' back to Massachusetts Tried to hitch a ride to San Francisco Talk about the life in Massachusetts I will remember Massachusetts...." | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Belle and Sebastian | Piazza, New York Catcher | Belle and Sebastian are an Indie pop/folk pop band formed in Scotland in 1996. This song is from their sixth studio album "Dear Catastrophe Waitress" released in 2003 and was on the Juno soundtrack. Mike Piazza is a Hall-of-Fame catcher who played for the Mets when this song was released. Persistent rumors that he was gay forced him to deny it in 2002. I have no idea what the song means and neither does Genius.com. Wickipedia says the singer wrote it for his wife when they were still courting. "Elope with me Miss Private and we'll sail around the world San Francisco's calling us, the Giants and Mets will play I love you I've a drowning grip on your adoring face Elope with me Miss Private and we'll drink ourselves awake The catcher hits for .318 and catches every day I wish that you were here with me to pass the dull weekend | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tony Bennett | I Left My Heart in San Francisco | This is an official anthem of the city of San Francisco and it's in the Library of Congress. It's also Tony Bennett's signature song. It was written in 1953 by a couple of songwriters in Brooklyn, but it wasn't a hit until Bennett recorded it in 1962. Plenty of other singers have sung it, including these: Julie London sang it sad and sexy in 1963. Stevie Wonder recorded it in 1968 but it was not released by Motown until later. Bobby Womack made it upbeat and funky in 1969. "The loveliness of Paris seems somehow sadly gray I left my heart in San Francisco My love waits there in San Francisco | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chuck Berry | Back In The U.S.A. | Chuck Berry was a pioneer of rock and roll music born in St. Louis. This patriotic rock classic was released way back in 1959. Linda Ronstadt had an even bigger hit with it in 1978. It was famously parodied by The Beatles in "Back in the U.S.S.R." "Oh well, oh well, I feel so good today, New York, Los Angeles, oh how I yearned for you Did I miss the skyscrapers? Did I miss the long freeway? Looking hard for a drive-in, searching for a corner cafe? Well, I'm so glad I'm livin' in the USA | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chuck Berry | Get Your Kicks (On Route 66) | A version ofthe Nat King Cole original discussed below. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chuck Berry | Promised Land | In this classic 1964 rock 'n' roll version of Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, the singer finally gets to L.A. and phones home. "I left my home in Norfolk Virginia, Straight off, I bought me a through train ticket, | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chuck Berry | Sweet Little Sixteen | This was released in 1958 and became one of Berry's most successful songs, even though it used the same melody on his song "The Little Girl From Central" released in 1955. The melody was so good that the Beach Boys also had to steal it for "Surfin' U.S.A." until they were forced to give the credit to Berry. "They're really rockin' in Boston Sweet little sixteen 'Oh mommy, mommy ... ... ... ... Sweet little sixteen Well, they'll be rockin' in Boston | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Best Coast | The Only Place | Here's a California Band with some west coast attitude right in their name. And this upbeat pop song continues the geographical jingoism. The title alone tells you what it's about. Bethany Cosentino is a California Girl (couldn't resist) who plays guitar and sings vocals for Best Coast, a band from L.A. that sounds like a mix of 60's girl group sounds with surf pop. This one is from their 2012 album The Only Place, and I assume from the title, that there's more than one song about the Golden State on it. "We were born with sun in our teeth and in our hair We wake up with the sun in our eyes It's no surprise that we get so much done Why would you live anywhere else? This is the only place for me | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Best Coast | California Nights | From 2015 "I stay high all the time California nights I never wanna get so high Fading back and forth California nights I never wanna get so high I never wanna get so high | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Better Than Ezra | Coyote | Better Than Ezra is an alternative rock band based in New Orleans that formed in 1988. This song is from their 1993 platinum-selling album "Deluxe." It's a road trip song about driving into California, so it would be negligent of me not to point out that the singer appears to be driving west on the 40 from Texas through Tucumcari New Mexico to Barstow and beyond. Taking that route, there is no way he would ever get close to the Grand Canyon or Death Valley, and Phoenix is a couple of hours south. If he did go to Phoenix, then he would take the 10 west, not the 40 through Barstow. I suppose it's possible he took a very long detour up to the canyon and then to the valley then down to Barstow. So enjoy the song, but don't base your travel itinerary on it if you're looking to get to the west coast in a hurry. "Heading out, you heart beating in your head Coming down, the Phoenix sun on your face | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Jello Biafra with the Melvins | Kali-fornia Uber Alles, 21st Century | Collaborating with the Melvins on their 2005 album "Sieg Howdy!," Jello Biafra once again revised his 1979 song "California Uber Alles," originally about California Governor Jerry Brown, then about Ronald Reagan, to criticize the current California Governor at that time, Arnold Schwarzenneger, using several references to his movies. Schwarzenneger was not elected in typical democratic fashion, he was appointed governor after rich opponents of the sitting Governor staged a recall election, that many people considered a coup bought the governorship. The song also criticizes the Bush/Cheney presidential regime with their unnecessary wars that profitted their friends such as Haliburton. What Biafra did not know in 2005 is that a few years later Bush's policies would drag the nation into the worst economic disaster since the great depression of the 1930s, or that Schwarzenneger, whose supporters ignored and discounted many accusations that he had sexually harassed women (which is alluded to in the song) ended his political carreer in 2011 in disgrace because of a sex scandal. "I am Governor Schwarzenegger Kali-Fornia Uber Alles Enron will control you Kali-Fornia Uber Alles Mandate of Two-Thousand und Four Kali-Fornia Uber Alles I'll be back" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Justin Bieber (featuring Daniel Caesar & Giveon) | Peaches | Justin Bieber is a superstar singer-songwriter from Canada. Daniel Caesar is a Canadian singer and songwriter and Giveon is a singer and songwriter from California. This song, from Bieber's sixth studio album "Justice" released in 2021, debuted at #1 when it was released. A lot of songs have been doing that now that streaming is counted. The chorus, which Bieber sings seven times, celebrates one of California's most lucrative agricultural crops. "I got my peaches out in Georgia (Oh, yeah, s**t) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Big and Rich | California | Every once in a while Shazam comes in real handy, as it did at a truck stop on the 5 in the valley when I aimed my phone at the ceiling speakers playing this song. It's a nice slightly more rock-based cover of Tim McGraw's song from 2015 which is also on this list. It's from the country duo's 2017 album "Did It for the Party." The song was written in part by Rich and he and Big sang vocals on the original, so it's no wonder they eventually made their own version. "It's a 3 day drive if she drives all night Cuz she's in love with California Got a waitress job waitin' in an I-Hop Cuz she's in love with California Well she was all mine | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bird and the Bee, The | Los Angeles | The Bird and the Bee is a indie pop duo from Los Angeles. This breezy technopop song is from their album "Recreational Love" released in 2015. I get the impression that they like living in Los Angeles. "Touch yourself and get yourself I'm from L.A., la la la la la Summer night, take off your clothes (L.A., la la la la la) Los Angeles, Los Angeles Touch yourself, get yourself | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Frank Black | California Bound | Frank Black is a singer-songwriter who grew up in LA and Massachussets, where he formed the essential alternative band Pixies in the mid 80s using the stage name Black Francis. Then he used Frank Black as a solo artist, then Frank Black and the Catholics, and then he went back to using Black Francis. Maybe some day he'll make up his mind. This is an alternative rock song from the 2002 album Black Letter Days. "Don't worry, hey, no need for you to hide among the trees No, I never will hate you Don't worry, don't bring yourself down No worries, heys, I know tomorrow brings the golden sun No, I never will hate you Don't worry, don't bring yourself down | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Frank Black | Calistan | This is from Frank Black's Teenager of the Year album (1994.) There's a video of him singing the song solo with an acoustic guitar and explaining the song here. He says the song is about the great road, El Camino Real, the King's Highway. (The 600 mile long road that connects 21 Spanish missions in California that runs from San Diego to Sonoma County. It's not really one street anymore, except in the mind, but it's mostly highway 101.) "Wheezy" refers to the L.A. smog, St. Anne, refers to the Santa Anna winds, etc. "I took three days to drive down one street I put down my blanket on Cigarette Butt Beach Used to be sixteen lanes Went in from the weather when I got wheezy And my best friend he's the king of karaoke Used to be sixteen lanes | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Frank Black | Los Angeles | This is a great 1992 indie hard rocker from Black Francis of the Pixies about several Los Angeleses - one in So Cal, one in Chile, one in the future (2525), and one in old movies. "I met a man I wanna live in Los Angeles They got a bunch down in moleville I wanna live in Los Angeles They got one in 25-2-5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Frank Black | Ole Mulholland | This is from Frank Black's (Black Francis) 1994 release Teenager of the Year. "Hey, sleepy monster in the sand Let me tell you about Ole', Ole', Ole' for Mulholland All waxed in pride, I've got a comfortable ride So slept a monster in the dune The concrete of the aqua duct Ole', Ole', Ole', for Mulholland Ole', Ole', Ole', for Mulholland | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Frank Black and The Catholics | St. Francis Dam Disaster | This is a story song from Dog in the Sand (2006) about floodwaters flowing to the sea after the dam, built in San Fransisquito Canyon in 1926, failed in 1928, killing an estimated 431 people. "There was a well known water master man Because that water seeks her own Because that water seeks her own | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Black Whales | Rattle Your Bones | Black Whales is a Seattle Band their Band Camp site tags: "alternative garage pop psyche-pop rock n roll Seattle. Rattle Your Bones is the A Side of a 7" vinyl single released in 2010. "And oh, I try and speak, Tell me what you hear, And no I can't deny, In the wrong place, at the wrong time. We look like trouble I guess, Here come the worker bees, In the wrong place, at the wrong time. I'm going to San Francisco, | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Perry Blake | California | Perry Blake is an Irish singer/songwriter known for his downtempo melancholy style, reminiscent of some songs by Pete Drake and Leonard Cohen. This song is from his third album "California" released in 2002. "A new life is what we need Don't start slipping away No sad refrains Don't start slipping away California, California" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Perry Blake | The Hunchback of San Francisco | This is from Blake's first album "Perry Blake" released in 1998. "Morning has broken the silence of night Luck is a hunchback, travelling light 'Cause I'm a lonely man If you make vegas, leave on the lights 'Cause I'm a lonely man | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bleachers | Don't Go Darkd | Bleachers is a band from New York City fronted by singer-songwriter and producer Jack Antonoff. This song is from the album "Take the Sadness Out of a Saturday Night" released in 2021. It has a verse with a reference to The Mamas and the Papas song "California Dreamin'" and the dark side of the dream, and to their cover of "Dream a Little Dream of Me." "What are you gonna ride for no one at all? 'Cause you run, run, run Run, run, run I dream a little dream, she's not out of it 'Cause you run, run, run | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Blink-182 | California | Blink 182 is an American pop punk band from Poway formed in 1992. This is another song about the state's good weather, from their Grammy-nominated 2016 album "California." "Beige little boxes in a row Two little kids out on the lawn Hey here's to you California Wearing all black out on the beach Hey here's to you California | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Blink-182 | Los Angeles | This is another good uptempo pop punk song from the band's 2016 album "California" that seems to be a complaint about noise and light pollution. I guess. "Day in day out In Los Angeles when will you save me Come down Los Angeles when will you save me Wake me when this war is over | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Blink-182 | You Can't Go Home Again | I forget - Thomas Wolfe was writing about San Diego, right? "Sometimes I wonder where our lives go I can't sleep cause what if I dream Of going back to San Diego Abandoned houses with the lights on I can't sleep cause what if I dream Of going back to San Diego | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Blue Oyster Cult | Shadow of California | Blue Oyster Cult is a hard rock band formed in New York in 1967. This song is from their 1983 album "Revolution By Night." "Beneath the freeway at the cloverleaf junction Speed is the game in the shadow of kings Night makes right Revolution by night grant me this future Night makes right | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Blues Image, The | Ride Captain Ride | The Blues Image was a rock band from Florida who moved to L.A. like most every other band in the '60s. This song was their biggest hit, from their second album "Open" released in 1970. "Seventy-three men sailed up Ride, captain ride Seventy-three men sailed up Ride, captain ride | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Body Count | Body Count | Body Count is a band that mixes heavy metal, punk, and rap, formed in L.A. in 1990 and fronted by rapper and actor Ice-T. This song is from their self-titled album released in 1992 when the violence and crime and police brutality in L.A.'s African American neighborhoods were a common topic in rap songs and movies. The album was released only a month before the Rodney King Riots exploded across L.A. but well after the video of cops beating up Rodney King was shown almost every day on TV. The album also contained the song "Cop Killer" that - spoiler alert - p**sed off a lot of cops. But that was 1992 - since the year 2000 until now (2018) Ice-T has played a cop on TV. "You know sometimes I sit at home, you know, Goddamn what a brotha gotta do Tell us what to do... F**k you! You know what you'd do Yo, Beatmaster, take these muthaf**kas I hear it every night, Last weekend thirty-seven kids killed in gang warfare, I hear it every night, | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bonez MC & RAF Camora | 500 PS | Bonez MC and RAF Camora are German rappers. When listening to this dance rap single from 2018, I kept hearing the words "Los Angeles" so I just had to find the German lyrics and get a translation. I like using Google Translate to translate lyrics, because it can make the lyrics sound like gibberish and I never know if that's because the original lyrics were gibberish. I'm at least sure that this song is about driving. Driving a 500 horsepower black Maserati through L.A. or maybe around Germany, since it mentions the streets of Hamburg. GTA Los Angeles has to refer to the video game Grand Theft Auto 5, which uses a ficticious city called Los Santos that is based on the city of Los Angeles. Gamers have made lists and maps comparing the game places to the real places in L.A. So maybe he's driving in the game. "Ich drück' aufs Gas, hör' die 500 PS [I hit the gas, hear the 500 hp Ah, fühl' mich wie Rocky [Ah, feel like Rocky Ich drück' aufs Gas, hör' die 500 PS [I hit the gas, hear the 500 hp Fühl' mich wie Rambo [Feel like Rambo | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Pat Boone | When the Swallows Come Back to Capistrano | This 1940 hit about birds migrating back from their winter territories to the coastal city of Capistrano, was written by Leon Rene and recorded by many artists, including Glenn Miller, Gene Autry, Pat Boone, The Dominoes, The Five Satins,The Ink Spots, Harry James & His Orch, Guy Lombardo, Carmen McRae. "When the swallows come back to Capistrano All the mission bells will ring | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| David Bowie | Cracked Actor | From Bowie's 1973 album "Alladin Sane" this is about an aging movie actor in Hollywood. "I've come on a few years from my Hollywood Highs | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bow Wow Wow | Do You Wanna Hold Me? | Bow Wow Wow is an English worldbeat pop band assembled by Malcolm McLaren, who also invented the Sex Pistols, to promote a line of clothing. He took several musicians from Adam and the Ants and added 14-year-old Annabella Lwin as the lead vocalist. This song is from the band's third and final album When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Going, released in 1983. "Children, I wanna warn ya (Whoa-oh-oh) Ba da ba ba da ba (Whoa-oh-oh) Life is wasted on illusion (Whoa-oh-oh) Ba da ba ba da ba (Whoa-oh-oh) And I cry all night Children, you got to hear me (Whoa-oh-oh) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Dylan Brady | I Hate California | Dylan Brady is a country singer/songwriter from New York. This is a single released in 2019. It's another song about a boy who hates California because his girl moved to Los Angeles. Can't blame him for that. "You always loved the thought of the city But I hate California Yeah we fit together, but you fit in better But I hate California Yeah I hate, I hate, Ohhh And you're somewhere in those hills | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Robert Bradley's Blackwater Surprise | California | This is a good blues song from an American band formed in 1994 in Detroit featuring vocalist Robert Bradley. It's from the band's eponymous recording released in 2011. "Well, I'll never forget the day And I never y'all, seen the stars shine in California Well I'll never forget the time And I never y'all, seen the stars shine in California Well I never forget the warmth And I never y'all, a little star shine in California Turn on the light | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bran Van 3000 | Drinking in L.A. | This is a 1997 song from the album "Glee" by a Canadian collective that mixes alternative rock and hip hop and other styles. "....I woke up again this morning with the sun in my eyes (Yeah one more time at Trader Vics) What the hell am I doing drinking in L.A. (We need to fix you up L.A. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Jon Brian (featuring WYD) | I Live in California | Jon Brian and WYD, aka Doddy, are musicians from Romania, so they probably don't really live in California, not that that matters. The YouTube page for the song put up in 2012 describes it as "...a summer club track that will sure make you wanna dance all summer...." "I live in California Sexy Every time I meet a girl like you So come come come with me I live in California Sexy I live in California Never too late I live in California | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Phoebe Bridgers | Garden Song | Phoebe Bridgers is a singer/songwriter from L.A. This song is from her album "Punisher" released in 2020 and it's one of my favorites, with a beautiful distortion added to the instruments. There's only one brief mention of the Huntington Gardens, a huge botanical gardens and museum in San Marino, but the song also describes gluing roses on a truck for the Rose Parade in nearby Pasadena. "Someday I'm gonna live They're gluing roses on a flatbed I don't know when you got taller And when I grow up, I'm gonna look up I don't know how, but I'm taller | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Phoebe Bridgers | If We Make it Through December | This song, released in 2020 as a promotional single, is a cover of the Merle Haggard original which was released in 1973. You can see the lyrics under Merle Haggard's version. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Phoebe Bridgers | Smoke Signals | This song is from her 2017 album "Stranger in the Alps." She explained that the title comes from the way a line of dialog in the movie "The Big Lebowski" was censored on T.V. The line: "This is what happens when you f**k a stranger in the a*s!" was changed to: "This is what happens when you find a stranger in the Alps!" "I went with you up to You, you must have been looking for me One of your eyes is And you must have been looking for me I want to live at And you, you must have been looking for me I buried a hatchet | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cleo Brown | When Hollywood Goes Black and Tan | In this upbeat early 40's jazz classic, Harlem crooners, Louis Armstrong, and more will all be heading west when Hollywood goes black and tan. It's a celebration of African American entertainers in the movies, back when there were not many of them. "Creole babies from Manhattan, Louis Armstrong with his trumpet | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Buddy | Trouble on Central | Buddy (Simmie Sims III) is a rapper from Compton. This is a great upbeat song that's sung instead of rapped, with a laid-back G-funk rhythm but none of the gangsta attitude. It's from his 2018 debut album "Harlan & Alondra" named after the cross streets of his childhood home. Central Avenue is a long avenue that passes through west Compton. "Just so good at being in trouble I wish I had a girl by my side Just so good at being in trouble I wish I was in control | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Buffalo Springfield | For What It's Worth (Stop, Hey What's That Sound) | Buffalo Springfield was a rock band active from 1966 to 1968 that featured several musicians who went on to greater fame with other bands or as solo acts - Stephen Stills, Neil Young, and Richie Furay. The band's most commercially successful song, this is often considered a protest song about the war in Viet Nam, but it was not written as an anti-war song. It was written by Steven Stills who was inspired by the Sunset Strip curfew riots in November of 1966. Basically it was about young people rioting because they couldn't get into clubs late at night. The song was released shortly afterwards in late December 1966. The song never once mentions the Sunset Strip or L.A. or the riots, nor does it mention the Viet Nam war. The lack of a specific subject has let it serve as a universal protest song and anti-war anthem for any time and place. A California song doesn't always need to mention California. For what it's worth, even if what it is ain't exactly clear, because of its well-know association with the Sunset Strip riots when it was released, this is a song about California. I can't say the same thing about the many cover versions, which include recordings by The Staple Singers, Rush, Cher, Queensryche, Miriam Makeba, Ozzy Osbourne, Oui 3, David Cassidy, Haley Reinhart, and others. The song was also sampled by Public Enemy in 1998 in "He Got Game." "There's something happening here I think it's time we stop There's battle lines being drawn It's time we stop What a field day for the heat It's time we stop Paranoia strikes deep We better stop | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Jimmy Buffett | Come Monday | This easy listening ballad is basically a postcard to his wife from a musician tired of touring and the L.A. smog (which was really horrible back in 1974, I can assure you) and looking forward to seeing her. It's from his 1974 album "Living & Dying in 3/4 Time, which was released 3 years before his monster pop country hit "Margaritaville." When not promoting the consumption of tasty tequila-based beverages, Buffett has worked since 1981 to save the Manatees and other marine life. I'll raise a glass to that. "Headin' up to San Francisco Come Monday It'll be all right, Yes it's been quite a summer, Come Monday It'll be all right, I can't help it honey, I hope you're enjoyin' the scenery, | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Cage the Elephant | Mess Around | This is from a band from Kentucky who have had lots of number one hits on the Billboard Alternative Rock charts, including this song. It's off their 2015 album Tell Me I'm Pretty. There's only a quick mention of California. "Ahhhhh, oh no Oh St. Louis, California Ahhhhh, oh no The heat is rising and only getting hotter, ready to blow Ahhhhh, oh no | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| J. J. Cale | Downtown L.A. | J. J. Cale was a singer-songwriter from Oklahoma known for his great country/blues slide guitar playing. His wah-wah slide on "Crazy Mama" still gets to me after 40 years, not to mention "Magnolia." This is from Cale's "Grasshopper" album released in 1982. Much of downtown L.A. has been developed and gentrified since Cale wrote this, but my impression is that poverty and homelessness in the area is far worse than it was then. "Downtown L.A. is a depressing place In the inner city it ain't no good Man down there he couldn't be lying | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| J. J. Cale | Santa Cruz | This song is from the 1997 album "Anyway The Wind Blows - The Anthology." It mentions two of his songs from the 1970s that were hits for Eric Clapton. "Oo-wee how did I lose | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| California Wives | Los Angeles | California Wives are an indie rock band from Chicago formed in 2009. This song is from their debut album "Art History" released in 2012. They get extra credit for namechecking California in the song title and in the band name. "Los Angeles, arrived And you've been waiting for so long | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cab Calloway | San Francisco Fan | Cab Calloway was a popular jazz and scat singer, dancer, and bandleader from New York, known as the "Hi-de-ho" man, which comes from the lyrics to his most famous song "Minnie the Moocher." He had several other hits in the 1930s and '40s. This is a slow blues released in 1947. "San Francisco Fan Can-canned by command Of the Gold Rush Cafe Clan Once they caught him cheatin' There was Fanny dyin' San Francisco Fan San Francisco Fan San Francisco Fan | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cake | Bound Away | Cake is an alternative rock band from Sacramento formed in 1991. This song, which name checks their home town, is from their 2011 album "Showroom of Compassion. "I'm an unknown individual in an unattended car Away, away, away, away I'm circling, I'm swiveling, I'm waiting just to land Away, away, away, away There's low visibility, gusty wind and rain Away, away, away, away | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Camera Obscura | Desire Lines | Camera Obscura is a Scottish indie pop band, fronted by vocalist Tracyanne Campbell, who also writes all their songs. This song is from the band's fifth album "Desire Lines" releasd in 2013. Ginger Rogers Road is a road in Rancho Mirage in the desert near Palm Springs, right off Bob Hope Drive. "I went to California We could send letters Desire Lines sent me to Badlands The shade of Jacaranda Desire lines sent me to Badlands Desire lines sent me to Badlands Desire lines sent me to Badlands Ginger Rogers Road | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Glen Campbell | Country Boy (You Got Your Feet in L.A.) | Glen Campbell was a country boy from Arkansas who worked for years as a studio musician in L.A., so this song might be somewhat autobiographical, even though he didn't write it. He was a member of the loose group of L.A. studio musicans known as "The Wrecking Crew," playing on records for the Beach Boys, Frank Sinatra, Merle Haggard, Phil Spector, The Everly Brothers, Elvis Presley, and many, many more. Then he had a long and successful solo career, winning awards and selling over 45 million records of his own, and he did some acting, also. This song was a hit single from his 1975 album "Rhinestone Cowboy." ""Livin' in the city You get a house in the hills Country boy, you got your feet in L.A. Country boy, you got your feet in L.A. Talkin' on the telephone When you're surrounded by friends Country boy, you got your feet in L.A. Country boy, you got your feet in L.A. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Camper Van Beethoven | Cowboys From Hollywood | Camper Van Beethoven is a band formed in Redlands in 1983 before relocating to Santa Cruz and San Francisco. This song is from their 1985 album "Telephone Free Landslide Victory." The lyrics are simple, just one line repeated a dozen times, in true quirky CVB fashion: "Aren't y'all cowboys from Hollywood? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Camper Van Beethoven | Dockweiler Beach | From "El Camino Real" released in 2014. "I am waiting in the water I saw you go into the water I will wait ten thousand years I am living in a trailer Oceans filled with suh-submariners I will wait ten thousand years | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Camper Van Beethoven | I Live in L.A. | From "El Camino Real" released in 2014 "She comes in like a star, wearing jewellery and fur Sufficiently I live in L. A. Black SUVs in the drive, tinted windows and guards | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Camper Van Beethoven | Northern California Girls | Another song about California Girls. From their 2013 album "La Costa Perdida" ' Northern California girls say, "Baby come home now" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Camper Van Beethoven | City of Industry | An outtake from "El Camino Real" released in 2014 available as an iTunes extra. "So bring a basket for the lions You know the ZIP code, it's got a good one I'm growing palm trees in wooden barrels I have these wise guys, we meet at Denny's You love your husband, but you like danger We got a bad man, we got a rock god | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Vanessa Carlton | Dear California | Vanessa Carlton is an American singer-songwriter from Pennsylvania whose 2002 debut single "A Thousand Miles" was a huge Grammy-nominated hit. This song is from her 2011 album "Rabbits on the Run." The singer of this one is planning on leaving California. Maybe to make room for all the other songs about going there. "As usual, I'm in a tricky predicament 'Cause he loves me as I leave, so I'm gonna go This alchemy is making me suspicious Oh he loves me as I leave, so I'm gonna go Ever-changing as the sea, it's my only hope It's easy, it's easier Just go, I'll go, don't cry Oh he loves me as I leave, so I'm gonna go Ever-changing as the sea | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Vanessa Carlton | San Francisco | This song is from Carlson's 2004 album "Harmonium." "I, I know what you did We're back, we're back in San Francisco Talking in the Mission We're back, we're back in San Francisco And now I feel the ever after We're back, we're back in San Francisco You tell me I am home And I know what you did in San Francisco | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Hoagy Carmichael | Hong Kong Blues | Carmichael sings this song in the classic Howard Hawks film "To Have and Have Not" with Humphry Bogart and 19-year-old Lauren Bacall in her first film. I don't understand why the gong-kicking guy says he lives in Frisco if he lives in Tennessee, or why they send rice there (Rice-a-Roni?), but that's show biz... "It's the story of a very unfortunate colored man And now he's poppin' the piano just to raise the price That's why he said, 'I need someone to love me Won't somebody believe | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Car Seat Headrest | Hollywood | Car Seat Headrest is an indie rock band formed in Virginia. This song is from the 2020 album "Making a Door Less Open." As happens often in songs about Hollywood, this song doesn't refer to the district of Los Angeles as much as what it represents, which songwriter Will Toledo said in NME is "...a place where people go to make their fantasies come to life, and they end up exploiting other people and doing terrible things to maintain their fantasy." It's a cliche that could be boring but the music makes it worth listening to again. "I'm sick of violence Hollywood makes me wanna puke You got a face that you think Everywhere I go, I'm oppressed by these energies Hollywood makes me wanna puke Faces form faces You can't disengage with one single aspect Into Mansons and Monroeses | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Carolina Liar | California Bound | Carolina Liar is an indie rock band from LA with a big bright sound, but the lead vocalist is originally from South Carolina, and other band members are from Sweden. But the guy in this 2008 song can't wait to get back to that California sun that everyone else is always singing about. But this time he's coming by train and not car. What does he they think he'll be able to do in California without a car? I'll bet he's planning on renting a convertible and driving down the coast highway with the top down just like they do in all the other songs. Then he'll write a song about it... "You're miles away You feel alive There's a southern bound train tomorrow Forget everything tomorrow | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rafael Casal & Daveed Diggs (featuring Chinaka Hodge) | Foxy Girls (Candy Store) | Rafael Casal is a musician and actor from Berkeley and Daveed Diggs is a rapper/actor/songwriter from Oakland who won awards for his work in the Broadway production of "Hamilton." Chinaka Hodge is a writer from Oakland. Casal and Diggs are both filmmakers also, and I recommend their 2018 film "Blindspotting" which they wrote and produced and starred in. It's mostly about the gentrification of Oakland, cultural appropriation, loss of identity, and the struggles of a man who witnesses a white police officer gun down a black man. This hyphy/hip-hop track from the Bay Boy Mixtape, released in 2010, samples Rodger Collins' song "Foxy Little Girls in Oakland" from 1970. "The Bay [Rafael Casal] [Daveed Diggs] [Rafael Casal] [Daveed Diggs] [Rafael Casal] [Daveed Diggs] [Rafael Casal] [Daveed Diggs] [Rafael Casal] [Chorus] I've gots sweets and [Rafael Casal] [Chinaka Hodge] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cascada | San Francisco | Cascada is a German dance music group formed in 2004. This is a EuroDance song from their 2011 album "Original Me" that has been criticized as being similar to Katy Perry's "California Gurls." I don't know why the singer wants to go back to 1969. 1967 was The Summer Of Love. That's the year I would set my time machine for, if I was her. "I'll take you back to 1969 Imagine you and me count the butterflies One, two, three Tell me what you waiting for We're crossing the Golden Gate Wake me up in San Francisco We knew the power is in your head, girl Wake me up in San Francisco Where the love is in the air Wake me up in San Francisco It's 10 pm One, two, three Tell me what you waiting for We're crossing the Golden Gate Wake me up in San Francisco..." | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Neko Case | In California | The Alt Country queen from the Northwest dreams of snow now that she's living in L.A. where the sun always shines and the palm trees are laughing at her. "In California I dream of snow I remember your face when I showed you the ticket In the land where the sun is always shining on | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Neko Case | Thrice All American (Tacoma) | This isn't really a California song, but in her great 2000 song about her home town Tacoma Washington, which had seen hard times when she wrote the song, Neko Case gets in a dig at California singing "God bless California, make way for the Walmart. I hope they don't find you Tacoma." Sorry Neko, they opened a Walmart in Tacoma in 2013. "I want to tell you about my hometown People they laugh when they hear you're from my town Buildings are empty like ghettos or ghost-towns There was nothing to put me in love with the good life People who built it they loved it like I do Well I don't make it home much, I sadly neglect you | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Johnny Cash | Folsom Prison Blues | Folsom State Prison is near Sacramento. Cash said he wrote this 1955 song after watching a movie about the prison when he was in the Air Force in Germany, but he used the melody and many of the lyrics from the 1953 song "Crescent City Blues" written by Gordon Jenkins. Jenkins sued and Cash paid him a settlement in 1968. Some say that Sam Phillips of Son Records is the one who refused to credit Jenkins. Cash's song is much better, but this is just another example of powerful people stealing from the less powerful and I have a hard time appreciating this song without hating Cash. The song became a huge hit and Cash later made a classic country album recorded live at the prison. "I hear the train a comin' When I was just a baby my mama told me. Son I bet there's rich folks eating in a fancy dining car Well if they freed me from this prison | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nick Cave and Warren Ellis | All the Gold in California | The always cheerful Australian song and dance man does his version of the 1979 Gatlin Brothers song for the soundtrack to the HBO series True Detective. "All the gold in California is in a bank in the middle of Beverly Hills Tryin' to be a hero, winding up a zero And all the gold in California is in a bank in the middle of Beverly Hills | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Exene Cervenka | Alone in Arizona | Exene Cervenka was one of the vocalists from the seminal L.A. punk band X. She also sang with the Knitters and other bands. She wrote this song and included it on her 2011 album "The Excitement Of Maybe." Her former X bandmate John Doe also sings a version of the song. "My heart is blue with losing you My heart's in California, I'm alone in Arizona Found her where it shouldn't be, I'm losing you My heart's in California, I'm alone in Arizona My heart is blue with losing you My heart's in California, I'm alone in Arizona...." | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Harry Chapin | Taxi | Harry Chapin was a Grammy-winning pop rock singer-songwriter from New York who produced a lot of hits in his short life, including his #1 hit "Cat's in the Cradle." This song is from his 1972 album "Heads & Tales." While the song is about a taxi driver in San Francisco who picks up an old girlfriend, don't bother to look for her address, it doesn't exist. "It was raining hard in 'Frisco Oh, where you going to, my lady blue Something about her was familiar It took a while, but she looked in the mirror And she said, How are you Harry It was somewhere in a fairy tale You see, she was gonna be an actress Oh, I've got something inside me (Baby's so high that she's skying) There was not much more for us to talk about And she said, we must get together Well, another man might have been angry And she walked away in silence You see, she was gonna be an actress And here, she's acting happy | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Charlene | I've Never Been to Me | Charlene is a singer from Hollywood who only had one big hit - this one. It's original release in 1977 was unsuccessful, but its re-release in 1982 charted at #3. I have nothing against women who are happily married with children or against women who choose to give up their dreams to stay in a loveless marriage and raise their children (thanks mom!) but this has to be one of the most anti-feminist songs ever written. The singer tries to convince a woman that it's better to give up her dreams and stay in an unhappy marriage than it is to be making love in the sun in paradise and sipping champagne on a yacht - a woman who tries to be free only ends up alone because only babies will make her complete. It's not hard to tell that the lyrics were written by a man, is it? (Along with the awful cloying melody, too.) "Hey lady, you lady Whoooa, I've been to Georgia Please lady, please, lady Whoooa, I've been to Nice [Spoken Bridge - not in all versions] Hey, you know what paradise is Sometimes I've been to crying I've been to paradise I've been to Georgia I've been to Nice | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Charlie Daniels Band, The | Uneasy Rider | Charlie Daniels is a country, bluegrass, southern rock musician best known for the fiddling duel with the Devil in his hit "The Devil Went Down to Georgia." This top ten hit is a silly spoken narrative country novelty song with a guitar background from the band's 1973 album, "Honey in the Rock." The title plays with the title of the movie "Easy Rider." It's about a man driving to L.A. who gets a flat tire in Jackson Mississippi. Back then a man with long hair was considered an offensive "hippy-type, pinko fag" with "a commie flag" by red-necks. (Must have been before the longhaired Alman Brothers Band and Lynyrd Skynyrd got popular.) At the end, the singer considers rerouting his trip to L.A. via Omaha, which doesn't make any sense since it would add about a thousand miles of driving, and since, in 1973, long-hairs weren't very safe anywhere outside of big cities, not even in California, and you can't hid your hair under your hat forever.... "I was takin a trip out to L.A. Just as I crossed the Mississippi line Well the spare was flat and I got uptight I went as far as I could and when I stopped the car I stuffed my hair up under my hat There was one thing I was sure proud to see I called up the station down the road a ways He said, "Now, you just stay right where yer at!" I just ordered up a beer and sat down at the bar He looked at me and I damn near died Just when I thought I'd get outta there with my skin I was almost to the door when the biggest one Now the last thing I wanted was to get into a fight They all started laughin and I felt kinda sick Now he let out a yell that'd curl yer hair "You may not know it but this man is a spy. He was still bent over holdin on to his knee I said, "Would you believe this man has gone as far "Well, he's a friend of them long haired, hippy-type, pinko fags! "He's a snake in the grass, I tell ya guys. They all started lookin' real suspicious at him "I'm a faithful follower of Brother John Birch Then he started saying somethin bout the way I was dressed When I hit the ground I was making tracks Mario Andretti wouldda sure been proud And I guess I should of gone ahead and run Well they headed for their car, but I hit the gas I had them all out there steppin' and fetchin' When I hit the road I was really wheelin' I think I'm gonna reroute my trip | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cheap Trick | California Man | A 1978 cover of the 1972 song by The Move (Roy Wood's band that became The Electric Light Orchestra) with a bunch of classic boogie rock nonsense lyrics about a party where the jive is really cool and he's a California man and can't stop dancing and all that. "Goin' to a party, And if the band stops a playin' Get that real guitar boy shakin', | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cheat Codes | Home | Cheat Codes is a trio of DJs based in Los Angeles. This is a dance-pop song released in 2018. "Blonde hair and a sun dress So come in close and stay right by my side, side, side And she said Feels like home Spend time like a Rolex So come in close and stay right by my side, side, side | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cheat Codes | Washed Up | This 2020 pop song from the L.A. DJs wonders if the singer's companion will stay with him after his star fades and he has to move from L.A. to a place with no five star restaurants. Myself, I'd rather be in a place with a good taco truck. "If you had to wear a coat to the club If what we did in public If they say I'm washed up Would you stay? Would you stay? Would you stay, yeah? If we had to move away from L.A. If what we did in public | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cheech & Chong | Born in East L.A. | Cheech & Chong are a comedy duo who formed in Vancouver Canada. Cheech is from southern California. They did stand-up on stage, made records, and made movies. This song is a parody of the Bruce Springsteen song "Born in the U.S.A." Both were released in 1984. After the duo split up, Cheech Marin made a movie based on the song that was released in 1987. East L.A. is a neighborhood historically made up almost entirely of residents of Latin American heritage (96 percent in 2010.) (Cheech:) He said, (Cheech:) (Cheech:) (Cheech:) I want to go back to East L.A. I crawled under barbed wire, swam across a stream Up ahead was the promised land And I was back in East L.A. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The Cheers | Black Denim Trousers and Motorcycle Boots | This 1955 single was written by the famous songwriting team of Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. It's a teenage tragedy song that might be the first of the genre. A bunch of similar songs were written in the years following. The filthy biker in the song hits a diesel that was California bound while riding on Highway 101, and apparently then turns into a naked ghost biker. (Maybe he was even one on fire like the fiery biker in the Nicholas Cage movie.) I'm assuming the accident happened on the 101 in Oregon, but maybe it was in California. "He wore black denim trousers and motorcycle boots Well, he never washed his face and he never combed his hair He had a pretty girlfriend by the name of Mary Lou He wore black denim trousers and motorcycle boots Mary Lou, poor girl, she pleaded and she begged him not to leave Then he took off like the Devil and there was fire in his eyes Was his black denim trousers and motorcycle boots | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The Cheetah Girls | Christmas in California | The Cheetah Girls are an American girl group that was formed for the 2003 Disney TV movie "The Cheetah Girls," based on a series of books, about four teen girls in Manhattan who are in a girl group. There are three Cheetah Girls movies, a few albums and some video games and probably lots of other marketing products, but I had never even heard of them until I discovered this song 14 years later. (Probably because I was never a tween girl.) This song is not from the movie soundtrack, it's from their 2005 album "Cheetah-licious Christmas." The title should have been "Christmas in Southern California" because you won't be getting a tan in Nor Cal in late December or catching any waves (at least not without a wet suit.) "They got the snow Yeah, we're surfin' through the holidays Yeah we're rollerskatin' everyday (You know I'm talkin' 'bout) They got the sleigh rides and sleigh bells too (Come on girls) (Everyone knows) (You know I'm talkin' 'bout) California is the place that you wnana be | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Kenny Chesney | California | They don't get much bigger than Kenny Chesney in Country or any kind of music, and he has 30 million album sales and almost as many awards to prove it. This song is from his1999 album "Everywhere We Go." It's about a woman who thinks that going to sunny California will solve all her problems. Maybe it will. "She lived at the end of a little dirt road I'm goin' to California You can't help but feel a little bit touched I'm goin' to California Stars burn like candles on that two-lane highway I'm goin' to California I'm goin' to California Oh California | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Kenny Chesney | El Cerrito Place | A cover of a song written by Keith Gattis and originally recorded by Charlie Robison from Country megastar Kenny Chesney's 2012 album "Welcome to the Fishbowl." El Cerrito Place supposedly refers to some apartments in Hollywood. The song also name checks Pioneertown. "I been hangin' round this place, I been lookin' through your space And all these pretty people up on El Cerrito Place Me I've been lookin' for you baby, I've been lookin' for you baby Someone said they might have seen you where the ocean meets the land Me I've been lookin' for you baby, I've been lookin' for you baby Somehow I wound up in the desert just after daylight Now it's been two days And all these pretty people up on El Cerrito Place Someone said they might have seen you where the ocean meets the land Think I'll go back to the city, back to El Cerrito Place | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Kenny Chesney | Get Along | Kenny Chesney spends half his time playing stadiums in front of hundreds of thousands of shoeless fans, half his time counting big piles of money and country music awards, and the other half of his time kicking back on a beach in a tank top with Jimmy Buffett. That's entirely true, as I see it. In this post-truth world, you can see it however you want. Can't we all just get along? The singer of this inspirational 2018 country song wonders if a woman he saw on a highway billboard advertising some kind of sex phone line got stranded there on her way to L.A. where she hoped to achieve a higher level of success in the entertainment industry. I wonder - are there still phone sex lines? Maybe that billboard has been there since the 90s. "Met a man wearin' a t-shirt, says "Virginia is for lovers" Get along, on down the road Get along while we can Saw a model on a billboard, 1-800 get to know me Get along, on down the road Get along while we can | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chicago | Hollywood | Describing themselves as a rock and roll band with horns, Chicago (originally called Chicago Transit Authority) formed in Chicago in 1967 then went on to record a steady stream of hits into the 80s, becoming one of the best selling groups of all time. This is from the album "Chicago VI" released in 1973. "People running everywhere People having such a race Hollywood Feeling the night's flash by Watch Hollywood | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chicago | South California Purples | This is from the band's debut album "Chicago Transit Authority" released in 1969. On a cloudy day, the singer wonders where the fabled California sun is. L.A. is cold and cloudy when you've lost your girl and you've got the blues. Or the purples, in this case. (Maybe he should try looking in "Southern California," since there's no place called "South California.") "I thought this was a warm place | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chicks, The | Texas Man | The Chicks, previously known as Dixie Chicks before they removed the Dixie in 2020 because of its connotations of slavery, are a best-selling award-winning country band of three women from Texas. This song is from their album "Gaslighter" released in 2020. "I could use a Texas man Since somebody's body was tangled with mine Everybody wants top market Yeah, I could use a Texas man | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chilly | Come to L.A. | Chilly was a German disco group from 1978-1983. This is one of their hits, from their 1979 album "Come to L.A." Disco does not get any cheesier than this. "In L.A. there's beautiful ladies A town full of musical people Down on the boulevard, man, it's hot Hell's Angels, movie stars and limousines Come, come, come | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chris & Herb | Bakersfield Bound | Chris & Herb are Chris Hillman, who was a founding member of the Byrds, the Flying Burrito Brothers and other bands, and Herb Pederson, a studio musician for many years and a producer. This is a country song in the Bakersfield Country style from their album with the same name released in 1996. "I was the youngest boy in a family of four The dust storms they came at us, the sky turned cold and black We were Bakersfield bound and the California dream When we first set eyes on the San Joaquin was like a friend we always knew We were Bakersfield bound and the California dream | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cigarettes After Sex | Each Time You Fall in Love | Cigarettes After Sex is a band from El Paso, Texas, know for their dream-like musical style and lead singer Greg Gonzalez' sensual androgenous voice. This song is from their self-titled album, released in 2017. (Also recommened: Nothing's Gonna Hurt You Baby, 2012, and Falling in Love, 2019.) "Each time you fall in love it's clearly not enough and each time you kiss a girl you never know what it's worth She took you for a ride in summer baby Each time you have a dream you never know what it means and each time you fall in love it's clearly not enough | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Circle Jerks | Beverly Hills | Circle Jerks were a hardcore punk band formed in 1979 in L.A. This is from the band's first studio album "Group Sex" released in 1980. "Beverly Hills, Century City There she goes I don't know what I'm gonna do Beverly Hills, Century City There she goes | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Eric Clapton | San Francisco Bay Blues | This is a cover of the Jesse Fuller 1954 original. It was included on Clapton's 1992 album "Unplugged" which won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year. The lyrics are listed under Jessie Fuller. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gene Clark | Los Angeles | Gene Clark was a founding member of the great L. A. band The Byrds who pioneered folk rock in the mid 1960's. Clark wrote a lot of their songs including a couple of their best - "Eight Miles High" and "I'll Feel a Whole Lot Better." "Los Angeles" is a solo recording from Flying High, released in 1998 and containing previously unavailable tracks, but I don't know when the song itself was recorded. Clark left the Byrds in 1966 and died in 1991. "Los Angeles, city of the doomed San Francisco, city pretty by the bay Well I don't know where she'll be going Los Angeles, city of the doomed | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Guy Clark | L.A. Freeway | A classic country/folk song from 1974 by a great Texas singer and songwriter. I like the solo version you can hear on YouTube. This song has been covered by lots of other performers. "Pack up all your dishes. If I can just get off of this L.A. freeway | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Shana Cleveland | Face of the Sun | Shana Cleveland is an L.A. based artist and vocalist and guitarist for the surf noir rock band La Luz. This psychedelic folk song is from her solo album "Night of the Worm Moon" released in 2019. "Guitar baby you've stumbled When you have all Good friends burned bright and blew out When you have all Guitar baby you've stumbled | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coconut Records (Jason Schwartzman) | West Coast | Coconut Records is an indie pop music solo project by L.A. based Jason Schwartzman, who is also an actor, a member of the Coppola family, and a former member of the band Phantom Planet. This is from his 2007 album, Nighttiming. I'm declaring here that the West Coast to which the singer is going back home, is California, since Schwartzman grew up in L.A. If he tells me that I'm wrong, that he is referring to his home in Perth, or maybe his home in Panama City, or Puerto Vallarta, or Mumbai, then I will remove this. "For a second there I thought you disappeared And I miss you And if you shake her hard enough she will appear And I miss you Come on, everybody La la la la, la la la la-la So pack up the bags to beat back the clock And I miss you Goin' back home to the West Coast | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gabriella Cohen | Music Machine | Gabriella Cohen is an Australian musician. This song is from her 2018 album "Pink is the Colour of Unconditional Love." The singer disparages L.A. because girls strut around in bikinis while homeless people sleep on sidewalks. I saw the same thing in Sydney. "We're all looking for that small green I think your garden needs a couple of trees I said I love you and you know what I mean I like L.A. cos the people are mean I'm doing time in the industry I said I love you and you know what I mean | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nat King Cole | Midnight Flyer | Nat King Cole was an American jazz pianist who became a very popular singer. In a previous hit (below) he was driving on Route 66, but this time the singer is on a train to L.A. to try to get his girl back, something a lot of singers have tried without ever telling us if they were successful. The song won a Grammy Award in 1959. "Midnight flyer There'll be a whole lot of kissing Midnight flyer The quicker I get there A pocket full of money Midnight flyer | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nat King Cole | (Get Your Kicks On) Route 66 | This rock classic was written in 1946 by Bobby Troupe, recorded first the same year by the King Cole Trio, and recorded by many more musicians, including Chuck Berry in 1961 and the Rolling Stones in 1964. My family moved to California from St. Louis to L.A. driving almost the complete length of Route 66, so this song brings back some ancient childhood memories for me of motels of Indian tee-pees and my first exposure to the great southwestern deserts. "Well if you ever plan to motor west Well it winds from Chicago to L.A. Well it goes from St Louis, | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rodger Collins | Foxy Girls in Oakland | Rodger Collins is a funk singer and songwriter from Oakland by way of Texas who started his career in about 1960. This song was written by Joe Crane of the Hoodoo Rhythm Devils and recorded by Collins in 1970. "Foxy little girls in Oakland Pretty leg girls in Oakland You can hear them ooh and awin' True fine mamas in the East Bay Look here, Oohee, all these girls are killin' me | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Colonel Loud (feat. Young Dolph, Ricco Barrino) | California | Colonel Loud is an American rapper from Florida, Atlanta and North Carolina. This song is from his 2015 album "Plug Talk." It's a celebration of California weed, women, and sunshine that features three other rappers - T. I., Young Dolph, and Ricco Barrino. [Verse 1: T.I.] "Bankroll Mob Dumb hot [Hook: Ricco Barrino] Stay getting that work in California [Verse 2: Young Dolph] Palm trees in the air, the top pushed back [Hook: Ricco Barrino Stay getting that work in California [Verse 3: Colonel Loud] You know I gotta show the West love | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen | Hot Rod Lincoln | Commander Cody... is an American country rock band formed in the 60s. This was a top ten hit and the band's biggest hit, from their 1971 album, Lost in the Ozone. It's a cover of Charlie Ryan's 1955 rockabilly song that was an answer song to Arkie Shibley's "Hot Rod Race," a 1950 song about a hot rod race in San Pedro by. The full lyrics can be seen under Charley Ryan's entry. "....Pulled out of San Pedro late one night | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Concrete Blonde | Still in Hollywood | The singer of this L.A. punk band is stuck in "the city of sin" in this song from 1986. "I was walking down the street early this morning Still in Hollywood! And so it's three A.M., I'm out walking again. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ry Cooder | Down in Hollywood | Ry Cooder is a songwriter/musician from Santa Monica who has been active since 1967. He has an amazing list of achievements that includes producing the great Cuban music album "Buena Vista Social Club," making the soundtrack for Wim Wenders' great film "Paris Texas," and collaborating with Ali Farka Toure and other musicians from around the world. This is an R&B song featuring Chaka Khan from his 1979 album "Bop Till You Drop. "Well, did you hear the good news ? You take me down the Vine Street Going down in Hollywood Well, the scotch has started flowing Going down in Hollywood...." | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ry Cooder | In My Town | From his album "Chavez Ravine" released in 2005. This song, like many of them on this album deal with Chavez Ravine which was a Mexican-American neighborhood that was torn down to build public housing in the 1950's, but then Dodger Stadium was built on the site instead. Like other cities, poor non-white neighborhoods were often destroyed by rich white developers. Of course, so was the entire country. Ask any Native American.... "Up here on the hill, it's starting to rain, From my room, I see old town. If you're brown, back down. Tell the mayor duck out the back, | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ry Cooder | Poor Man's Shangri-La | This is another song from "Chavez Ravine" (2005) mentioned above. "Tell you 'bout a friend of mine that you don't know He don't have no uptown friends that drive a Cadillac La Loma boys will run with you Na, na, na, na, na Firme guys in their firme cars What's that sound? What's that light? Orale, UFO, come gliding low I heard about the cool jerk and the alligator My friend say, "No, be cool, bro' UFO's got a radio Na, na, na, na, na | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Elizabeth Cook | Not California | A 2010 tune from the smart and quicky country roots rocker. She didn't write it, but she sings it. It seems to be about someone who moved away from California and misses it. I've put a song of hers about a snake in the bed on the herp song list, too. "Later on you're breaking the boxes down | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coolio | Fantastic Voyage | Coolio is a rapper and producer from Compton, CA. (He's also a chef with a cooking show and a "Ghetto Gourmet" cookbook.) From his album "It Takes a Thief" released in 1994 this song was a huge hit on the pop charts. (In 1995 he had an even bigger worldwide hit with "Gangsta's Paradise.") This song mentions the California city of Watts one time but it's as good an example of West Coast G-funk as you'll ever find with its lyrics about gangs and drive-by shootings and the car culture of L.A. and its funk beat taken from "Fantastic Voyage" the #1 1980 party anthem by Ohio funk band Lakeside. "Come on y'all let's take a ride Grab your gat with the extra clip and, Ain't no Bloodin', ain't no Crippin' I want to take you there like the Staple Singers Come along and ride on a fantastic voyage I'm tryin' to find a place where I can live my life and And even if I get away from them drive-by killers I try to keep my faith in my people You don't have to stand on the corner and slang Come along and ride on a fantasic voyage Life is a b**ch and then you die If you don't work then you don't eat You gotta have heart son, if you want to go, Nothin' from nothin' leaves nothin' Come along and ride on a fantastic voyage Just roll along - that's what you do...." | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cornershop | No Rock: Save in Roll | Cornershop is a British rock band formed by two brothers in 1991. This son from late 2019 is from their album "England Is a Garden" released in 2020. The lyrics are mostly stream of consciousness rambling with a mention of California. Since the lyrics have not been put online these are just my guess at what they are. There are definitely some mistakes, but even if it's not "cold creek" but it's definitely California. "I keep chewin' keep chewin' There ain't no rock save in roll Cold creek California Sue the dial Tokyo There ain't no rock save in roll In England's Midlands there's a drop forge There ain't no rock save in roll | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Elvis Costello | Beyond Belief | Elvis Costello is an English singer-songrwiter and. Rock and Roll Hall of Famer who began his career in the early 1970s. This is from his album "Imperial Bedroom" released in 1982. It includes a nice California earthquake pun. "History repeats the old conceits I'm just the oily slick I hang around dying to be tortured So in this almost empty gin palace You know she has no sense Charged with insults and flattery And now you find you fit I might make it California's fault My hands were clammy and cunning All the laddies cat call and wolf whistle I've got a feeling I've got a feeling | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Jonathan Coulton | I Hate California | An upbeat acoustic guitar tune from the 2003 first album of the singer-songwriter from Brooklyn known for writing quircky songs about science fiction and technology and geek culture, who became popular using the internet. This is another song about California that's really about coastal Southern California. Believe me, it's OK to dress as if the weather's gonna change up north. "I hate California I hate California I don't blame the Beach Boys I hate California | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Counting Crows | Elvis Went to Hollywood | Counting Crows is a rock band from Berkeley, formed in 1991. This is from "Somewhere Under Wonderland" released in 2014. "Hollywood" here really refers more to the film industry than the city, but whatever, here it is. "November promises, it seems We are driving on the ceiling So long Goodbye, We are driving on the ceiling The God of Maine proclaims the last evacuation of The Dream We are hiding on the ceiling | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Counting Crows | Holiday in Spain | This is from the band's album "Hard Candy" released in 2002. "Got no place to go We've got airplane rides I may take a holiday in Spain | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Counting Crows | A Long December | This is from the band's album "Recovering the Satellites" released in 1996. "A long December and there's reason to believe And it's one more day up in the canyons The smell of hospitals in winter And it's one more day up in the canyons Drove up to Hillside Manor sometime after 2 A.M And it's been a long December and there's reason to believe And it's one more day up in the canyon | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Counting Crows | Los Angeles | This is from "Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings" released in 2008. "Dancing like the nights are down in Nnashville And I'm tryin' to make some friends I left a lot of ghosts in San Francisco And I'm tryin' to make some friends Los Angeles Boston gets cold this time of year Well if you see that movie star and me Oh Los Angeles No more Boston, no more Nashville, no more Oakland And man it's a really good place to find yourself a taco" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Counting Crows | Perfect Blue Buildings | This song is from the band's 1993 debut album "August and Everything After." Virginia and La Loma are streets on the north side of the U.C. Berkeley campus. "Just down the street from your hotel, baby Asleep in perfect blue buildings I got bones beneath my skin, and mister... | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country Joe and the Fish | Flying High | A dose of Psychedelic Acid Rock from the Berkeley band, the first track off their first album released in 1967 "Electric Music For the Mind and Body" with a couple of LA mentions. "I'm stuck on the L.A. freeway My thumbs done froze, can't feel my toes The one that's driving's got a bowler hat He said: 'We can't leave him out in the rain' | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cracker | El Cerrito | Biologist Jeff Ahrens recommended that I add some songs from the new Cracker album, Berkeley to Bakersfield, released in December 2014, and I'm glad he did. Thanks to Cracker for producing a great fun political album about the state, dealing with topics others won't dare to touch (like the totalitarian tech industry that has overtaken our lives) leading off with "Torches and Pitchforks" (not on this list because it doesn't specifically mention the state) and it's revolutionary lyrics: "We will fight you from the mountains Berkeley to Bakersfield is a double album about California. The first one could be titled "Berkeley" (a liberal city with roots in social protest) with punk-based songs protesting economic inequality, much of it created by the Silicon Valley tech industry and its gentrification of the Bay Area. The second one could be titled "Bakersfield" (a conservative city with roots in the oil industry and country music) with country songs about the red state half of the golden state that most of the rest of the country is not aware of. I could list all of the songs on the album, but I'll just list a few of them below. The song "El Cerrito" complains about the gentrification of the SF Bay Area fueled by the mostly south-bay tech companies and their conformist wealth-obsessed employees whose affluent lifestyles have driven up prices (especially housing prices) forcing many people to live elsewhere. There's a good article about the song in the San Jose Mercury News. "Walkin down the street in San Francisco just the other day, Mama took the Alameda transit bus to work each day. Big moustache in taxi cabs. Don't you know that ???? scabs. Papa was an engineer. Worked at Hewlett-Packard. Do do do do do do do do do do do If there is a lesson from this story to be learned. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cracker | Almond Grove | From 2014's Berkeley to Bakersfield. "Said goodbye to Miss Jenny, sleeping on a subway grate Yeah I'm going back home, to the cotton fields Came from Maricopa, had no family left In a national boulevard, ladies don't you weep and moan | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cracker | Beautiful | From 2014's Berkeley to Bakersfield. "If you haven't heard it Saw you working at the coffee shop Let's buy records at Rasputin's If you don't know it If you come to doubt it Now you own your own coffee shop Two teenagers with blue Mohawks | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cracker | Big Dipper | This one's slow and moody, about Santa Cruz and it's "Giant Dipper" roller coaster. David Lowery described Santa Cruz as combining "carrot juice and cigarettes." Like most of California, it's a combination of healthy/natural and carcinogenic. "Cigarettes and carrot juice and get yourself a new tattoo Could I take you out? And hey June why'd you have to come But we could wait awhile And we could wait our lives before a chance arrives And hey Jim, Kerouac, a brother of the famous Jack | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cracker | California Country Boy | From 2014's Berkeley to Bakersfield. "Ain't no palm trees where I come from We got oil fields in the Central Valley Now I got good friends out in Texas From Pasa Robles to the Owens Valley Yeah I got good friends out in Texas Ain't no palm trees, ain't no movie stars | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cracker | King of Bakersfield | From 2014's Berkeley to Bakersfield. "I got a double wide in my own merlot vineyard I work from dusk to dawn for Paramount Pictures We got wide open spaces I got some motorcycle riding neighbours And I do Yeah, play it weird man. this ain't Nashville. Life is good they call me king of Bakersfield | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cracker | Miss Santa Cruz County | From the album "Forever" released in 2002. "So let's all be someone else You could be someone else | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cracker | The San Bernardino Boy | From 2014's Berkeley to Bakersfield. "In his underwear 714 who's that knockin' on my door I've seen him over by the keg 714 who's that knockin' on my door | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Creedence Clearwater Revival | Lodi | John Fogerty had never been to Lodi in 1969 when he chose the city to represent a dead-end town that a down on his luck musician couldn't escape after a one night stand. "Oh Lord, stuck in Lodi Again" is now the theme of some city events in Lodi, proving there's no such thing as bad publicity, and that the people there have a good sense of humor. "Rode in on the Greyhound | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Jim Croce | Operator (That's Not The Way It Feels) | Jim Croce was a popular folk rock singer originally from Philadelphia. This is a song from his huge hit album You Don't Mess Around with Jim 1972, released the year before he died in a plane crash at the age of 30. He's trying to find the phone number of his ex-girlfriend who moved to L.A. with his ex-friend. This song is probably incomprehensible to anyone born in the cell phone era who never talked with a telephone operator or used a pay phone that only cost a dime. "Operator, well could you help me place this call But isn't that the way they say it goes | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sheryl Crow | All I Wanna Do | Sheryl Crow is a singer-songwriter-actress from Missouri who moved to L.A. like so many wanna-be musicians, but unlike most, she went from wanna-be to fame and fortune. This ain't no disco, it ain't no country club either. This is L.A. and girls just wanna have fun, by sitting around drinking beer at noon on a Tuesday with an ugly guy named Billy in a bar next to a car wash on Santa Monica Boulevard. Whatever works for you... It certainly worked for Sheryl; it's still her biggest hit, and the 1995 Grammys Record of the Year. "This ain't no disco And they drive their shiny Datsuns and Buicks | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sheryl Crow | Leaving Las Vegas | This song is from Crow's debut album, Tuesday Night Music Club, released in 1993 and certified 2x platinum (back when people used to buy a piece of plastic with music on it.) Sure the song is about Las Vegas for good, but the sleazy alcoholic gambling-addicted blackjack-dealing ex-showgirl singing the song tells us that when she needed to get away from the city she used drive all the way to Barstow, California. "Life springs eternal I'm Leaving Las Vegas Used to be I could drive up to I'm Leaving Las Vegas I'm standing in the middle of the desert I'm Leaving Las Vegas I quit my job as a dancer I'm Leaving Las Vegas I'm leaving Las Vegas | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rodney Crowell | California Earthquake (A Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On) | Rodney Crowell is a Country music singer-songwriter from Texas. This song is from his 1978 album "I Ain't Living Long Like This." There are also versions of Grateful Dead covers of this song that they sang live just after the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. "There was a California earthquake, in the year of '83 Oh Sherman Buck was driving his old mule into town California earthquake you just don't know what you've done Then came the quake of '99 that levelled Mission Creek Then came one day the holocaust on San Franciso Bay | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The Crusaders (featuring Bill Withers) | Soul Shadows | The Crusaders were a jazz fusion band from Houston. Bill Withers was a singer-songwriter from West Virginia. This is from the album "Rhapsody and Blues" released in 1980. "San Francisco morning coming clear and cold Oh, he played He left those soul shadows He left a soul shadow Standing by the window as a fog rolls in They left them soul shadows | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Miley Cyrus | Malibu | Miley Cyrus is an American singer, songwriter & actress from Tennessee where her father was a country music star with his "Achy Breaky Heart." In this 2017 pop hit, Cyrus sings about being young and beautiful and rich in an exclusive beachfront community where the rich and famous own getaway property. "I never came to the beach or stood by the ocean I always thought I would sink, so I never swam But here I am We watched the sun go down as we were walking Is it supposed to be this hot all summer long? But here I am Next to you We are just like the waves that flow back and forth | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Miley Cyrus | Party in the USA | This is an upbeat pop song from her first EP "The Time of Our Lives" released in 2009 when she was 16 years old that was a huge hit. "I hopped off the plane at L.A.X. Jumped in the cab, My tummy's turnin' and I'm feelin' kinda home sick So I put my hands up Get to the club in my taxi cab So hard with my girls not around me My tummy's turnin' and I'm feelin' kinda home sick Feel like hoppin' on a flight (on a flight) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Gregory D & DJ Mannie Fresh | Buck Jump Time (Project Rap) | Gregory Duvernay and Mannie Fresh are a New Orleans rapper and producer. This is a classic "New Orleans Bounce" track from 1989 that describes how tough New Orleans' projects are. Gregory D taunts West Coast Gangsta Rappers that they couldn't survive the Calliope. (He's not rapping about a steam organ or the Muse of poetry - Calliope here refers to a housing project in New Orleans that was known to be one of the most violent projects in the country before it was demolished in 2014.) "....Listen to the rhymes back-to-back The point behind this whole rap | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Daddy Yankee & Katy Perry (featuring Snow) | Con Calma Remix | This is a Spanglish reggaeton song released in Spring 2019 about a guy watching a girl shake her poom poom on the dance floor. It's a revision of Canadian rapper Snow's big number one hit from 1992 "Informer." It's also a remix of Daddy Yankee's original version of the song, adding Katy Perry and more tropical rap. After Despacito destroyed the pop charts, every English-speaking pop singer is now required by the industry to sing on Latin pop songs. Katy Perry does better than most. It's been 9 years since her smash hit "California Gurls" but she's still working that moniker here. Daddy Yankee is her Puerto Rican dream aka the guy who invented the name "reggaeton." "[Katy Perry] [Daddy Yankee] Es un asesina, cuando baila quiere que to' el mundo la vea [Katy Perry] Con calma I got the poom-poom, boy | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Daughter of Swords | Gem | Daughter of Swords is a side project of Alexandra Sauser-Monnig of the indie folk trio Mountain Man. This song is from the 2019 debut album "Dawnbreaker" "On the edge of the world The sun's hanging low over the ocean California, Carolina High-beams sweep around edge of the mountain California, Carolina | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Johnny 'Scat' Davis and Frances Langford | Hooray For Hollywood | This is the classic and campy song from the 1937 film "Hollywood Hotel" directed by the always amazing Busby Berkeley. It was sung by Johnny 'Scat' Davis and Frances Langford on the film soundtrack and was later covered by many other singers and orchestras including Benny Goodman and Orchestra, Doris Day, Sammy Davis Jr., Johnny Mercer, Rosemary Clooney, and even Nancy Sinatra. "Hooray for Hollywood Hooray for Hollywood, Hooray for Hollywood Hooray for Hollywood Alternate lyrics from later versions of the song update some of the star names: "Hooray for Hollywood Hooray for Hollywood | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Dead Kennedys | California Uber Alles | Dead Kennedys are a punk band formed in San Francisco in 1978. This was the debut single from the band, released in 1979. The title is a riff on the German national anthem as sung by the Nazis "Deutschland uber alles" or "Germany above everything" and a criticism of Governor Jerry Brown, who was Governor of the state from 1975-1983, and later from 2011-2019. The band has recorded several versions of the song, and Biafra revised it in 1985 to satirize former California Governor Ronald Reagan, then President Reagan, in "We've Got a Bigger Problem Now." He later revised it again with the Melvins in 2004 to satirize California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger on "Kalifornia Uber Alles, 21st Century." The original song has also been covered by many other artists, including Disposable Heroes Of Hiphoprisy. Watching the Dead Kennedys play songs like this at the Mabuhay club in San Francisco was one of the highlights of the 1970s & 80s San Franisco punk scene for me. But since then Jerry Brown became the Governor of California once again in 2011 for two more terms with very high approval ratings from the press and the people, while the credibility of the Dead Kennedys took a pie in the face after lead singer Jello Biafra was convicted for cheating the rest of the band out of their royalties. He then accused the rest of the band of stealing his songs and selling them for use in video games. Maybe the song should have been called "Money Uber Alles." Fortunately for the fans, the band's punk anthems live on for us to enjoy regardless of the controversy. "I am Governor Jerry Brown California Uber Alles Zen fascists will control you California Uber Alles Now it is nineteen eighty-four Come quietly to the camp Die on organic poison gas California Uber Alles | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Dead Kennedys | Moon Over Marin | This is from the DK's second album "Plastic Surgery Disasters" released in 1982. Marin is the county north of the San Francisco Bay. When this song was written, only the rich could afford to live there. Now, of course, that's the entire S.F. Bay Area and much of the state. "The crowded future stings my eyes Unlock my section of the sand On my beach at night Another tanker's hit the rocks O' Shimmering moonlight sheen upon On my beach at night I squash dead fish between my toes I slip back through my basement door My own beach at night There will always be a moon | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Dead Kennedys | We've Got a Bigger Problem Now | "California Uber Alles," the 1979 song about California Governor Jerry Brown, is updated here for the President Reagan era. (Reagan was also Governor of California from 1967-1975, just beforeJerry Brown.) Biafra whip pans back and forth from a sleazy lounge singer to an angry punk in this 1985 evisceration of the Reagan regime from the band's "In God We Trust, Inc." EP. "Last call for alcohol. I am Emperor Ronald Reagan Human rights will soon go 'way California Uber alles Ku Klux Klan will control you You closed your eyes, can't happen here California Uber alles Yeah, that's it. Just relax. Welcome to 1984 You'll go quitely to boot camp Die on our brand new poison gas California Uber alles | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Death Cab For Cutie | Bixby Canyon Bridge | Death Cab For Cutie is an Indie rock band from Bellingham Washington. This song from 2007 is about that very tall scenic cement bridge over a cnayon next to the ocean on highway one near Big Sur that you've seen frequently in movies, TV shows, and commercials. Jack Keroac spent some time in Big Sur and wrote a book named after the area and this song is supposed to be about him. "I descended a dusty gravel ridge Barefoot in the shallow creek In the silence it became so very clear All the way from San Francisco | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Death Cab For Cutie | El Dorado | Singer Ben Gibbard's ex-wife is Zoey Deschanel who found her personal "El Dorado" starring in a TV series "The New Girl," filmed in Culver City. "Seems you finally found, finally found El Dorado And I tried to be kind for you It's kinda like a party that you never wanted to attend And I tried to be kind for you Seems you finally found, finally found El Dorado And I tried to be kind for you El Dorado | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Death Cab For Cutie | Ghosts of Beverly Drive | This is a single from the band's 2015 album "Kintsugi" which was nominated for a Grammy and seems to have a number of songs that deal with L.A. Kintsugi is the Japanese art of repairing pottery with gold so that the breaks become a part of the design instead of being hidden. It's a pretty good metaphor for how to get over the failed relationship the singer sings about, and as the song's writer/singer Ben Gibbard did after his divorce and move away from L.A. (Beverly Drive is a street in Beverly Hills.) "If only you'd had known me Receptors overloaded Oh, I need not be flattered But if you let me be your skyline | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Death Cab For Cutie | Grapevine Fires | This 2008 release is from the album Narrow Stairs. The band is from northwest Washington State, and there are bad forest fires in that state also, but it seems to be inspired by the terrible fires in California in 2007 (including one at Gorman in the Tejon Pass - aka "The Grapevine.") The fires seem to be a metaphor for death and change and renewal that the singer welcomes with optimism as he watches his daughter laughing and dancing through a graveyard while everthing burns. "When the wind picked up, the fire spread The wake up call to a rented room We bought some wine and some paper cups And we watched the plumes paint the sky gray And the news reports, on the radio The firemen worked in double shifts | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Death Cab For Cutie | Why You'd Want to Live Here | Another anti-L.A. song from 2001 by the Bellingham indie rockers. "I'm in Los Angeles today... And I can't see why you'd want to live here. The vessel keeps pumping us through this zentropic place It's a lovely summer's day You can't swim in a town this shallow - you will most assuredly drown tomorrow." | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Decemberists, The | California One/Youth and Beauty Brigade | The Decemberists are an American indie folk band from Portland Oregon. This is a 2003 song about the coast highway, highway 1. "Take a long drive with me | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Decemberists, The | Calamity Song | A 2011 tune that channels the upbeat jangly guitars of 80's REM (literally - because Peter Buck is playing them.) There's not much really about California, just the stereotypical end-of-the-world viewof the state destroyed by an earthquake, but it is a great great song. "Had a dream | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Decemberists, The | Los Angeles, I'm Yours | This song is from the band's second album "Her Majesty the Decemberists" released in 2003 "There is a city by the sea Oh ladies, pleasant and demure Oh what a rush of ripe elan | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lana Del Rey | Arcadia | Lana Del Rey is a singer-songwriter born Elizabeth Grant in New York. It's hard to describe her unique sound, but it typically slow and torchy, dark and beautiful. ("Hollywood Sadcore," "Gangsta Nancy Sinatra," and "Lolita lost in the hood" are a few clever descriptions I've read describing her style.) This song is from her album "Blue Banisters" released in 2021. Arcadia is a city in Los Angeles County near the San Gabriel Mountains. It's also the unspoiled pastoral utopia of myth, which, last time I was there, Arcadia California was not. The Sierra Madre is a mountain range near Santa Barbara, and it's also the name of the town just north of Arcadia. I have no idea which Arcadia Lana the Earth Mother is singing about, or how much Hilton Hotels paid her for the product placements, but I would like to borrow her body next time I'm in L.A. It might help me find my way around. "My body is a map of L.A. In Arcadia, Arcadia In Arcadia, Arcadia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lana Del Rey | California | This song is from her 2019 release " Norman F***ing Rockwell!" which I think of as a California album since most of the songs on the album have a reference to L.A. and Hollywood and her journey there from New York. Like a pop song actress, she plays a lot of different roles on this album. There are so many references to L.A. on the album that L.A. Magazine has an article mapping every L.A. reference on it. I'm only going to put a few of the songs from the album on this list, but some others with L.A. references are:Bartender - "All the ladies of the canyon" "60 MPH on PCH drive Head to Long Beach to Newport by your side" Happiness is a Butterfly - "Go down to Sunset in the truck" "Hollywood and Vine, Black Rabbit in the alley" How to Disappear - "Now it's been years since I left New York Norman F***ing Rockwell - Self-loathing poet, resident Laurel Canyon know-it-all "You don't ever have to be stronger than you really are I shouldn't have done it, but I read it in your letter Oh, I'll pick you up We'll do whatever you want, travel wherever how far You don't ever have to be stronger than you really are You're scared to win, scared to lose Oh, I'll pick you up | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lana Del Rey | F**k It, I Love You | This is a great single from LDR's hit 2019 album "Norman F**king Rockwell" (discussed above) that makes me wonder if she's going for the record for use of the F-word in a song. (I'll have to check the Guiness book.) Whatever, I don't expect to hear it much on the radio. Not because it's a bad song, but because after they censor it, there won't be much left to hear. And the whole album is full of F-words, too, in case you didn't get enough in this song. Soon we're going to need a new F-word, because this one is getting used up. "I like to see everything in neon So I moved to California‚ but it's just a state of mind Dream a little dream of me I used to shoot up my veins in neon You moved to California, but it's just a state of mind Dream a little dream of me It turns out California's more than just a state of mind F**k it, I love you (I moved to California, but it's just a state of mind) (F**k it, I love you) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lana Del Rey | The Greatest | An apocalyptic vision of L.A. from 2019's "Norman F***ing Rockwell! discussed above. Apparently Kanye West going blonde is one of the signs of the Apocalypse. "I miss Long Beach and I miss you, babe Those nights were on fire And I pray that you stay I miss New York and I miss the music Oh I pray that you stay If this is it, I'm signing off | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lana Del Rey (featuring The Weeknd) | Lust For Life | The Weeknd is a Canadian singer-songwriter. This is from Del Rey's album also titled "Lust for Life" released in 2017. At first I thought it might be a cover of the Iggy Pop classic, Lust For Life, but it's not even close. When I think of climbing the "H" in the Hollywood sign, I think of actress Peg Entwistle who jumped from her death from the "H" in 1932, and Del Rey certainly knows that story, so there's a bit of lust for death as well as life in the song. "Climb up the H 'Cause we're the masters of our own fate Take off, take off And a lust for life, and a lust for life Then, we dance on the H | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lana Del Rey | The Next Best American Record | Another song from LDR's 2019 album "Norman F***ing Rockwell! (discussed above) with several references to places and freeways around L.A. "My baby used to dance underneath my architecture And we were so obsessed with writing the next best American record Whatever's on tonight My baby used to dance underneath my architecture And we were so obsessed with writing the next best American record Whatever's on tonight It's true Whatever's on tonight There's something that I never knew | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lana Del Rey | Venice Bitch | This is an epic-length song from LDR, with shoe-gazy guitars and analog synths. It was released in 2018 then put on her 2019 album "Norman F***ing Rockwell! discussed above. It's another of many songs that reference the classic song "Crimson and Clover" maybe the first dream pop tune. She has other nods to classic rock songs, also. I was surprised but happy to see this song on several "best songs of 2018" lists, even though they all felt they had to censor the title. I see no reason to censor it, especially when it's used by a woman to refer to herself. Maybe the B word is like the N word in that way. I just hope the Google bot Stormtroopers don't tag me and censor the site or whatever they do when they find a dirty word. Besides, it's a clever play on "Venice Beach," the famous tourist destination in southern California. "Fear fun, fear love Oh god, miss you on my lips You're in the yard, I light the fire Give me Hallmark Oh god, miss you on my lips You're in the yard, I light the fire | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lana Del Rey | West Coast | From her 2014 album "Ultraviolence" She never mentions California, but the location is obviously L.A. It can't be Portland or Seattle - they're "up" on the West Coast. "Down on the West Coast, they got their icons Down on the West Coast, they love their movies You push it hard, I pull away, I'm feeling hotter than fire | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Delta Spirit | California | An Indie Pop break-up or maybe unrequited love song from 2012 from a band formed in San Diego that has been labeled Indie Rock, Americana, and Soul. "I want you to move to California for yourself, I want you to go out there and find somebody else, all of the feelings that I know you never felt, I want you to wander silent past my outstretched arms, | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Jason Derulo (feat. Nicki Minaj & Ty Dolla $ign) | Swalla | Jason Derulo is a very successful American singer, songwriter, and dancer. This is a rap pop song from early 2017 that features two rappers - Nicki Minaj and Ty Dolla $ign who gives a shout out to a girl in Beverly Hills who wears red bottom heels. (Rappers like rapping about red bottom heels almost as much as they like rapping about Grey Poupon and Cristal.) The song starts with an ice cream truck jingle, but I'm pretty sure they're not rapping about sucking on popsicles.... "Love in a thousand different flavors All you girls in here, if you're feeling thirsty Shimmy shimmy yay, shimmy yay, shimmy ya (drank) Shimmy shimmy shimmy yay, shimmy yah | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The Descendents | Catalina | The Descendents are a punk rock band formed in 1977 in Manhattan Beach. They were a big part of the L.A. hardcore punk scene in the 1970s and 1980s. This song is from their first album "Milo Goes to College" released in 1982. The singer must have a pretty nice boat if he plans to take it all the way to Catalina Island. That's 26 miles across the sea, according to The Four Preps song. "My room's a mess, I don't care Shoot it in your arm, you can't hurt me Whores, you can't make me want I'll steal some gas, fix my motor Ah yes, here I am, far away from everyone I'll steal some gas, fix my motor Ah, head." | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Neil Diamond | I Am... I Said | Neil Diamond is an American singer-songwriter from Brooklyn, active since the 60s, and one of the world's best-selling artists of all time, according to Wickipedia. This 1971 hit was written by Diamond after he spent time in therapy trying to figure himself out. The strangest line in this song is not the one about the chair not hearing him, it's the one that says the rents are low in L.A. In what alternate universe was that ever true? "L.A.'s fine, the sun shines most the time Well I'm New York City born and raised "I am"... I said "I am"... I cried "I am"... said I Did you ever read about a frog But I got an emptiness deep inside "I am"... I said | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Russell Dickerson | Blue Tacoma | This a 2018 California road trip country song about a girl and a truck that makes you want to hit the road with your sweetheart in whatever vehicle you have. Russell Dickerson is an American country recording artist from Tennessee. In case you don't know, the Tacoma sung about here is a model of Toyota pickup truck, not the city in Washington State that's named after the original Native American name for the volcano Mt. Rainier. The historian in me needed to tell you that. The economist in me can't help but wonder if Dickerson was paid by Toyota to use their truck's name in the song, or if maybe Toyota made him pay to use the name. Everybody's dipping their beak these days. "Blue Tacoma, California Wheels rolling on an old Toyota It's in a blue Tacoma, California Red sun melting to the black top A blue Tacoma, California | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Dictators, The | California Sun | The Dictators were a proto punk band from New York City. Some people consider them one of the very first punk bands, but they played their instruments too well to be punk in my opinion, though they had the attitude. This great version of the 1964 Rivieras classic described below is from their first studio album Go Girl Crazy! released in 1975, almost two years before the Ramones released their studio version. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Diesel | Sausalito Summer Night | This is from Diesel's album "Watts in a Tank" released in 1980. They're a power pop Dutch band, so they probably didn't know that nobody calls it Frisco or that Sausalito is not Frisco, and that you shouldn't need 200 gallons of gas to get from L.A. to Sausalito. That's only about 2 miles per gallon. This song sounds like Steve Miller or early Tom Petty or maybe even the Doobie Brothers, or something as dreadfully 1970s as all that, but I'm fond of it nevertheless because it reminds me of blowing a gasket on the Grapevine once and waiting all day in the only coffee shop for parts to arrive from Bakersfield. Now there's the usual fast food and motel jungle in Grapevine, and there's probably not a Rambler left on the road. "We left for Frisco in your Rambler All aboard Hot summer night in Sausalito I'll have a burger and a root beer All aboard Another mile to Frisco | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Dirty Gold | California Sunrise | Dirty Gold is an indie rock band from San Diego, founded by two brothers in 2010. This song is from their Ep "Roar" released in 2011. "California sunrise I've been sleepin' far too long, I've been hidden from your love Trying to decide, are you really worth my time? I've been sleepin' far too long, I've been hidden from your love I've been sleepin' far too long, I've been hidden from your love | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Disclosure (featuring Lorde) | Magnets | Disclosure is a dance music duo from England active since 2010. Lorde is a singer-songwriter from New Zealand, whose California songs are listed below. This song is a single released in 2015 that mentions the infamous road on top of the Hollywood Hills. "Never really felt bad about it Smoke and sunset, off Mulholland Pretty girls don't know the things that I know Never really thought we would make it Smoke and sunset, off Mulholland | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Disposable Heroes Of Hiphoprisy | California Uber Alles | The Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy was a hip hop group formed in the Bay Area and active from 1990-1993. This song is from their album "Hiphocrisy is the Greatest Luxury" released in 1992. This is a hip hop version of the Dead Kennedys song that samples their version and adds new lyrics slamming Republican governor Pete Wilson. "California uber alles California uber alles... I'm so proud to know the Great Communicator California uber alles... Now it's 1992 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Dixie Chicks | Gaslighter | Dixie Chicks are a country group formed in Texas composed of three women. The biggest-selling country group in the U.S.A, the group was blacklisted and boycotted in 2003 for criticizing President George Bush for his plans to start a war in Iraq. Their best-selling 2006 album "Taking the Long Way" won the highest Grammy Awards - Album of the Year, Song of the Year, and Record of the Year, but after that the band mostly took a long hiatus until 2020 when they released this song, the first single from their first new album in 14 years. "Gaslighter We moved to California and we followed your dreams Hollywood welcomed you with open doors You're such a You thought I wouldn't see it if you put it in my face Gaslighter | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| DJ Fenix & Lisa Williams | California Sun | This is an electronic dance track that was a dance hit in 2017. DJ Fenix is a Russian EDM DJ and producer, and Lisa Williams is an English singer. "Do you remember And can you tell me Eake me back | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince | Yo Home To Bel-Air | These guys are a hip hop duo from Philadelphia - Jeff Townes and Will Smith. Yes, that Will Smith, the TV star and then blockbuster movie star. They had a few hits and Grammys, including one with the song Summertime, with Smith doing the rapping. Beginning in 1990, Smith starred for several years in a TV sitcom called The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, about a teenage kid from the streets of Philadelphia man who was forced to move into his uncle's Bel-Air mansion to keep him out of trouble. This was the show's theme song, and it is some really cheezy 90's hip hop, as you would excpect from a sit com theme. It probably has a lot of nostalgic value for kids who watched the show. "Now, this is a story all about how In west Philadelphia born and raised I begged and pleaded with her day after day First class, yo this is bad But wait I hear they're prissy, bourgeois, all that Well, the plane landed and when I came out I whistled for a cab and when it came near I pulled up to the house about 7 or 8 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| John Doe | Alone in Arizona | This is John Doe's cover of a song written by his former bandmate in X, Exene Cervenka, off his 2016 album "The Westerner." Doe calls the album his "psychedelic, soul record from the Arizona desert." | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| John Doe (featuring Kathleen Edwards) | Golden State | John Doe is a singer-songwriter, actor from L.A., a member of the LA punk band X and The Knitters, and he has recorded many solo and collaborative albums. Kathleen Edwards is a Canadian singer-songwriter. "The Golden State" has been the official California State Nickname since 1968. This is one of my favorite California songs. It's an upbeat guitar rocker with nice hooks and harmonies and a great chorus. (Doe said in a 3/15 interview with Marc Maron on his WTF podcast that it was the closest thing to a hit song that he's recorded.) "You are the hole in my head We are tangled You are on the lick of my lips We are tangled | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Dom Dolla | San Frandisco | Dom Dolla is an Australian house music producer. This is dance track from 2019 that I can not criticize for rhyming "San Francisco" with "disco" because it's about the dance club scene in the city, with spoken-word descriptions. And, of course, the title says it all. "San Francisco, where's your disco? I was supposed to go out there for like a semester of college and I ended up never leaving. It's that energy on the dance floor that I think has helped house music completely thrive from there. There is definitely the leftover hippie vibe from the '60s and '70s I think. It's just a great place to go out, there's something going on every night of the week, the people there are fun and just, San Francisco, where's your disco? I first moved there in 1999. I was supposed to go out there for like a semester of college and I ended up never leaving. It's that energy on the dance floor that I think you know has helped house music completely thrive from there. There is definitely the leftover hippie vibe from the '60s and '70s I think. It's just a great place to go out, there's something going on every night of the week, the people there are fun and just, yeah, I love it. San Francisco, where's your disco? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Dollyrots, The | California | The Dollyrots are a pop punk band with a female vocalist that is from Florida and settled in LA in 2002. This song is from their 2010 release "A Little Messed Up." "It's a place where the skies are blue Showing off your brand new fan says Meet me in California Yeah, yeah, tonight Going swimming in your pool, yeah Meet me in California | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Dollyrots, The | California Beach Boy | Another song from 2010's "A Little Messed Up." "Went down to Venice Beach Said baby whats your name My friends tell me I've gone crazy He drives a Mercedes My friends tell me I've gone crazy | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The Doobie Brothers | Ukiah | The Doobie Brothers are a rock band from San Jose, Calfornia. Most of their success was in the 1970s, including a couple of #1 hits, and they are still performing (as of 2019). This song is from the band's 1973 album "The Captain and Me." "People rushin' everywhere | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Doors, The | L.A. Woman | The Doors were an experimental rock band formed in Los Angeles in and fronted by Jim Morrison. They were one of the most controversial, influential, and successful bands of their era - 1965-1973. In this song from the album "L.A. Woman," released in 1971, L.A. is a lonely woman with freeways, midnight alleys and hair like a wildfire. (Now 35 years later, she also has a lot of tattoos.) "Mr. Mojo Risin'" is an anagram for Jim Morrison. "Well, I just got into town about an hour ago Are you a lucky little lady in the City of Lights? L.A. Woman, L.A. Woman I see your hair is burnin' Motel, money, murder, madness Mr. Mojo Risin', Mr. Mojo Risin' Well, I just got into town about an hour ago Are you a lucky little lady in the City of Light L.A. Woman, L.A. Woman | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Doors, The | Peace Frog | This song is from the Doors' fifth studio album "Morrison Hotel," released in 1970. It consists of poetry written by Jim Morison that was added to music that was already recorded, which might explain why these gory lyrics accompany a fast upbeat song. "There's blood in the streets, it's up to my ankles She came and then she drove away She came She came into town and then she drove away Indians scattered on dawn's highway bleeding Blood in the streets in the town of New Haven Blood screams her brain as they chop off her fingers There's blood in the streets, it's up to my ankles | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Dr. Dre & Snoop Doggy Dogg | Nuthin' but a 'G' Thang | This is a duet from two great California rappers off Dr. Dre's classic 1992 debut album "The Chronic." It was #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was named one of the 500 songs that shaped rock and roll by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. "One, two, three and to the fo' It's like this and like that and like this and uh | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Dresden Dolls, The | Shores of California | The Dresden Dolls are a duo from Boston formed in 2000 including Amanda Palmer and Brian Viglione. They describe their style as "Brechtian punk cabaret" and are part of the "Dark Cabaret" movement. This song is from their 2006 album "Yes Virginia" "He's been trying with limited success And that's the way it is in Minnesota And she's been trying with limited success And that is why a girl is called a tease And that's the way it is in Minnesota | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Dressy Bessy | California | This is a one of those indie rock songs that sounds like everyone in the band is singing and playing their instruments for the first time and couldn't care less about the song. It's a skill that probably took them years to master. The band was formed in Denver in 1996 and has a female lead vocalist. "Free ride, sea side Where's that sunhat Can we go there this summer i'll wear a flower in my hair Ah ah ah la la la Where's my sunshine | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Drinkard Sisters | Dress Yrself in Gallantry | The Drinkard Sisters are an acoustic contry/folk group from Michigan. This song is from their 2018 album "Enough Already." "She's [gone] I-84 She'll drive to San Francisco She's [gone] the evening dew She'll drive to San Francisco It's always easier to stay It's always easier to stay I'll drive to San Francisco | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bob Dylan | California | Bob Dylan is a Nobel-Prize-winning guitar player from Minnesota who has written and sung a lot of songs since 1961, including this one from 1972. It's a piano/harmonica blues tune that perpetuates the myth that California only has one weather season, which is just not true. It has four like everywhere else - there's the wet season, mudslide season, the dry season, and fire season. "I'm goin' down south, Well, I needed it this morning San francisco's fine, Well, I got my dark sunglasses, | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bob Dylan | San Francisco Bay Blues | This is Dylan's version of the 1954 Jessie Fuller song. It's from one the earliest recordings of Dylan - "The Minneapolis Party Tape" recorded in 1961 and released in 2012. (The lyrics are shown under Jesse Fuller.) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| E-40 (featuring Dam-Funk & Ariel Pink) | California | E-40 is an American rapper from Vallejo who has been recording since 1986. This jazzy hip-hop song, featuring Dam-Funk & Ariel Pink, is from the compilation album "Welcome to Los Santos" released in 2015 by hip-hop producers The Alchemist and Oh No. [E-40] It's zany on these dumping grounds [Ariel Pink] [E-40] [Ariel Pink] Up above the sunny skies in California | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Eagles, The | Hotel California | I have no idea what this 1977 mega hit is really about, or if it's even about California. Some guy drives through the desert to a decadent hotel in the desert full of beautiful people, were you can check out but never leave. The best thing about it is probably the guitar solo. "Her mind is tiffany-twisted, she got the Mercedes Benz So I called up the captain, Welcome to the hotel California | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Eagles, The | King of Hollywood | This is a California song in the title only, but the lyrics describe a man who works in the entertainment industry that is synonymous with the California city and its "casting couch" and sexual harassment of would-be actresses. The song is from the album "The Long Run" released in 1979. "Well, he sits up there on his leatherette "Come sit down here beside me, honey. "We gon' get you an apartment, honey. After 'while nothin' was pretty. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| J. D. Edwards | West Coast Blues | I can't find out much information about J. D. Edwards. Someone on YouTube says he was "more than likely a musician on the 1950's Houston, TX. blues scene." Edwards shouts out this mid-tempo blues along with electric guitar, drums, and a stand up bass that never stops. "On my way to California Got a woman in California | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Billie Eilish | All the Good Girls Go to Hell | Billie Eilish is a singer-songwriter from L.A. This song is from her first album "When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?" which was released in 2019 when she was 17 years old and debuted at number one on the Billboard albums chart. ['m back here in February, 2020 to add that this album has deservedly won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year. Eilish won the other top three Grammy Awards, too.] This song will fit nicely on a playlist of songs about California wildfires. It's probably no coincidence that six months before this song was released large parts of California were burning in the worst fire season ever recorded in the state. [I'm back here in October, 2020 to say that this year's fire season was even worse!] "My Lucifer is lonely Standing there, killing time Hills burn in California All the good girls go to Hell My Lucifer is lonely Look at you needing me Hills burn in California | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cass Elliot | California Earthquake | Cass Elliot, also known as Mama Cass, was a pop/rock singer, best known for being a member of the Mamas and the Papas. This song is from her 1968 solo album "Dream a little dream." It was written by John Hartford but Elliot released her version of the song first. "I heard they exploded the underground blast They tell me the fault line runs right through here They tell me the fault line runs right through here Atlantis will rise, Sunset Boulevard will fall They tell me the fault line runs right through here They tell me the fault line runs right through here | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Anita Ellis (voice) Rita Hayworth - on-screen performer | Put the Blame on Mame | From the classic 1946 film "Gilda," this song must have been written by some of the top seismologists in the state because it gives the most realistic version of the origin of the great San Francisco earthquake I've heard. In her nightclub act, Gilda (Rita Hayworth) ignites the screen with her dancing and singing in a strapless black dress and long black gloves which she slowly peels off like a stripper and tosses into the crowd. Beware: you might need to make a dash for a doorway when you watch her perfomance because it could easily set off a dangerous seismic event of at least 8.0. "When they had the earthquake in San Francisco Put the blame on Mame boys One night she started to shimi and shake So you can put the blame on Mame boys | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Robert Ellis | California | Robert Ellis is an American singer-songwriter from Texas whose music is a mix of genres as many songs are these days. This song is off of his 2016 album "Robert Ellis" It's another song about escaping to California as promised land where you can start a new life. "It was a long way to go She would've gone to the moon Standing alone And she says, Which way to go And she says, | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| EMA | California | From her 2011 album "Past Life Martyred Saints," this one is from a young but very bitter California Girl. Beware the expletives. "F**k California, you made me boring Oh California Now you've corrupted us all with your sexuality | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Eminem | Say Goodbye to Hollywood | Detroit native Marshall Mathers raps about his troubled life again, from his 2002 album "The Eminem Show." "Bury my face in comic books, cause I don't want to look Sayin' goodbye, sayin' goodbye to Hollywood | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Estelle (featuring Kanye West) | American Boy | Estelle is a British singer/songwriter/rapper and Kanye Kardashian-West is a rapper from Chicago. This was a hit disco-funk song from Estelle's 2008 album "Shine" that won a Grammy Award and charted at #1 in the UK and #9 on the Billboard Hot 100. ".....Take me on a trip, I'd like to go some day. He said "Hey, Sister. Take me on a trip, I'd like to go some day Can we get away this weekend? Take me on a trip, I'd like to go some day | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Melissa Etheridge | California | This is from Etheridge's 2007 album "The Awakening." It's another song about someone who went west to rescue herself. I hope she brought plenty of water... "Raised up on mid-western dreams To California I kept on driving to the setting sun In California I will find my love | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Melissa Etheridge | Miss California | This is from her 2010 album, "Fearless Love." Since Etheridge has been openly gay since the early 1990's, I'd guess that one of the propositions that makes the singer feel so cold is proposition 8, the 2008 ballot proposition that outlawed same sex marriage. It was overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2013, so maybe she's made up with Miss California now. "Miss California what did I do wrong ? Miss California did I get in your way? Don't you know what's good for me can be good for you? Miss California was I a little too proud? Yeah yeah yeah Don't you know what's good for me can be good for you ? Your sweet seduction led me far from home Miss California | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Eve 6 | Inside Out | Eve 6 is a pop punk band formed in Southern California in 1995. The singer mentions So Cal in the lyrics. This was a hit song for the band, from their first album "Eve 6" released in 1998. "I would swallow my pride, I would choke on the rinds I burn, burn like a wicker cabinet, chalk white and oh so frail I would swallow my pride, I would choke on the rinds So Cal is where my mind states I would swallow my pride, I would choke on the rinds I alone am the one you don't know | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Everclear | Like a California King | Singer, songwriter Art Alexakis grew up in L.A., but formed the rock band Everclear in Portland. This song's from the album "So Much for the Afterglow" released in 1997. It's not about a California King bed or a California Kingsnake, it's just more of the same intense brooding rock that made this album the band's most commercially successful. "I see you have made yourself a brand new life | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Everclear | Santa Monica | This is from Everclear's 1995 album "Sparkle and Fade." Technically the song doesn't mention a specific place in California except in the title, but when you consider that as a teenager Art Alexakis the writer/singer of this song, filled his pockets with heavy stuff then jumped off the Santa Monica Pier to kill himself, it's a pretty good guess that imagery of death and the ocean refer to the beach at Santa Monica. "I am still living with your ghost With my big black boots and an old suitcase We can live beside the ocean We can live beside the ocean I am still dreaming of your face I'll walk right out into a brand new day I just want to feel some sunshine We can live beside the ocean We can live beside the ocean | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Fall, The | L.A. | I really don't care if they're singing about the city of L.A. Their video seems to think so. I love this song. The music is hard and driving but sparse and minimal in that 80's post-punk way in this1985 release from the great UK band. "Odeon | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Fantastic Negrito | The Last Days of Oakland (Intro) | Fantastic Negrito is a rootsy blues & r&b singer-songwriter out of Oakland. This is only a short intro piece from the album of the same name, but the whole album is worth a listen, and it was even awarded a Grammy. "The Last Days of Oakland | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Jay Farrar and Ben Gibbard | Big Sur | Jay Farrar, of the pioneering Alt Country/No Depression band Uncle Tupelo (that he started in Illinois with his neighbor Jeff Tweedy, later the frontman of Wilco) and later with the band Son Volt, and Ben Gibbard, leader of Death Cab For Cutie and The Postal Service, got together and made an album in 2009 titled "One Fast Move or I'm Gone: Keroac's Big Sur" with lyrics based on Keroac's 1962 novel "Big Sur." This one is a beautiful slow steel-guitar drenched country folk number. I definitely need to hear some more of this album. "This whole surface of the world I see as much as doors will allow The best thing to do is not be false | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Jay Farrar and Ben Gibbard | California Zephyr | Another song from the 2009 album "One Fast Move or I'm Gone: Keroac's Big Sur" with lyrics based on Keroac's 1962 novel "Big Sur." "Up the Hudson Valley across New York state | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Jay Farrar and Ben Gibbard | San Francisco | And another song from the 2009 album "One Fast Move or I'm Gone: Keroac's Big Sur" with lyrics based on Keroac's 1962 novel "Big Sur." "The church is blowing a sad windblown "Kathleen" Stan Getz on the hi-fi under midnight kitchen bulbs | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Jay Farrar, Will Johnson, Anders Parker, Jim James (New Multitudes Album) | Do Re Mi | See Woody Guthrie below. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Fatboy Slim (featuring Lateef) | Wonderful Night | Fatboy Slim is the stage name of Norman Cook, an English music producer who has used many other aliases (including my favorite - Margaret Scratcher.) This is a Big Beat electronica dance track, featuring Lateef (from Oakland) on vocals, from his 2004 album "Palookaville." I often don't bother listing songs like this that barely mention California, but this is such a great track, I couldn't leave it off the list. "...It's a wonderful night Come on and break it on down You know the music search engine need a tuneup Uh let me tell ya how we do it in California It's a wonderful night | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Fatboy Slim | Kalifornia | This is from Fatboy's 1998 big beat electronica album "You've Come a Long Way Baby." It consists of a robotic computerized voice droning the same words over and over again inside some heavy beats for about six minutes. California is druggy, druggy, druggy, druggy Down by law, right from the core California is druggy, druggy, druggy, druggy Down by law, right from the core | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Father John Misty | Hollywood Forever Cemetary Sings | Father John Misty is the pseudonym of singer/songwriter Josh Tillman, originally from Maryland. This is a slow dirge about sex, drugs, and folk rock at the cemetary, I guess, from his 2012 album "Fear Fun." "Jesus Christ, girl With you Jesus Christ, girl You kiss Jesus Christ, girl You came But someone's gotta help me dig | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Father John Misty | Leaving L.A. | This long, slow, probably autobiographical, acoustic folk rock story song, from Tillman's 2017 album "Pure Comedy," is sung by a man who moves out of a post-apocalyptic L.A. to New Orleans. Tillman and his wife did move from L.A. to New Orleans, but they eventually moved back to L.A. where the phonies, bullsh*t bands, and billboard queens, which must not have been so objectionable after all. "I was living on the hill These L.A. phonies and their bullsh*t bands A few things the songwriter needs ... ... ... ... My first memory of music's from So we leave town in total silence | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Leah Felder | California Christmas | A very nice tropical style Christmas song with Hawaiian steel guitar and ukelele from her 2012 album "California Christmas." Make sure to leave a mai tai out for Santa. "Have you ever been down on Santa Monica Boulevard Well it's another hot December in the western state All the little children try to stay awake Have you ever been kissed right there | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| José Feliciano | California Dreamin' | A great cover of the Mamas and the Papas classic 1966 song, with classical guitar accompaniment from his 1968 album "Feliciano!" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Fergie (featuring YG) | L.A. Love (La La) (Remix) | Fergie is a singer/songwriter/actress originally from southern California who is known for her solo work and her work with the Black Eyed Peas. This song was originally released in 2014 and ended up on her second solo album Double Dutchess (2017.) "La la la la Laid back, slow down Get in with the business L.A. got the people saying la la la la la Every city, every state, every country you know Uh tell em where I'm at Laid back, slow down Get em with the business L.A. got the people sayin' la la la W-E-S-T S-I-D-E L.A. got the people sayin' la la la la la You on that Cali s**t | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bryan Ferry | San Simeon | Bryan Ferry is a singer-songwriter from England. And he's a vampire. I'm pretty sure he wouldn't show up in a mirror. This song is from his 2002 album "Frantic." Careful - don't let Ferry's crooning vampire vocals mesmerize you or you'll have a sore neck in the morning. Maybe he wrote these lyrics after a visit to Hearst Castle. That place would make a great vampire lair. It probably has a big dark basement. And lots of fresh blood visiting on tour busses every day. "Walk up the driveway endlessly curving San Simeon Teasing in French lace, exotic promise San Simeon Tiger skin rug love I stroke you bite me San Simeon | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Fidlar | Cheap Beer | Fidlar is a punk band from Los Angeles. The name is an acronym for "f*** it dog, life's a risk." This song was released as a cassette in 2011. (Were people still listening to cassettes in 2011? Long live physical media.) "Me and my friends in a hundred dollar Volvo Fourty beers later and a line of speed I drink cheap beer, so what, f*** you As I was saying all that s**t like that Vietnam s**t Supposed to be in Santa Monica at 8 a.m I drink cheap beer, so what, f*** you...." | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Fifth Dimension, The | California Soul | The Fifth Dimension is a pop group from L.A. formed way back in 1965. This song is from their 1968 album "Stoned Soul Picnic." For the lyrics, see Marlena Shaw's version. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Fight Fair | California Kicks | Fight Fair is a pop punk band from San Diego, based in San Francisco. This song is off their 2010 album "California Kicks." "Hit the beach because I can California Kicks, Cram the buds in the van cuz we need our fix of Del Taco, From S.B. to S.D. at the clubs all night, | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| First Class, The | Beach Baby | This is a pop song reminiscent of The Beach Boys that was a top ten hit. It's nostalgia for L.A. of the 1960s made in 1974 by a British band who probably had never been to California. "Do you remember back in old L.A. Remember dancin' at the high school hop Beach baby, Beach Baby give me your hand Mmmm, I never thought that it would end We couldn't wait for graduation Day Beach baby, Beach Baby give me your hand (give me your hand) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Five for Fighting | Disneyland | Five for Fighting is the stage name of hockey-brawl fan Vladimir Ondrasik the 3rd, from Los Angeles, known best for his piano-based rock songs. This song is from his 2004 album "The Battle for Everything." He had a hit song named "Superman (It's Not Easy)" in 2001, that must be the song the crocs in his Disneyland dream are singing. "I Woke up got my lazy ass out of bed There I was somewhere West of Tomorrowland There she goes... my heart again (would you mind rolling over) It's a nice day if you wake up in Disneyland... In my dream everybody's got a little house In my dream all the pirates down in Neverland There she goes... my heart again (do you mind rolling over) It's a nice day when you wake up in Disneyland... We can fly away...." | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Flash and the Pan | California | Flash and the Pan was an Australian band formed in 1976, probably best known for their great moody college radio classic "Walking in the Rain" which comes from the same album as this song, "Flash and the Pan," released in 1979. You can tell the singer of this song about obliterating the state with a missle is not from California, because nobody there says "South California." It's SoCal or Southern California, mate. "Up above the sunny skies in South California Last night captain Black went dancing at the Whiskey A-Go-Go The red balloon was flying high, watching the weather | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Foals, The | London Thunder | The Foals are an English indie rock band formed in 2005. This song is from their 2015 release What Went Down. There's only one mention of San Francisco, and they rhyme it with "disco" which should immediately disqualify any song from inclusion on this list, but it's not the first time I've heard that rhyme in a song, and it's a song I like a lot, so here it is. "I'm on the red eye flight to nowhere good, And now the table's turned, it's over There is no way to realign, | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Folk Implosion, The | E.Z. L.A. | Heavy beats and spacy guitars under dreamy vocals, typical of this Boston band, give us a litany of complaints about the usual California natural disasters on this song from their 1999 album "One Part Lullaby." "Here I am, never thought I'd be Feel the ground it's always moving Hear the other ocean churning Easy L.A. it's another beautiful day Without the seasons will I know how to change Did the money cut the city in pieces Hear the other ocean churning Easy L.A., it's another beautiful day | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Fountains of Wayne | California Sex Lawyer | Fountains of Wayne was a rock band from New York City with either one of the best band names ever or one of the worst. This is from the band's 2005 album "Out-of-State Plates," a compilation of old and new songs. It was originally on the International Pop Overthrow Vol 3 compilation released in 2000. "I'm going coast to coast I'm heading for the sun A California sex lawyer I got big ideas I'm heading for the sun A California sex lawyer | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The Four Dandies | Frisco Kate | This is a campy barbershop quartet song that I haven't found online except in the movie it comes from - Outlaw Women (1952). At about 31 minutes in, we see four men singing the song in a saloon. "Where I first met Katie That's where I first met Katie | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Four Preps, The | 26 Miles (Santa Catalina) | The Four Preps were four wholesome clean-cut former Hollywood High School students who backed up Ricky Nelson on Ozzie and Harriet and Sandra Dee in the Gidget movies. The kind of guys parents loved. This is their big hit from 1958 with 4-part harmony and a bouncy accompaniment and a lot of romance, romance, romance, romance. "Twenty- six miles across the sea Water all around it everywhere It seems so distant, twenty-six miles away Twenty- six miles, so near yet far Twenty- six miles across the sea | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Foxygen | San Francisco | Foxygen is an neopsychedelic indie pop folk rock whatever duo formed in 2005 in southern California when they were 15. This is the second single from their second album "We Are the 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace and Magic" released in 2013. (The third single "No Destruction" is even better.) Yes, I'm going to make the obvious comparison between the chorus of this song and "I Left My Heart in San Francisco" but I'm not sure why. "Up in San Francisco where the forest meets the bridge I left my love in San Francisco I left my love in San Francisco And we're restating on this hill But that was many years from now You swimming upstream or just tuning into the new sensations | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Jesse Fuller | San Francisco Bay Blues | Jesse Fuller was an American one-man band musician originally from Georgia who settled in Oakland in 1929. He didn't try to make a living as a musician until the 1950s. He is best known for this song which he first recorded in 1954. It has been covered by many musicians, including Ramblin' Jack Elliott, Bob Dylan, Jim Kweskin, The Weavers, The Brothers Four, Richie Havens, Eric Clapton, Paul McCartney, Hot Tuna, Janis Joplin, Peter, Paul, and Mary, Phoebe Snow, and Mungo Jerry. "I got the blues from my baby Sit down, lookin' through my back door, Say while livin' in the city | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Galantis (feat. Sofia Carson) | San Francisco | This is an electronic dance track from 2018. Galantis is two Swedish dance producers. The featured vocalist Sofia Carson is an American singer & actress. Because the song does not rhyme San Francisco with "disco," I will let them get away with some gross inaccuracies in the lyrics - that you can climb the Golden Gate Bridge, that you can stay in a bar all night, and that the sun shines in the Summer in San Francisco. "I met you in a bar in San Francisco We climbed the Golden Gate Bridge just to watch the stars collide In San Francisco I met you in a bar in San Francisco We climbed the Golden Gate Bridge just to watch the stars collide In San Francisco | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The Game (featuring 50 Cent) | Hate it or love it | From The Documentary, released in 2005. The Game is a rapper who had such a tough life growing up in Compton, where they use wood for coffins instead of school books, he didn't even have 50 cents when his Grandmomma died, but in this song he's so rich he not only has 50 Cent rapping with him, he also goes back to Cali weaing a Jacob - a very expensive watch. "....On the grill of my lowrider From the beginnin to the end Used to see 5-0 throw the crack by the bench | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Art Garfunkel | 99 Miles From L.A. | Art Garfunkel is a singer and actor from New York best known for being one half of the great Rock-and-Roll-Hall-of-Fame-inducted duo Simon and Garfunkel. This song is from his 1975 solo album "Breakaway." The song was written by Hal David and Albert Hammond, who also performed it and released it as a single in 1975. You can see the lyrics under Albert Hammond. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Judy Garland | On The Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe | This song, sung by lead vocalist Judy Garland, the American actress/singer from The Wizard of Oz and all those other movies, won the Oscar for best song for its use in the movie The Harvey Girls in 1945. There's hardly any mention of the state, but the train is on its way to Califor-ni-ay, so here it is. "Do you hear that whistle down the line? See the ol' smoke risin' 'round the bend Here she comes On the way to Califor-ni-ay | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gatlin Brothers, The | All the Gold in California | The Gatlin Brothers are a country trio formed in 1973 that later became Larry Gatlin and the Gatlin Brothers. I'll bet the other two brothers were not happy about that. This #1 country song is from their album "Straight Ahead" released in 1979. It's a cautionary message about California fame and fortune. Also covered by Nick Cave. "All the gold in California, Tryin'to be a hero, | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| G-Eazy (with Blueface, ALLBLACK, & YG) | West Coast | G-Eazy and ALLBLACK are rappers from Oakland, Blueface and YG are rappers from L.A. and Compton. This is from 2019. There are a lot of words in this. Maybe hip-hop should cap the word total like Twitter. My favorite line - "I got more b**ches than PetCo." He must be referring to one of their adoption events because they don't sell dogs. "Six million ways to mob, choose one [G-Eazy] You can't imagine the way that this cash feelin' (ooh) [Chorus] Something about the West coast [Blueface] Blueface, baby (uh) [Chorus] [ALLBLACK] Is it Lake Merritt on Sunday or a game at the Oracle? [Chorus] [YG] West, west, west, west, west, west (West) Y'all n***as know what it is (4-Hunnid) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gin Blossoms | California Sun | Gin Blossoms is an alternative rock band formed in 1987 in Arizona. This song is from their 2006 album "Major Lodge Victory." "Just three days and I'm missing you more than I thought I would Oh baby California sun Been about a week and I finally fall asleep as the sun comes in | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gipsy Kings | Hotel California | A 1999 cover of the Eagles classic in Spanish with Flamenco guitars. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Globelamp | Washington Moon | Globelamp is a music project by American singer-songwriter Elizabeth Le Fey, who was formerly associated with the band Foxygen. The song is from her 2015 album release "Orange Glow." Her southern California roots and connections with Olympia, Washington are apparent in the chorus of this song. It's a desire that maybe only someone who has lived in both California and Washington can understand. "Acid rain on sunny days I want a California sun and a Washington moon There was a rainbow in your room I want a California sun and a Washington moon It rains for days and days | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Go-Go's, The | La La Land | The Go-Go's are a rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1978. This song is from "God Blss the Go-Go's" released in 2001. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines "La-La Land" as: 1: a euphoric, dreamlike mental state detached from the harsher realities of life 2: used as a nickname for Los Angeles, California. Since the band is from L.A., I think this song is using both definitions - living in la-la land in la-la land. If not, at least I finally put a Go-Go's song on this list. Their great 1981 song "This Town" is clearly about L.A., but never mentions it. "C'mon everybody do you want something real? Hello world we're here again I hear what I wanna here living on cloud nine Hello world we're here again Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah Lalalalalala land lalalala land Hello world we're here again | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Go-Go's, The | This Town | This song is from the band's debut album "Beauty and the Beat" released in 1981 and considered one of the seminal albums of the 1980s as well as one of the 500 greatest albums of all time, according to Rolling Stone. The song was written when the band was living in Hollywood and participating in the L.A. punk scene and there's absolutely no doubt that it's a song about L.A., even though it never mentions the city. "We all know the chosen toys This town is our town Change the lines that were said before This town is our town This town is our town This town | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gomez | California | Gomez is an English indie rock band formed in 1997. This song is from their 1999 album "Liquid Skin." "California got her right Sentimental sparrows Come around with your heavenly smile Always wanted to leave | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lesley Gore | California Nights | When she wasn't singing about crying at her own party, or pre-feminist anthems like "You Don't Own Me", Lesley Gore sang this 1967 pop song about how much she likes nights in California. "Along the sand, Love California nights, And there will be beneath the midnight sky above Warm California nights, | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gorillaz | California and The Slipping of the Sun | From "The Fall" released in 2010. This song starts with a message delivered over an airport PA system, which then fades underneath some sung lyrics about California. Maybe the singer is taking a plane to L.A. "... ... ... California Sun on dreamers Money is pouring Fantastic | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The Gotobeds | Cold Gold (L.A.'s Alright) | The Gotobeds are a post-punk band from Pittsburgh. This song is from their 2016 album "Blood // Sugar // Secs // Traffic." It reminds me a little bit of Pavement and other indie rock bands from 20 years ago. I suppose there's nostalgia for that now, too. There's a brief snarky reference to L.A. as a place where people don't move on, they just move. (I don't see a problem with that if you can afford the rent.) There's also a nice reference to a Blue-tongued Skink in the third line. "Dateline, she's got my gold in her mouth I don't try to lead where it won't go Update! We're separate strands of this cloth I don't try to lead where it won't go | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ariana Grande | Snow In California | Ariana Grande is a pop superstar with an amazing four octave vocal range. This is from her Christmas Kisses EP that was released in 2013. I hate to be the one to break it to her, but I'm pretty sure that Santa is not the person who makes it rain. (Guys in strip clubs usually do that...or so I've heard....) Nevertheless, since this was released in the middle of a record-setting drought, I want to applaud her for using her talent to plead for some precipitation in the state. "Dear Santa, See I really love him I don't need another gift Just make it snow in California | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Grateful Dead | Estimated Prophet | The Grateful Dead is a rock band formed in Palo Alto in 1965, becoming probably the most successful and longest lasting band of the San Francisco Acid Rock era. This is from the band's 1977 album "Terrapin Station." "My time coming, anyday, don't worry about me, no Don't worry about me, nah nah nah, don't worry about me, no California, preaching on the burning shore My time coming, anyday, don't worry about me, no Don't worry about me, no no no, don't worry about me, no California, a prophet on the burning shore | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Grateful Dead | Friend of the Devil | This is from the Dead's album "American Beauty" released in 1970. There's a single mention of the California city of Chino. That's not a great reason for me to put the song on this list, but I do it for two reasons: my brother used to have a wife in Chino so I've been there a lot; and this is my favorite Grateful Dead song - the studio version - not one of the probably hundreds of live versions that Deadheads collect. Obviously, I'm not a Deadhead. (BTW, I don't think the town Cherokee mentioned is the place in California, which is very small.) "I lit out from Reno, I was trailed by twenty hounds Set out runnin' but I take my time Ran into the devil, babe, he loaned me twenty bills Set out runnin' but I take my time, a friend of the devil is a friend of mine, I ran down to the levee but the devil caught me there Set out runnin' but I take my time Got two reasons why I cry away each lonely night, Got a wife in Chino, babe, and one in Cherokee Set out runnin' but I take my time, | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Grateful Dead | Standing on the Moon | This song is from the Dead's final studio album "Built to Last" released in 1989. "Standing on the moon Standing on the moon I see all of Southeast Asia Standing on the moon Standing on the moon Standing on the moon Standing on the moon | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Grateful Dead | West L.A. Fadeaway | This is from the Dead's twelfth studio album "In The Dark" released in 1987. The basic tracks were recorded on the stage of an empty, dark theater in San Rafael, hence the title. "Looking for a chateau Met an old mistake West L.A. fade-away I had a steady job You know the pay was pathetic I met a west L.A. girl West L.A. fade-away Looking for a chateau West L.A. fade-away Little red light on the highway | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Jackie Green | Freeport Boulevard | This is a honky-tonk blues song about drinking by a singer-songwriter from Sacramento. It's from Greene's 2002 album "Gone Wanderin'" which won an award for best blues/roots album in 2003. Freeport Boulevard is a long road in south Sacramento. Someone from that city suggested I put this song on my list, and when I looked up the name, it made me remember that, speaking of drinking, waaaay back in the day we used to drive (but not in a Cadillac) up Freeport to go to a Tiki bar called the Zombie Hut, which was built in 1945. When it was new, it was way out in the boondocks with nothing else around it. They had a picture on the wall that showed just how isolated it was when it was built. That was long before it was gradually swallowed up by the inevitable suburban sprawl and closed down, living only in memories and on phony t-shirts sold to Tiki culture hipsters. "All my good friends live down Freeport Boulevard But they'll send your ass down walking, down the boulevard | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Norman Greenbaum | California Earthquake | Norman Greenbaum is a rock singer/songwriter from Massachusetts, best known for his 1969 hit song "Spirit in the Sky." He moved to L.A. in 1965. I'm sure he was inspired to write this song by the 1971 San Fernando earthquake which hit at 6 in the morning, like the quake in the song. It knocked my ass out of bed too. This single was released later that year. "Well you're out in California digging the sun Don't let that California earthquake scare you away The ceiling came down and knock you out of bed Don't let that California earthquake scare you away My advice to you is to keep your feet off the ground Don't let that California earthquake scare you away California earthquake‚ don't let it scare you away" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Adam Gregory | She's So California | Here's a country singer who likes to objectify "California" girls, and country girls who look like they could be from California. At least he's not a hater. Of course, he's Canadian, and they're always nice and polite. This song's from 2006, two years before Gary Allan's country song with the same title, and the same appreciation for bleached blondes. "Bleached blonde hair and no tan lines She should have a star on Hollywood blvd. Here right there on the front porch swing Peach street sign just like Rodeo Drive. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Grimes | California | Claire Boucher is a Canadian musician/artist whose stage name is Grimes, named after the style of music known as Grime in the UK. Her own style is an eclectic mix. This song is from her 2015 release titled "Art Angels." It might just have the longest "California" sung in any song, as she stretches it into 10 or 11 syllables, but I'd have to run a clock on them all to know that for sure. "This, this music makes me cry The things they see in me, I cannot see myself California Oh, I, I, I The things they see in me, I cannot see myself California | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Guns N' Roses | One in a Million | Guns 'N Roses is a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame multi-million-record-selling hard rock band formed in L.A. in 1985. This song is from their second album "GN'R Lies" released in 1988. Axl Rose wrote it about his experience of getting hustled in the Greyhound bus station when he first arrived in L.A. The song caused a lot of controversy because of the homophobic, racist, anti-immigrant, and anti-police sentiments of the character singing the song. "One, two, one, two, three, four Police and n****rs, that's right You're one in a million Immigrants and faggots Well some say I'm lazy You're one in a million Radicals and racists You're one in a million | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Margo Guryan | California Shake | An earthquake song from a 60's pop/folk/jazz singer-songwriter, whose songs were recorded by several well-known pop singers. She's known mainly for her 1968 album "Take A Picture". This song comes from a 2001 release "25 Demos," and as far as I can tell, it was also recorded in the late 60's but it holds up very well and doesn't sound too dated. And I don't know of any other song where Earthquake sounds get to accompany the band. "Melon-rising California sun Something nearly peaceful in the sound You'd better get up No time for thinking | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Arlo Guthrie | Comin' into Los Angeles | This folk rock classic was released in 1969 on the album "Running Down the Road." Arlo's esteemed father Woody Guthrie sang folk songs about dust bowl refugees migrating to California to find work while Arlo Guthrie sang about smuggling drugs into Los Angeles. This song makes me nostalgic for the good old days of flying, before the terrorists ruined it and now we have to raise our arms inside x-ray machines and wait in long lines to take our shoes off and all those other nuisances that seem unnecessary until you think about the possibility that the guy next to you might have a bomb in his shoe or a ceramic knife. Besides the lax security, in those glory days of aviation flight attendants were called stewardesses and they were all young women dressed in mini skirts and hot pants who were fined if they gained weight. Yes sir, that was some classic vintage sexism, the kind that put a big smile on your grandfather's face, at least until grandmother burned her bra and stopped shaving, but that's another song. Also, now that marijuana is legal in California, there has been a large increase in arrests in 2019 of people smuggling the drug OUT of LAX to sell it at a profit in states where it is still criminalized. I think we need a re-make of this song to reflect the changing times: "Coming in from London, from over the pole Comin' into Los Angeles Yeah, there's a guy with a ticket to Mexico Comin' into Los Angeles Hip woman walkin' on the movin' floor Comin' into Los Angeles Comin' in from London, from over the pole Comin' into Los Angeles Yeah, alright " | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Woody Guthrie | Do Re Mi | Woody Guthrie was a great American singer-songwriter and folk musician from Oklahoma. "This machine kills fascists" was written on Guthrie's guitar, which he used to sing many songs about injustice and hard times. He wrote a number of songs about the great 1930's dust bowl and its refugees, including this one, where he warns that the Promised Land has a steep cover charge. (Even steeper today.) He cautions migrants to stay where they are because there isn't enough work and too many refugees. I'm not sure when it was written, but it was included on his 1940 album "Dust Bowl Ballads" so it's at least that old. It has been covered by Ry Cooder, Nanci Griffith, Ani DiFranco, Dave Alvin, Bob Dylan, and many others. "Lots of folks back East, they say, is leavin' home every day Now the police at the port of entry say Oh, if you ain't got the do re mi folks you ain't got the do re mi California is a garden of Eden, a paradise to live in or see You want to buy you a home or a farm that can't deal nobody harm 'Cause I look through the want ads every day If you ain't got the do re mi boys you ain't got the do re mi California is a garden of Eden, a paradise to live in or see | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Woody Guthrie | The New Year's Flood | Woody Guthrie announces this song as "The New Year's Flood" but there are versions with different lyrics on the internet titled "Los Angeles New Years Flood." Maybe Guthrie wrote more than one version, but I can't find one with him singing the alternate lyrics. The song is about a real incident that happened in Los Angeles County just after midnight on New Years Day 1934 when a massive rainfall of more than 7 inches in a day trigged a massive flood with rock and mudslides twenty feet high racing down from the western San Gabriel Mountains, destroying more than 300 houses and killing at least 40 people and probably many more itinerant workers who were never reported as missing. The flood prompted flood-control projects in the area to avoid a repeat of the catastrophe. "Kind friend, do you remember? 'Twas in the early springtime of 1934 The little towns of Montrose, Glendale and Burbank too The news that rocked the nation | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Woody Guthrie | Old L.A. | The lyrics to this song were written by Woody Guthrie, but apparently he never wrote music to them, similar to the songs on the great Mermaid Avenue album made by Billy Brag and Wilco. The music was written by Anders Parker and the song was recorded and released on the album "New Multitudes," a Woody Guthrie tribute album released in 2012. "I've been beatin' my way around Old L.A., it's a pretty fair place to be It's hey, hey, hey and ho, ho, hooo; | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Woody Guthrie | Pastures of Plenty | Here's another folk song from the great Woody Guthrie about migrants working in orchards around the west, written in 1941. It has been covered by many singers, including Odetta in 1960. "It's a mighty hard row that my poor hands have hoed I worked in your orchards of peaches and prunes California, Arizona, I harvest your crops Green pastures of plenty from dry desert ground It's always we rambled, that river and I | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Woody Guthrie | This Land is Your Land | This is his Guthrie's best-known song, written in 1940 and recorded in 1944. It was revived and recorded by many folk singers in the 1960s, including Bob Dylan, The Kingston Trio, Trini Lopez, Peter, Paul and Mary, The Seekers and Pete Seeger. "This land is your land This land is my land As I was walking that ribbon of highway, I roamed and rambled and I followed my footsteps When the sun came shining, and I was strolling, | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Merle Haggard | A Friend in California | Merle Haggard was a celebrated country singer-songwriter from Oildale, California, which is just north of Bakersfield, whose career extended from 1963 to his death in 2016. He sings about missing a friend in Texas in this song from his 1986 album "A Friend in California." "L.A. traffic is bad this time of year You've got a friend in California that misses you Fort Worth can get cold this time of year You've got a friend in California that misses you You've got a friend in California that misses you | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Merle Haggard | Beer Can Hill | This song, from Haggard's 1996 album titled "1996," is about Beer Can Hill outside of Bakersfield, where Mr. Haggard learned how to walk, run, fight, dance, make romance, pick a little cotton and a lot of guitar, and also to do a little jail time. (When I visited the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville in the 80s, the pardon from prison given Haggard by Governor Ronald Reagan was on display, near the pictures of Elvis and Nixon and down the hall from a collection of Dolly Parton's enormous wigs.) The town of Oildale has named a street after Merle. I hope that's not all they've done to honor him. Maybe the line from the song "You could do better, but you won't do bad in Bakersfield" should be used as the city's motto. "Well, I learned how to walk and I learned how to run in Bakersfield Dancin' on Beer Can Hill I made part of my livin' in a honky tonk bar in Bakersfield I drank a lot of beer since I was a kid in Bakersfield | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Merle Haggard | California Blues (Blue Yodel #4) | A country blues with lots of slide guitar. Recorded by Jimmy Rogers in 1928 and many others, including Lefty Frizell and Doc Watson. "Well I'm goin' to California Let me tell you somethin' Yeah | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Merle Haggard | Here in Frisco | This is from Haggard's 1975 album "Keep Movin' On." I don't find it odd that he calls San Francisco "Frisco." But it is odd that he sings "trolley cars" when everybody knows they're called "cable cars." "It's four a.m. in New York City three a.m. in Dallas They say it's raining in Chicago and it's cold and clear in Denver The way I feel tonight I won't be staying long And I'm still all alone here in Frisco. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Merle Haggard | If We Make it Through December | This song, from "Merle Haggard's Chrsitmas Present" released in 1973, went to #1 on the country charts. "If we make it through December Got laid off down at the factory If we make it through December | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Merle Haggard | Kern River | Another California song by this country music legend about a love one who drowned in the Kern River. When you're driving up to Lake Isabella from Bakersfield, where the road enters the narrow rocky entrance to Kern Canyon where the "Killer" Kern River flows into the valley, there's a sign that says "Danger. Stay Out. Stay Alive" with a tally of how many people have drowned in the river. The number was 250 when I last remember seeing it, and it's probably much higher now. "I'll never swim Kern River again. There's the South San Joaquin, | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Merle Haggard | Kern River Blues | This is the last song Haggard ever recorded. It's about leaving his home town of Oildale. He wrote it while in the hospital fighting the pneumonia that finally killed him and recorded it in early 2016. R.I.P. Hag. "Well I'm leaving town tomorrow getting' my breakfast in the sky Cause I'm flyin' out on jet plane gonna leave this town behind Put my head up to the window watched the city fade away There used to be a river here runnin' deep and wide When you close down all the honky tonks the city died at night Well I'm leavin' town forever kiss an old boxcar goodbye | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Merle Haggard | Okie From Muskogee | This was a huge hit for Haggard in 1969 that made him a symbol of the enemy to the counterculture in the '70s. The song sets up a contrast between the hippies in San Fancisco and the squares in Muskogee, dissing the long-haired draft-card-burning drug-using hippies by comparing them with the more upstanding flag-waving boot-wearing, boozing Okies. Haggard said he wrote the song to support the troops in Vietnam. He later said that the song expressed who he was in 1969 when most of America had the same foolish assumptions that he did about the war, and that he later sang it with a different attitude. The song actually became popular with the same drug-using hippies that the song disses. I remember hearing an edited parody version played on KSAN, the hip "underground" commercial radio station in San Francisco that had Haggard singing "We smoke marijuana in Muskogee, We take trips on LSD...." Another pardoy of the song is "Hippie From Olema" by The Youngbloods. "We don't smoke marijuana in Muskogee; I'm proud to be an Okie from Muskogee, We don't make a party out of lovin'; And I'm proud to be an Okie from Muskogee, Leather boots are still in style for manly footwear; We still wave Old Glory down at the courthouse, | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Merle Haggard | Return to San Francisco | This is a slow country song with a nice mix of fiddles and mariachi horns from Haggard's 55th studio album "Haggard Like Never Before" released in 2004. That's right, 55. Double nickles. And he made 11 more after it. "Should we ever lose each other somewhere along the way But return to San Francisco, always keep this vow to me But return to San Francisco, always keep this vow to me | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Merle Haggard | Tulare Dust | Haggard wrote this song which is from his 1971 album "Someday We'll Look Back." "Tulare dust in a farm boy's nose I can see mom and dad with shoulders low The California sun was something new The wally fever was a comin' fate The Tulare dust in a farm boy's nose | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| HAIM | Los Angeles | HAIM is an alternative pop band made up of three sisters surnamed Haim who grew up in the San Fernando Valley. This song is from the band's third album "Women in Music Pt. III" released in 2020. "Los Angeles, give me a miracle, I just want out from this Hometown of mine Oh, these days, these days, I can't win New York is cold These days, these days, I can't win And sometimes I speed down Crescent Heights And every time I think I might Was I just dreamin'? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| HAIM | Summer Girl | This song was released as a single in August 2019, and is a bonus track on their album "Women in Music Pt. III" released in 2020. It has a lot in common with Lou Reed's 1972 classic "Walk on the Wild Side" - doot do doot lyrics, a jazzy mid tempo rhythm, speak singing, a glissando bass, and a saxophone, but the melody is different so it's not a cover and it doesn't sample any part of the song, so let's just call it an homage to Lou Reed and hope his lawyers don't get greedy. There's only one mention of L.A., but it's definitely a California song with its indirect references to things found California - earthquake drills, a freeway overpass, crashing waves, etc. "L.A. on my mind, I can't breathe I'm your summer girl Doot, do, doot, do, doot, do, doot, do, do Lightning in your eyes, you can't speak And I can see the angels coming down (Doot, do, doot, do) Du-du, du-du-du-du | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Halsey (feat. Big Sean & Stefflon Don) | Alone (Remix) | Halsey is the stage name of a singer/songwriter originally from New Jersey. This song was a dance club hit off her 2017 album "Hopeless Fountain Kingdom." There's a brief mention of the singer's house in California that she sadly fills with strangers because she doesn't have time to live there. I find all the songs like this about the troubles of celebrities and one-percenters to be so discouraging that I have made a vow to remain an unknown 99 percenter. So far, I've been successful. "Said he tried to phone me, but I never have time See, everywhere I go I know you're dying to meet me | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Halsey | Bad at Love | This song is from Halsey's album Hopeless Fountain Kingdom (2017). The singer has boys, and girls, from all over the country, but I'm not exactly sure what she means by "California eyes." Maybe it's that look of terror you see in so many Californians with skyrocketing rent payments who live surrounded by homeless people. "Got a boy back home in Michigan I believe, I believe, I believe, I believe I'm bad at love, ooh-ooh Got a girl with California eyes I believe, I believe, I believe, I believe | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Albert Hammond | It Never Rains in Southern California | Altert Hammond is an English singer/songwriter who has written many hits for other artists (but nothing for his son, the lead guitarist for The Strokes.) This is his biggest hit, from his album "It Never Rains in Southern California" released in 1972. Hammond must have visited Southern California in the winter of a non-drought year if he got poured on. Actually, while the song seems like a nice twist on the myth of California as a land of constant sunshine where the grass is always greener, it's actually a sad song about an actor who moves to Hollywood but fails to make it. The song did make it - all the way to #5 on the Billboard Hot 100. "Got on a board a west bound 747 Seems it never rains in Southern California Out of work, I'm out of my head It never rains in California | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Albert Hammond | 99 Miles From L.A. | Albert Hammond and Hal David wrote this soft rock song and Hammond had a hit with it in 1975. Another song about rain in California.... Keep writing them, Hammond, maybe it will come true. A lot of other people have recorded the song, including Julio Iglesias, Johnny Mathis, Dionne Warwick, Nancy Sinatra, and Art Garfunkle. Thanks to Mary McGhee for introducing me to this and many other great California songs. "Keeping my eyes on the road, I see you Passing a white sandy beach, we're sailing The windshield is covered with rain, I'm crying Counting the telephone poles, I phone you The windshield is covered with rain, I'm crying Counting the telephone poles, I phone you 99 miles from L.A...." | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Albert Hammond Jr. | 101 | A nice upbeat rocker off his debut solo album "Yours to Keep" from 2006. Hammond is a member of The Strokes and the Son of Albert Hammond who sang It Never Rains in Southern California (Discussed above.) Highway 101 runs along the entire west coast of the USA, but I'm going to assume this song is about the section of the highway in California, since Hammond grew up in L.A. "Though it took me by surprise I lost my way. I never said to feel relaxed In my mind it all goes back I lost my way. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Emmylou Harris | California Cotton Fields | Emmylou Harris is a country/folk singer songwriter from North Carolina and Virginia. This is from her album "Pieces Of The Sky" released in 1975. For some lyrics, see Gram Parsons 1973 version, which she sings on. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Richard Harris | MacArthur Park | Written by Jimmy Webb (who also wrote By the Time I Get to Phoenix), first recorded by Richard Harris in 1968, and recorded by more than 50 other musicians, including big band versions, a disco version by Donna Summer in 1978, and a country version by Waylon Jennings in 1969, this classic pop song set in a Los Angeles park has also been called one of the worst songs ever written, and I agree, its high up on that list. "Spring was never waiting for us, girl MacArthur Park is melting in the dark I will take my life into my hands and I will use it MacArthur Park is melting in the dark | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Beth Hart | L.A. Song (Out of This Town) | Beth Hart is a singer-songwriter from Los Angeles who is hard to categorize. This 1999 song brought her some fame. It's about a woman who didn't have much luck with men, so she leaves L.A., finds another loser somewhere else, then says she's gotta get back to L.A. I have a feeling there have been many such round trips with her. The way she sings it at the very end, "L.A." has about 92 syllables in it. Now that's talent. "She hangs around the boulevard And she tried and she tried, she tried and she tried, She says, man I gotta get out of this town So she took a train, she took a train, 'Cause he lied and he lied, he lied and he lied, It's all I love, Its all I hate, She says, man I gotta get out of this town | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Beth Hart | My California | This is the lead-off track from her 2010 album "My California." I couldn't get this one out of my mind when I first heard it, so beware - Earworm Alert! "Calling California is there anybody home For you and you alone I'll lay my monsters down I have made you suffer left you waiting in the rain For you and you alone I'll lay my monsters down | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| John Hartford | California Earthquake | John Hartford was a country/folk singer/songwriter best known for his Grammy-winning song "Gentle on My MInd" which became a huge hit when it was covered by Glen Campbell. This song is from his 1968 album "Gentle on My Mind and Other Originals By John Hartford." He wrote the song, but Cass Elliot released her version first in 1968. You can see his lyrics under Cass Elliot. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| PJ Harvey and John Parish | Leaving California | Polly Jean Harvey is a well-known singer-songwriter-instrumentalist from England. In 1988 she joined a band with John Parish, who has produced and collaborated with her since. They collaborated on "A Woman A Man Walked By" in 2009 that included this song. PJ can really shred the speakers when she wants, but this one is slow with minimal accompaniment and she sings the chorus in a very high-pitched screech guaranteed to bother most people but I think this song is a brilliant as most of her work. "California No one but me is walking California | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Colin Hay | Oh California | An acoustic solo song from the smoky-voiced Australian singer from the 80's band Men at Work. Released in 2009. "Thought I'd never reach the water | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Hawk Nelson | California | A 2004 pop punk tune that shows that even Christian Rockers from Ontario Canada can fall for the California as a sunshine and surfing paradise myth. What do all these people have against a few clouds and some rain, anyway? "...I'm so tired of everything here, Let's pack up and move to California, | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Head and the Heart, The | Down in the Valley | This is such a great song I had to include it here. It mentions California only as a place the singer hasn't been to (I think) but the way he sings the words California and Oklahoma make these two places sound like paradise. It's an indie folk-pop song from a Seattle band, released in December 2010, with lots of great harmonies, piano, acoustic instruments, and great percussion. "I wish I was a slave to an age-old trade Like ridin' around on railcars and workin' long days Lord have mercy on my rough and rowdy ways Call it one drink too many 'Cause they both end in trouble and start with a grin We do it over and over and over again California, Oklahoma | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Hem | Not California | A 2006 song from the Indie folk rock group from Brooklyn, with Sally Ellyson on vocals. This song was also recorded by Elizabeth Cook in 2010, by this might be the original (I can't find out who wrote it.) "Who's the girl inside of the blue-screen light Turn around the room is just black and white And it's not true | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Jimi Hendrix | California Night | A straight blues number from 1965 before Jimi got big. "Nobody loves me On my way west(?) She wiggles when she walks | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| John Hiatt | Adios to California | In this 2011 country rocker, Hiatt seems to recall his time trying to make it in LA in the 80s, stuggling with alcoholism, and his wife's suicide which left him with nothing to do but turn around and return to Nashville. "Smoky room and a thin blue light So, adios to California | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Robyn Hitchcock & the Venus 3 | A Man's Gotta Know His Limitations, Briggs | Robyn Hitchcock is an English singer-songwriter known for his solo carrer and for his bands The Soft Boys in the late 1970s, The Egyptians in the mid 1980s, and The Venus 3, formed in 2002. This song is from the 2006 album Ole Tarantula. "A man's gotta know his limitations, Briggs You were riding in your car in San Francisco A girl's gotta know her situation, Clint I was riding in your car in San Francisco A boy's gotta go just where you put him, Mel And I'm talking to you We were riding in your car in San Francisco We both got a Briggs in us A man's gotta know his limitations, Briggs." | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The Hold Steady | Modesto is Not That Sweet | The Hold Steady is a rock band from Brooklyn fronted by Craig Finn from Minnesota. This is from the band's first studio album "Almost Killed Me" released in 2004. "I can't believe I was worried about hurting you. I heard that you've been back around the neighborhood. I can't believe I was worried about hurting you. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Hole | Celebrity Skin | Hole is an alternative rock band formed in L.A. in 1989 by Courtney Love, an artist/actress/singer/songwriter. This song, from their third album "Celebrity Skin," released in 1998, is the band's most successful commercial single. The song deals with the ups and downs of celebrity. Courtney Love wrote the song, named after a porno magazine, with help from Billy Corgan of the Smashing Pumpkins after she took some time off from the band to sell her pound of flesh in Hollywood, making "The People vs. Larry Flynt," which is probably her best known role. "Oh make me over Hey, so glad you could make it Oh look at my face Hey, so glad you could make it When I wake up in my makeup You better watch out Hey, so glad you could make it When I wake up in my makeup You want a part of me? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Hole | Malibu | This song from the album "Celebrity Skin," released in 1998, has the ocean, angels, driving down the coast highway, all those typical California references, but with added images of self destruction, suffering and suicide - all of which Courtney Love certainly understands better than most of us. "Crash and burn | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Hole | Pacific Coast Highway | This is from Hole's album "Nobody's Daughter" released in 2010. "I knew a boy who came from the sea I'm overwhelmed and undersexed I'm on the Pacific Coast Highway I knew a boy who left me so ravaged My dirty little secret died I'm bloody and totally bound And I've lost myself completely Your whole world is in my hands | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Jolie Holland | Goodbye California | Jolie Holland, also a member of the Be Good Tanyas, is a singer from Texas who performs a mixture of folk, jazz and blues. In this song, the singer seems to be saying goodbye to California because she's contemplating suicide - to the accompaniment of a fairly upbeat band which includes a musical saw... "Goodbye, goodbye, California When I'm dead and gone As part of everything, my God Goodbye, goodbye, California | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Hollywood Undead | Bottle and a Gun | Hollywood Undead is a rock rap group from L.A. who wear cool masks like those anarchists you see smashing store windows on TV. This song is from the band's debut album "Swan Songs" released in 2008. It has all the rap tropes - Sex, drugs, guns, tricked-out luxury automobiles, pop culture name-drops, plus interesting new uses for the Hollywood sign and for time travel. (I hope they save B.I.G. too.) " It was once a dark lonely summer's eve And I can show you how to hump without making love My clothes are always retro …. …. …. …. …. … Girl, come and smoke my pole like a Marlboro | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Hollywood Undead | California | This song is all about booze and women and macho territorial swagger, subjects not exactly foreign to rap or rock music. It's from their debut album "Swan Songs" released in 2008. "California show me love Comin' straight outta Cali, what? The 818 valley, what? California show me love | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lightnin' Hopkins | California Mudslide | This is a country blues song from the great Texas bluesman off his 1969 abum "California Mudslide (and Earthquake)" After the fires of the summer of 1968 that denuded many of the hills in Southern California came the heavy rains of 1968 and 1969 which led to some catastrophic mudslides, which could be what Hopkins is singing about. "Take me outta this bottom, take me outta this bottom, baby, See, it's rainin in ole California's the reason I said it, Take me outta this bottom, take me outta this bottom, baby, Don't take me to be wrong people, | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lightnin' Hopkins | California Showers | More country blues from the great Texas bluesman off his 1969 abum "California Mudslide (and Earthquake)" It's hard to believe here during the great drought of 2015 but once upon a time it used to rain in California. "Just take a look at the weather Tell me why there's rain You know it keeps on rainin' You know the poor children are runnin' "I'm hungry" You know it was dark and cloudy Yeah we all goin' down starvation I do believe | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lightnin' Hopkins | My California | "I'm goin back out in California, California Going just to do my little run around You know I'm goin back out in California, California Going to do my little run around So when I wake up the next morning you know the news ain't over town Yeah you know I'm goin back out in California California Yeah you know I'm going to Los Angeles I'm going back to | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lightnin' Hopkins | Los Angeles Blues | More country blues from the great Texas bluesman off his 1969 abum "California Mudslide (and Earthquake)" "Hello Los Angeles You know one morning I woke up this morning Ever get lucky | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Hot Chelle Rae | Tonight Tonight | Hot Chelle Rae is an American dance-rock band from Nashville. This is their most successful single, from their album "Whatever" released in 2011. I have no idea what a "California dime" is, but the image of dancing on the edge of the Hollywood Sign reminds me of the failed actress who killed herself by jumping off the "H" in 1932. "It's been a really really messed up week La la la, whatever, la la la, it doesn't matter, la la la, oh, well, la la la We're going at it tonight tonight I woke up with a strange tattoo La la la, whatever, la la la, it doesn't matter, la la la, oh, well, la la la We're going at it tonight tonight You got me singing like, whoa, Just don't stop let's keep the beat pumpin' | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ronnie Hudson and the Street People | West Coast Poplock | Ronnie Hudson is an American recording artist from D.C. This funky song has been his most popular, partly because it was used as part of 2Pac's big hit "California Love" in 1995. "Now wait a minute Poplockin' in Rolls-Royce, Cadillac, Lincoln and Mercedes Benz So rough, so tough, out here baby California knows how to party Dance, dance disco style So rough, so tough, out here baby Lock it up baby Just raise those fingers in the air Playboys So rough, so tough, out here baby | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Huey Lewis and the News | The Heart of Rock & Roll | Huey Lewis and the News are an American pop band based in San Francisco that had a bunch of hit singles in the 1980s and early 1990s. This song, which received a Grammy nomination for song of the year, comes from the band's album "Sports" released in 1983. It name checks a lot of places around the U.S.A. including L.A., Hollywood and the Sunset Strip and San Francisco. "New York, New York is everything they say They say the heart of rock and roll is still beating L.A., Hollywood and the Sunset Strip is something everyone should see They say the heart of rock and roll is still beating D.C., San Antone and the Liberty town, Boston and Baton Rouge They say the heart of rock and roll is still beating In Cleveland | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| I'm With Her | Overland | I'm With Her is a Grammy-winning Americana/bluegrass trio of three singers and songwriters that formed in 2014. This is from their 2018 album "See You Around." It feels like a song that could have been written in the 19th century when people were heading west for the gold rush, long before they went there to wear flowers in their hair, or to get tech jobs and pay the highest rents in the universe. "Goodbye brother, hello railroad Oh I've lived through more than I could tell If it isn't one thing, then it's one thing more Goodbye brother, hello railroad Mama died, brother was born How much can a person take? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| I See Hawks In L.A. | California Country | A 2006 alternative country song from the L.A. group founded in 1999. Anybody who has lived in the state for a while will sympathize with the singer. "I am a child of the Golden State, grew up in the orchards and fields But I'm still standing in California Country My dad moved us to Victorville in June of '82 But I'm still standing in California Country Here I land with no plan Well the radio announced the annual meteor shower starting late tonight But I'm still standing in California Country | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ice Cube | How to Survive in South Central | Ice Cube is the stage name of O'Shea Jackson Sr, a rapper, songwriter, actor, and producer, originally from South Central L.A. This song is from the soundtrack of his first movie, the enormous hit about growing up in South Central Los Angeles, "Boyz N The Hood." The movie and song were released in 1991 during the period when life in the African American neighborhoods of L.A. was prominently featured in movies, in the news, in the Rodney King incident and the continual TV coverage of the the L.A. Riots of Spring 1992, and especially in L.A. Gangsta Rap, which became extremely lucrative by describing the chaos and horrors of life and crime in inner-city L.A. "And now, the wonderous world of.." How to survive in South Central (what you do?) "Hi this is Elaine again. Rule number two: don't trust nobody Rule number three: don't get caught up | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ice Cube | It Was a Good Day | This song is probably Ice Cube's most successful single, off of his 1992 album "The Predator." It describes a good day in South Central L.A. while reminding us how easily it could have been a bad day. "Just wakin up in the mornin gotta thank God | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ice Cube | Life in California | Ice Cube took some time away from his acting to drop this 2010 rap, proving that he's still a gangsta, even if he also has a sitcom. Also see songs he made with NWA and Public Enemy. "Dough We Get That Dough | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ice Cube | My Summer Vacation | This is from Ice Cube's 1991 album "Death Certificate." There's too much competition in L.A., so the rapper and his dope-slinging crew take their business to St. Louis where they triple their profit. He teaches the police there that L.A.'s not all surf and sun by importing California gang warfare, too, and he ruins it for everybody. "[Airport announcement] Damn G, the spot's gettin hot Ay ay man, whassup n***a? Now clearin em out meant casualties [TV Announcer] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ice Cube | You Know How We Do It | West Coast hip-hop from Ice Cube's Lethal Injection album released in 1993. "Yeah... yeah! West Side Ain't nuttin goin on but the bomb-ass rap song Comin from the West Side Chillin with the homies, smellin the bud You know how we do it Jack B. Nimble, and Jack B. Quick Comin from the West Side, West Side | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ice-T | Colors | Ice-T is a rapper/songwriter/actor/producer from New Jersey who moved to Los Angeles as a teenager. This song is from the movie "Colors" released in 1988, a movie about the police and gangs in Los Angeles. It only briefly mentions L.A., but the whole song is about it. Someone decided that the ending with Ice-T pleading for peace wasn't gangsta enough so some versions don't have it. "Yo Ease let's do this Colors, colors, colors... I am a nightmare walking, psychopath talking Colors, colors, colors... You see they hit us then we hit them You don't know me, fool Colors, colors, colors... Yo my brother was a gang banger My pants are sagging braided hair But my true mission is just revenge Listen to me man I'll just walk like a giant police defiant You don't like it, so you know where you can go But it was mine, so let me define Colors, colors, colors... See the wars of the street gangs will always get to me man Yo, please stop, 'cause I want ya all to live. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Enrique Iglesias | California Callin' | Enrique Iglesias is an American pop singer and actor who sings in Spanish and English. His father was the famous Spanish singer Julio Iglesias. This song is from his 2003 album "7". "Driving through the night, Take away my heart, California calling 20 miles to go, I'm on the road and it feels so cold outside, California calling 20 miles to go, Gotta keep on moving on, | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Iron & Wine | The Desert Babbler | Iron & Wine, aka Samuel Beam, is an American singer-songwriter in the acoustic folky style, originally from the Southeast, but based in Austin, TX. This song is from his 2013 album Ghost on Ghost. I have no idea at all what it's about, but I'll make sure I'm never in Barstow on New Year's Eve. "It's New Year's Eve Black houses in the hills and roadside haunts Back home the kitchen's warm with Christmas wine So quietly we lost another year Back home the hammer always has to fall | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chris Isaak | San Francisco Days | Chris Isaak is a singer-songwriter and actor, originally from Stockton, active from the early 1980s, with layers of Ricky Nelson, Roy Orbison, Elvis Presley, surf music, and rockabilly in his music. This is a moody light rock tune from 1993, sung by a man who is happy to return to his home in don't call it Frisco. (Call it Sanfcisco, like everyone else does.) "I still love you, I still want you Walking on the beach last night, hoping things would be all right I met a girl in Mexico I should of told her then I know I still love you, I still want you Walking down to Market street feeling my heart skip a beat I'm heading for that Golden Gate hoping I won't be too late San Francisco days, San Francisco nights | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chris Isaak | We Lost Our Way | This is from the album "Mr. Lucky" released in 2009. "We started Walkin' Oh we lost our way It just all goes wrong, Oh we lost our way We searched for something Yeah we lost our way I don't look back Oh we lost our way And it all went wrong | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Jack's Mannequin (featuring Pras) | Miss California | A 2008 song from an Orange County rock band. In this song, it seems like the singer is stalking Miss California and plotting to take her and hider her away somewhere. Pretty creepy.... "...I'm gonna take you to my boxcar on the beach You'll be missed Miss California I called Jesus but he heard I hurt And I'm gonna take you to the mansion where I hide You'll be missed Miss California. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Jan & Dean | Dead Man's Curve | Jan & Dean were a vocal duo formed in Los Angeles in the late 1950s. They were pioneers of the Southern California surf sound. This hit song from 1964 is a combination of a car song and a "teenage tragedy" song, both popular styles at that time. According to the lyrics, Dead Man's Curve is on Sunset Boulevard somewhere west of Doheny Drive in West Hollywood, which is at the western end of the Sunset Strip. The turn just west of Doheny is not very sharp, but that's the generally-accepted location of the curve in the song. With tragic irony, in 1966 Jan Berry was almost fatally injured when he crashed his Corvette Stingray (the same make of car the singer is driving in the song) near Sunset Blvd. Claims have been made that the accident was at the same Deadman's Curve mentioned in the song. A Snopes fact-checking article determined that this claim is false, and that the actual Deadman's Curve is much farther west on Sunset Blvd., just above the campus of the University of California at Los Angeles. (There were so many accidents on that curve that eventually the city modified the road to make it safer.) Snopes claims that Jan & Dean put the curve in their song closer to the Sunset Strip so they could mention landmarks such as Schwab's and Sunset and Vine that would be more familiar to listeners. But some people claim that the curve is located farther west on Sunset, including one location that makes a lot of sense to me. It's about two miles west of Doheny, where westbound Sunset makes a sharp right turn just past Whittier Drive. That's a bit far, but it's not entirely out of range of the lyrics or the drag racers. Coincidentally, Whittier Drive near Sunset is also where Jan crashed his Stingray. Wherever the curve is supposed to be, it's no place to play, so you'd best keep away! "I was cruisin' in my Stingray late one night I said "You're on buddy, my mill's running fine (Dead Man's Curve) is no place to play The street was deserted late Friday night I flew past La Brea, Schwab's and Crescent Heights (Dead Man's Curve) is no place to play ' Well, the last thing I remember, Doc Won't come back from Dead Man's Curve (Dead Man's Curve) is no place to play (Dead Man's Curve) is no place to play | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Jan & Dean | The Little Old Lady From Pasadena | Jan & Dean were a vocal duo formed in Los Angeles in the late 1950s. They were pioneers of the Southern California surf sound. This is one of their hits, from 1964. (FYI, Colorado Boulevard is the main thoroughfare through Pasadena. It's part of Historic Route 66, and home to the Rose Bowl Parade.) "The little old lady from Pasadena And everybody's saying that there's nobody meaner It's the little old lady from Pasadena If you see her on the street don't try to choose her | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Jamey Johnson | California Riots | A country tune from 2010. I think all country singers now are required to do a California song, just like rock groups. In this one, Mr. Johnson is not a fan of the perfect California girls. And I hope he never gets caught in the dark in when half of Alabama riots.... "Well I pulled off the gravel, with my California dreams. Where you gonna be when half of California riots, All the women here look perfect, and it hardly ever rains, | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Jayhawks, The | Nevada, California | The Jayhawks are an American alt/country band from Minneapolis that had some hits with "Blue," "Bad Time," and "I'm Gonna Make You Love Me" This one is from their 1992 album "Hollywood Town Hall." The singer should probably invest in a good GPS navigator because there is no such place as Nevada, California. Maybe he wants to find Nevada City, CA, maybe Nevada County, CA. Maybe he's asking California to help him find Nevada. (Just drive east.) We'll never know for sure. "Left his day job behind Can you help me to find Nevada, California? The stationmaster is gone Can you help me to find Nevada, California? Nevada, California The stationmaster is gone Can you help me to find Nevada, California? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mason Jennings | Big Sur | Mason Jennings is a folk singer-songwriter who started his career in Minneapolis in 1997. This upbeat acoustic tune is from his first album "Mason Jennings" released in 1997. "Just let the disc play Well, I wish I had my arms around you I said go, go on This is a song to give hope I said go, go on Forty miles south of Monterey and the Santa Lucia hills I sang myself a song, it went, know what you know, And I call it intuition, flowers bloom and hummingbirds fly Lonely and realizing that our friendship's been broken And leaves you thinking of the things that were never spoken Lonely and realizing that our friendship's been broken And leaves you longing for the things that were never spoken | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mason Jennings | California | This is another song from "Mason Jennings" released in 1997. The singer is singing to someone he loves who is leaving for California and leaving him behind. "Don't you know baby I'm a leading man | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Carly Rae Jepsen | L. A. Hallucinations | Carly Rae Jepsen is a Canadian pop singer who shot to stardom with her huge hit single "Call Me Maybe" in 2011. This is from her 2015 album "E*MO*TION" "I remember being naked But money makes your whole world spin Planes I'm hopping Take me into your arms again Haven't seen the boy in ages We said we'd always be the same Planes I'm hopping Take me into your arms again Buzzfeed buzzards and TMZ crows | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Billy Joel | Say Goodbye to Hollywood | Somehow the New Jersey piano man snuck into tinseltown and populated it with characters from a Bruce Springsteen song in a Phil Spector arrangement. Nice end lyrics... "Bobby's drivin' through the city tonight Movin' on is a chance you take So many faces in and out of my life | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Elton John | Tiny Dancer | Sir Elton Hercules John is one of the best-selling music artists in the world so that's all I need to say. In this song, lyricist Bernie Taupin celebrates the California Girls he met when he moved to L.A. in 1970. It's from John's " Madman Across the Water" album released in 1971. Everybody forgot about this song until it was used so memorably in the 2000 movie "Almost Famous" which by now everybody has forgotten about. "Blue jean baby, L.A. lady, seamstress for the band Jesus freaks out on the street Piano man he makes his stand But oh how it feels so real Hold me closer tiny dancer Hold me closer tiny dancer | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Robert Johnson | Sweet Home Chicago | Robert Johnson was a Delta blues singer-songwriter from Mississippi who died at 27 in 1938. He's the guy who supposedly sold his soul to the devil at the crossroads you've probably heard about. There's even a monument at the highway intersection in Clarksdale Mississippi commemorating it. After his music was released on albums in 1961, it had a huge influence on rock music of the 60s, especially his guitar style. The lyrics "Back to the land of California to my sweet home Chicago" are a bit confusing, but at the end says he's going from California to Iowa so he's probably going back to California then to Chicago, which makes sense. Eric Clapton sings "Back from the land of California" which could be the correct lyrics, it's hard to tell, although Johnson definitely says "to California" once in the song. (Why he's counting, and if that means anything other than just setting up a rhyme - I have no idea.) "Oh Oh Now one and one is two Now two and two is four Now six and two is eight I'm goin' to California | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Freedy Johnston | California Thing | Freedy Johnston is a singer-songwriter originally from Kansas based in New York City. This is an upbeat power pop song from his 1992 album "Can You Fly." "High off the roof we rise It was a la, a la, a la My house down on the rocks | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Al Jolson | Avalon | Avalon is a town on Santa Catalina Island. This song was such a hit back in 1920 that you could hear it blasting the woofers of every Escalade, Mercedes, and Range Rover on the road. It's been recorded by lots of other artists, including Cab Calloway, Red Nichols, Benny Goodman, Harry James, and Coleman Hawkins. Unfortunately for Jolson, the opening melody was found to resemble part of Puccini's opera Tosca, so a year later a judge awarded Puccini and his publishers all subsequent royalties and 25 thousand dollars, which would be worth more than ten times that in 2016. "I found my love in Avalon Every morn' my memories stray Beside the bay. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Al Jolson | California Here I Come | Al Jolson was an American singer, comedian, and stage and film actor, known for starring in the first talking picture "The Jazz Singer" in 1927, which really has very little talking and would be better described as the first singing picture. This song written for the 1921 musical Bombo that starred Jolson who recorded it in 1924. It's campy and dated, and it's hard not to associate Jolson with the offensive blackface makeup he sometime used, but this is still one of the best coming back home songs ever written. This song has been covered my many other singers, including Fats Waller. "When the wintry winds starts blowing California i've been blue California, Here I Come California, Here I Come (yeaaaaaah!) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Jonas Brothers | Feelin' Alive | The Jonas Brothers were a pop rock band of brothers from New Jersey. This song is from their 2010 Disney TV show "Jonas L.A." "Hey! My heart goes boom as the stars go blue, Hey! The kick drum starts as the boulevard, | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Montel Jordan | This is How We Do It | Montell Jordan is an American singer songrwriter producer from South Central Los Angeles. This was a #1 Billboard Hot 100 hit in 1995. It's an upbeat hip-hop song about a party in South Central that's so great, the gang bangers forgot about the drive-by. "This is how we do it This is how we do it. I'm kinda buzzed and it's all because This is how we do it, all hands are in the air | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Journey | Lights | Journey is one of the best-selling rock bands of all time. (I wonder how long statistics like this will mean anything, since these days nobody buys music, they just rent it.) This is a rock love ballad about San Francisco from the band's album "Infinity" released in 1978. It never mentions the city, but I present the following evidence: Journey was formed in San Francisco; some locals call SF "The City" (or they used to in the '70s, anyway, a holdover from back in the days when Berkeley and Oakland were cow pastures, I assume); and "the bay" mentioned in the song is obviously the San Francisco Bay, so don't try to tell me the song is about another city by a bay. (I'm talking to you, Arcata!) According to Wickipedia, Steve Perry started writing the song in L.A. and it was going to be about L.A. but after he went to San Francisco to join Journey he turned it into a song about SF that was not successful at first, but grew in popularity until it became impossible to avoid at SF sporting events, tourist areas, and in local commercials. "When the lights go down in The City So you think you're lonely It's sad, oh, there's been mornings out on the road without you When the lights go down in The City | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Homer Joy | Southern California Sand | Thanks to Xavier and the people at Wat Zat Song? for identifying this song. Homer Joy was a singer-songwriter from Arkansas who was associated with Buck Owens and the country music scene in Bakersfield. This is the B-side to his single "Holdin On" released in 1973. Someone sent me only a part of the song so these are the lyrics from that fragment as I understand them. There is no other version of the song online that I can find. "....land of blowin' sand in California The children here want higher class Watchin' my flowers die California sun Maybe Arkansas wasnt so bad Least I had a family One by one they've gone away California sun | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gary Jules | DTLA | Gary Jules is a singer-songwriter born in Fresno, who is probably best known for his cover of "Mad World" used in the movie Donnie Darko. This song is from his second album "Trading Snakeoil for Wolftickets" released in 2001. "Towers floating on sea of ghosts; Ride - Downtown Los Angeles Trapped a dragon west of Chinatown for fire-eaters up in Hollywood Ride - Downtown Los Angeles When your hands are broken Hide your money in the other hand Ride - Downtown Los Angeles Downtown Los Angeles | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Jungle | Heavy, California | Jungle is "an English modern soul musical collective" according to Wickipedia. This song is a single from 2018. "Running baby, dying' to meet ya Just hold me, I'm a lonely heart So heavy, California Oh Lord Miss the sunlight, I was saying So heavy, California Oh Lord Just hold me, I'm a lonely heart So heavy, California Oh Lord California" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Jungle | House in L.A. | This is another single from 2018 from the English collective. Thanks to videos like the one for this song tourists always think that every house in L.A. is up in the hills with a view of city lights and the ocean. "House in L.A. House in L.A. I feel alive in the sunlight House in L.A. Cut through the haze I feel alive in the sunlight House in L.A. House in L.A. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Jurassic 5 | LAUSD | Jurassic 5 is a hip hop group formed in 1993 in Los Angeles. This song is from their album "Quality Control" released in 2000. "Yo, we are no superstars Yeah, taste the city's agenda, most of you outta town n***** Yo, don't get caught up in glamor and glitz and camera tricks Uh, the California Sunkist with a twist of limelight Hollywood Yo, we are no superstars You say you love L.A., you say the weather is great You can dance with Alvin Haley and Les Miserables On the avenue of stars, many names are called "Good evenening ladies and gentlemen welcome to Hollywood, California" The City of Angel's wings represents people's hopes and dreams Despite the claims of what L.A. is and what it ain't | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Kay Kay and His Weathered Underground | Oh Lord, I Hate You California | A 2010 indie rock tune from a Seattle band whose genre on their Myspace page is listed as Alternative/Experimental/Lounge. As far as I can tell, and I could be wrong, the singer is talking to his father who lives in Portland and is moving to Santa Cruz to get out of the rain. "I'm always tryin' to call ya papa so Portland sounds aren't all ya know And I know it's rainin' outside and it's damn near end of June | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Al Kealoha Perry and his Singing Surfriders | Hawaiian Cowboy | This is a fast hula from 1947 with a great deep vocal that's almost like a fast rap at times, and swingin' steel guitars. It seems to be a love song about a horse, and maybe the horsewoman at the end. Al Kealoha Perry was a singer and music director active from 1929 who had a Hawaiian radio show and made extensive recordings in the 1930s and 40s and possibly in later decades - I can't find out much about him. There's another slower and smoother version of the song without the English lyrics about San Francisco that I like better. You can hear it here. Most of the song is sung in Hawaiian. This is a Translation I found online. "Trot (my) wreath, o wreath of lehua You are a fine horse, Lehua is your name Trot (my) garland, o garland of roses You are a fine horse, Roselani is your name Trot (my) wreath, o wreath of ?ilima I depart from Honolulu Tell the refrain of I'm heading for the last roundup | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ruston Kelly | Faceplant | Ruston Kelly is a singer, songwriter, and a pretty good ice skater from South Carolina, a state which is not known for earthquakes. This song is from his album "Dying Star" released in 2018. It has an alt country/folk rock feel with a harmonica solo straight out of Dylan or Neil Young. The singer/narrator of the song is from California - which we know from the great line "I was born and raised in an earthquake state, so I'm better on a shaky ground." It's not Alaska because he mentions that he's in the City Of Angels which is Los Angeles, California. Sure there's a list of other cities in the world on Wickipedia with the same nickname, but there's no way this guy is refering to Bangkok or Puebla. "Took too many pills again She's probably gonna be p**sed Oh it was a dark December I feel like I'm gonna fall down What the hell am I gonna do now Oh it was a dark December Baby won't you take me back Oh it was a dark December | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ruston Kelly | Son of a Highway Daughter | This is another nice song from Kelly's 2018 album "Dying Star" with a brief nod to the Golden State. "I'm a son of a highway daughter And I went to Dublin county I woke up stoned with a bag of bones And I got lost in California That town kept calling me | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| KennyHoopla (featuring Travis Barker) | hollyood sucks// | KennyHoopla is Kenneth La'ron, a singer/songwriter/rapper from Cleveland. Travis Barker is a musician/producer from Fontana, CA and the drummer from Blink-182. His drumming is epic in this loud snarky rocker from "Survivors Guilt: The Mixtape" released in 2021. I don't know why they think Jesus hates L.A., but he wouldn't be the only one. "Take a picture And I think you've got the wrong number Hollywood sucks Shorter days turn into longer years And I think you've got the wrong number Hollywood sucks Coachella! Hollywood sucks | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Killers, The | Christmas in L.A. | The Killiers is a very successful rock band formed in Las Vegas in 2001. This song is from the band's 2016 iTunes Christmas album "Don't Waste Your Wishes," a compilation of the Christmas singles they released every year since 2006, the profits from which go to charity. I think it's about another young actor trying to make it in Tinseltown - a slang nickname for Hollywood that might just come from Christmas tree tinsel. (Dan Tana's is a restaurant in West Hollywood.) "Woke up to sun streaming in my room My parents sent a Christmas card and tennis shoes And I played so many parts Another Christmas in L.A. Left a girl behind in my old man's truck I'm walking in Dan Tana's bar Another Christmas in L.A. Dreaming of a white Christmas Another Christmas in L.A...." | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Carole King | Back to California | Carole King is a New York-born composer and singer-songwriter. She wrote or co-wrote more than a hundred top 100 pop hits and has recorded at least 25 solo albums. This song is from her 1971 album "Music." "I've been feelin' down in Atlanta So won't you carry me back to California Hey now, Philly, you street city So won't you carry me back to California | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Elle King | Ex's & Oh's | Elle King is a singer-songwriter and actress originally from L.A. (She's also the daughter of Rob Schneider, the comedian from Saturday Night Live and star of movie masterpieces such as Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo, The Waterboy, and The Longest Yard - but don't hold that against her.) This was a hit single on the alternative and rock charts that received two Grammy nominations and comes from her 2015 debut album Love Stuff. It's a rock song about the singer's ex-boyfriends, including a California Boy who she dumped for a guy in the UK in what must have been a moment of extremely bad judgement on her part. "Well, I had me a boy, turned him into a man Now, there's one in California who's been cursing my name One, two, three, they gonna run back to me Ex's and the oh, oh, oh's they haunt me | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Kings of Leon | California Waiting | He's upset about losing his lonely life or something. I don't get it, but it's a great upbeat rootsy rock song from 2003. And it's another song that references "Crimson and Clover." "Little Mona Lisa laying by my side Hey | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The Kinks | Celluloid Heroes | A 1972 maudlin nostalgic classic from one of England's best and most influential bands. "Everybody's a dreamer and everybody's a star And those who are successful, I wish my life was a non-stop Hollywood movie show, You can see all the stars as you walk along Hollywood Boulevard, Oh celluloid heroes never feel any pain | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Haley Kiyoko | Curious | Hayley Kiyoko is a singer, dancer, and actress from L.A., formerly with the girl group The Stunners. This is a pop song from her 2018 album "Expectations." The singer is a woman who's jealous of her girlfriend because she's seeing a man and taking him to the pier in Santa Monica. "Yeah I'm just on the floor, I'm like a model If you let him Did you take him to the pier in Santa Monica? I'm just curious, is it serious? Calling me up, so late at night You think of me, I'm what you see I'm just on the floor, I'm like a model If you let him Did you take him to the pier in Santa Monica? I'm just curious, is it serious? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Haley Kiyoko | Palm Dreams | This is another song is from Kiyoko's 2018 album "Expectations." "Cruising down the only road All the palm trees have the money From the hillside (they can party with us) Star, stars | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Klaatu | California Jam | Klaatu was a Canadian rock band formed in 1973, named after the humanoid alien in The Day the Earth Stood Still. (No, not the Keanu Reeves version, the original.) This is a psychedelic fun-in-the-sun beach song with a doomsday earthquake lurking in the background, from the band's album "3:47 E.S.T." released in 1976. "Hodad made the scene California's on my mind When Woody hit the dunes Ah, California California's on my mind One day you're gonna be one sweet memory | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gladys Knight & the Pips | Midnight Train to Georgia | This R&B song was a huge hit in 1973. It's the flip side of all those songs about going to California to find a better life. The singer's boyfriend went to Los Angeles and failed to become a star, so he's taking the midnight train back to Georgia where he came from. "L.A. proved too much for the man He's leaving He kept dreaming | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Knitters, The | Dry River | The Knitters are a roots rock (or even alt/country) band formed in 1982 by John Doe, Xene Cervenka, and DJ Bonebrake, 3 of the 4 four members of the punk group X, along with Dave Alvin of The Blasters, and stand up bassist Jonny Ray Bartel. They put out one album, then waited more than 20 years to release their second one "The Modern Sounds of the Knitters," where this song comes from. Sure, they could be singing about any river, but the Knitters are from L.A. so I have decided that this river is the L.A. river, which is usually mostly dry. It's that very wide concrete lined drainage ditch in the middle of L.A. that has starred in many movie and TV car chase scenes. "I was born by the river Still I'd stand in that dry river Some day it's gonna rain Now I'm dry as that old river | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The Kooks | Ooh La | The Kooks are an English indie rock band formed in 2004. This song is from debut studio album "Inside In / Inside Out" released in 2008. Wickipedia says it's "...an alleged dedication to late model Audrey Lindvall" who died tragically young after she was accidentally thrown off her bicycle and run over by a tanker truck. It's certainy another song about someone seeking stardom but getting chewed up and spat out by the entertainment industry. Fortunately, nobody pays attention to these warnings or show biz would run out of people to chew up and spit out. "In their eyes is a place that you finally discovered Then you smiled, he got wild And ooh la, she was such a good girl to me The world can be a very big place And don't be a star, it's such a drag And ooh la, she was such a good girl to me Pretty pretty pretty pretty pretty pretty pretty pretty pretty In all situations And ooh la, she was such a good girl to me | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Kool & The Gang | Hollywood Swinging | This was a hit song in 1974 for the American funk band from New Jersey. It's about a musician making it in the city of stars, movies, women, and cars. The song was covered by Jamirouai in 1997 and has been sampled in a bunch of rap songs. "Hey, hey, hey I remember not too long ago ... ... ... ... Yea yea, Hollywood, that's how they're doin' it, Hollywood Hollywood, Hollywood, Hollywood, now swinging | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Diana Krall | California Dreamin' | This 2015 version of the Mamas and the Papas classic is a slow and moody jazz vocal version. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Kris Kristofferson | Me and Bobby McGee | His girlfriend Janis Joplin made it a hit, but Kristofferson wrote it and sings it best, I think. After thumbing a ride across the country, singing songs and all that, he goes and lets his girl Bobby get away somewhere near Salinas. I always wondered why she picked Salinas. Why not nearby Monterey, maybe, or Big Sur? Maybe she was a Steinbeck fan. There's a good Steinbeck museum in Salinas. "From the coal mines of Kentucky to the California sun, | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Kyle & Lil Yachy | ISpy | Kyle is a musician and rapper from Ventura and Lil Yachty is a musician and rapper from Atlanta. This is a fun feel-good hip-hop song from 2016 that was a #4 hit. Don't miss the video, which features the rappers as little kids with adult heads in a sandbox and lots of women in swimsuits. You'll need a coaster. "….I ain't been gettin' high... I spy with my little eye | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Bill LaBounty | California Turnaround | Bill LaBounty is an American singer and songwriter. This jazzy tune is from his album "Back To Your Star" released in 2009. "Stay with me, this could be an all nighter California turnaround Radio is on a jazz station California turnaround Feels like I'm movin' on a river | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lady Antebellum | Champagne Night | Lady Antebellum (now Lady A) is a country trio formed in Nashville in 2006. This is a country single released in 2020, that contrasts the simple life in the country with Hollywood extravagance. Country stars love to brag about how down to earth they are as much as rappers love to brag about how rich they are. Most of the rest of us are somewhere in the middle. "The stars go out on the Sunset Strip Raisin' plastic cups to a life of luxury No velvet ropes in our hometown bar Raisin' plastic cups to a life of luxury | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lady Gaga | Always Remember Us This Way | Lady Gaga is an award-winning best-selling singer, songwriter, and actress from New York City who wears dresses made of meat and a machine gun bra. I'm not making this up. This is from the soundtrack to A Star Is Born, released in 2018, in which she starred and won an Oscar for best original song for the song "Shallow." "That Arizona sky burning in your eyes So when I'm all choked up Lovers in the night So when I'm all choked up | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ladybug Transistor, The | California Stopover | A song from 2007 by a Brooklyn based Indie pop band with some country twang. I have no idea what the chorus means. "Tell me there's no room left to reason California, stop on over | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| La Femme | It's Time to Wake Up | La Femme is a French rock band formed in 2010. This is an electronic pop song from the band's album "Psycho Tropical Berlin" released in 2013. It was used in a fun dancing robot scene in the 2020 science-fiction robot movie "Archive" which fits the dystopian futuristic setting of the song, where people are on a planet with two suns, wear electronic chips in their bodies, and talk about war. I have no idea what California has to do with any of that, but I like the song. "California 2023 Tu dors encore à mes côtés Toujours ensemble pour la journée ... ... ... ... Tu reçois cette onde psychique Je veux rentrer chez moi Je veux rentrer chez moi | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| La Luz | California Finally | La Luz is a "surf noir" band from Seattle formed in 2012. This song is from their third album "Floating Features" released in 2018. "In the morning, in the morning One endless summer after another I made up my mind some time ago Sun-eye swollen across the ocean I made up my mind a long time ago In the morning, in the morning | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Kendrick Lamar (featuring Dr. Dre) | The Recipe | This is some great West Coast hip hop from Compton phenomenon Kendrick Lamar off his 2012 album "good kid, m.A.A.d. city. Lamar expands the oft-sung concept that people visit California for the women and the weather by adding weed into the mix. These days I prefer the wine, the weather, and the wildlife, but to each his own. [Dr. Dre] [Hook] ... ... ... [Kendrick Lamar] [Hook:] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Adam Lambert | Ghost Town | Adam Lambert is a singer-songwriter from San Diego who rose to fame after his appearance on American Idol. This is the title track from his 3rd album The Original High released in 2015, and it's part simple strummed guitar, and part the kind of metallic beats and atonal synthesized farts and burps that are popular in pop and dance music these days. I'm not sure exactly what's going on in the lyrics, but it seems to be about L.A. - Hollywood sold out, James Dean and Elvis are dead, and the singer is wandering through a rusty ghost town full of vampires. "Died last night in my dreams Saw all of the saints And now I know my heart is a ghost town Died last night in my dreams Now, I'm searching for trust And now I know my heart is a ghost town | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Miranda Lambert | California | Maria Lambert is a country superstar from Texas. This is a country ballad about the California boy who left her. It's a bonus track off her 2005 album "Me and Charlie Talking." "I met him on the edge of a goodbye. Wild and kinda crazy most the time. Oh California, please come back to me.... Vivid picture plays inside my head. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Langhorne Slim | Say Yes | Langhorne Slim is Sean Scolnick, a singer-songwriter from Pennsylvania. This is an upbeat neo-folk song from his album Be Set Free released in 2009. "Darling, nobody plans it this way. Put on your blue lipstick Say yes | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Led Zeppelin | Going to California | This is the folksy acoustic side of Zeppelin from 1971. The singer is looking for a new start with one of those California girls with flowers in her hair. Some say it's about Joni Mitchell. "Spend my days with a woman unkind | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ben Lee | Catch My Disease | Ben Lee is an Australian musician and actor. From Lee's 2005 album Awake Is The New Sleep, this is an Indie pop song with an infectious (sorry) stomp clap beat about a guy who wants to spread his STDs. (OK, maybe not.) It mentions a woman the singer meets backstage in Pomona who who drinks beer and coke (yuck) and tells him about the Santa Ana winds. Ignore the last verse - I first heard song on the radio in 2005, so they do play him. "My head is a box filled with nothing So please I was backstage in Pomona So please So please They play Good Charlotte on the radio So please | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tom Lehrer | I'm Spending Hanukkah In Santa Monica | Tom Lehrer is a very witty singer-songrwriter from New York City, who is best known for the humorous songs he recorded in the 1950s and '60s, including songs about pollution, smut, nuclear war, and the vatican. This song is from a box set of his complete songs along with some unreleased songs released in 2000 "The Remains of Tom Lehrer." "I'm spending Hanukkah, in Santa Monica, Those eastern winters, I can't endure 'em, Rosh Hashona, I spend in Arizona, | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Less Than Jake | Hell Looks a Lot Like L.A. | Less Than Jake is a third wave ska punk band from Florida, formed in 1992. This is from their "Borders & Boundaries" album released in 2000. Apparently, Hell has traffic jams and fast food jobs, and probably a lot of palm trees, too. Listening to this song again I forgot how much I like ska punk. Maybe it's time for a fourth wave. "He got in his car and told himself to drive Ten minutes and two miles Six months ago was the last she felt alive Ten minutes and two miles | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Jenny Lewis | Hollywood Lawn | Jenny Lewis is a singer-songwriter and actress who grew up in L.A. Formerly the lead singer for Rilo Kiley, she's now making solo records, including this song from "On the Line" released in 2019. "On a Hollywood lawn today I been searching for the heart to tell you somethin' On a Hollywood lawn today And you keep dreamin', keep dreamin', alright Rode down a Kingston highway I been searching for the heart to tell you somethin' And you keep dreamin', keep dreamin', alright Your demons got reason to fight | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lil Nas X (featuring Billy Ray Cyrus) | Old Town Road Remix | Lil Nas X is Montero Lamar Hill, a rapper from Georgia who is so far best known for this song which, in August 2019, set a record for the longest-running Billboard Hot 100 #1 song in history at 19 weeks. It features vocals by Billy Ray Cyrus, a country music singer, songwriter and actor originally from Kentucky, who's probably best known for two things he helped create in 1992 - the hit song Achy Breaky Heart, and his daughter Miley. Cyrus adds lyrics to the original song that move us from the Country life to the cliche California materialistic rockstar lifestyle. He turns Lil Nas X's Old Town Road into a street with fancy stores for the rich. Cowboy fashion becomes luxury women's wear, a horse and tractor are turned into an expensive Italian sports car, and a bull-riding rodeo becomes the B.S. of Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills. It's no wonder he wishes he was back on the old town road. (Billy Ray Cyrus) "Yeah, I'm gonna take my horse to the old town road (Lil Nas X) I got the horses in the back Can't nobody tell me nothin' Ridin' on a tractor Can't nobody tell me nothin' Yeah, I'm gonna take my horse to the old town road (Billy Ray Cyrus) Hat down, cross town, livin' like a rockstar | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lil Wayne (featuring Tyga) | California Love | Lil Wayne is a hip hop artist from New Orleans who got signed when he was only 9 years old. He is one of the best-selling artists of all time and in 2012 he surpassed Elvis Presley as the male artist with the most songs that have charted on the Billboard Hot 100, including songs on which he was a featured artist. (The comparison isn't really fair, though, since it's easier to chart now than it was in Elvis' day since streaming and digital sales now drive the charts more than airplay and physical sales.) This 2008 rap is another song about California girls. Lil Wayne lets us know what it's like to go on a date with him and what kind of cologne he likes to wear, while Tyga rhymes morals with oral. And he's not rapping about going to the dentist. "We met at City Walk, Universal Studio She my California love [Tyga:] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mark Lindsay | Arizona | Mark Lindsay was the lead singer for Paul Revere and the Raiders, a rock band that originated in Idaho in 1958. This song, a hit in 1969, is named after the singer's girlfriend, not the state. It was written by Kenny Young, who is probably best known for the song he co-wrote "Under the Boardwalk." "She must belong to San Francisco Arizona, take off your rainbow shades Mmmm strip off your pride you're acting like a teeny-bopper run away child Follow me up to San Francisco | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Little Feat | Willin' | Little feat is a rock band formed in L.A. in 1969. It's leader Lowell George died in 1979. This alt country truck driving classic was released in 1971 on the band's "Little Feat" album, then again in a faster more successful version with more instruments on their "Sailin' Shoes" album released in 1972. It only mentions the city of Tehachapi briefly in a list of T-cities, but that's enough for me. Linda Ronstadt also had success with a cover of the song in 1974. "I been warped by the rain And I was out on the road late at night I've been from Tucson to Tucumcari Well, I've been kicked by the wind I smuggled some smokes And I been from Tuscon to Tucumcari | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Little Jackie | The Stoop | Little Jackie is a duo from New York City. This is from their 2008 debut album "The Stoop." I first heard it when I was staying in Brooklyn in 2008. And she's right, Brooklyn ain't no Beverly Hills - it's much better! At least it is for those of us who are not multi-millionaires. "This stoop is my throne Saturday afternoon is all about the night before Sitting on the stoop in the Bed-Stuy | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| LL Cool J | Going Back to Cali | LL Cool J is the stage name of a rapper, actor, author, etc. from Queens. Before appearing on sit coms and Sesame Street, and NCIS Los Angeles, he made this hard-boiled jazzy horn-filled hip hop hit in 1989. It still sounds as good today as it did then. J's Califorinia is all about shiny black Corvette convertibles and beautiful girls in small bikinis and tall heels. No wonder he's going back. Notorious B.I.G. made his own very X -rated version of this song, too. "I'm going back to Cali, Cali, Cali Going back to Cali, stylin, profilin I'm going back to Cali, Cali, Cali | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Local H | California Songs | Finally, a song about how there are too many California songs! I totally agree. At least, there are too many bad California songs, a lot of them listed here, just for fun. This song is from 2004 and the band is from Chicago, so they even throw in a gratuitous dig at New York. Bicoastal haters is what they are. "Well I got your late night call But here's one for the coast And here we go again Yeah your heaven is a lie | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rebecca Loebe | California | Wickipedia 11/13: "Rebecca Loebe is an itinerant American folk/pop singer/songwriter based in Atlanta, Georgia." This song - just acoustic guitar and her voice - is from her 2010 album "Mystery Prize." After 6 weeks in an LA Hotel, appearing on "The Voice," it's no wonder she doesn't want to stay in Cali. "Fell asleep in Hartsfield, Alcohol and nicotine, How many stars California, how could I be more clear? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Julie London | I Left My Heart in San Fracisco | Tony Bennett owns this song, but others have recorded it, including Julie London, who was a singer, actress, and model from Santa Rosa California. She made several movies then signed a record contract, becoming famous for the song "Cry Me a River" in 1955. Her sexy album covers, and her sultry style and husky voice made her a popular torch singer and sex symbol but eventually she had to change with the times and record sixties hits such as "Yummy Yummy Yummy." (Her version of this song is not to be missed.) This song is from her 1963 album "The End of the World." "The loveliness of Paris seems somehow sadly gray I left my heart in San Francisco My love waits there in San Francisco | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lorde | California | Lorde is a singer-songrwriter from New Zealand. This song is from her 2021 album "Solar Power." The opening lines refer to Carole King presenting Lorde with the 2014 Grammy Award for Song of the Year for her song "Royals." "Once upon a time in Hollywood when Carole called my name Goodbye to all the bottles, all the models, bye to the clouds in the skies that all hold no rain— Once upon a time the Canyon Store was where my world began Goodbye to all the bottles, all the models, bye to the kids in the lines for the new Supreme— It's just a dream | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lost Kings (featuring Sevyn Streeter & Luh Kel) | L.A. & The Parties | Lost Kings are a DJ duo based in Los Angeles, active since 2014. They're known for their remixes as well as their original music. This song is from their 2019 album "Los Angeles." "Don't need your money I just need somebody I'm sick of L.A. and the parties | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lost Kings (featuring Ty Dolla Sign & GASHI) | Oops I'm Sorry | Lost Kings is an L.A. DJ duo, Ty Dolla Sign is a rapper from L.A., GASHI is a rapper based in New York. This song was released in 2020. "No, I never meant to break your heart Took a hit 'cause I can't say I miss you Hate me, hate me No, I never meant to break your heart I tried to warn ya, I'm no good for ya Now you're the saddest girl in Hollywood Didn't wanna believe when I met you Hate me, don't fight me No, I never meant to break your heart | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Loud Hound | I Hate California | Loud Hound is Tommy Florio, who released his first songs in 2018. This 2020 single is from his first EP. "Spending all my money like my heart is made of gold Holding on just a little bit longer Look at all these people and they're all f**king fake Just to keep my head on straight Holding on just a little bit longer There we are flying too close to the sun | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Demi Lovato | La La Land | Demi Lovato is a singer and actor from New Mexico and Texas. This song is from her debut studio album "Don't Forget" released in 2008, when she had just turned 16. She says the song is about the pressure of fame. La La Land is a longstanding nickname for Los Angeles, especially Hollywood and the entertainment business. It's also slang for being out of touch with reality, due to bliss or ignorance, which is also a very good description of the Hollywood machine. "I am confident but I'm not a supermodel, Well, some may say I need to be afraid Who said I can't wear my converse with my dress? And who said I can't be single Well, some may say I need to be afraid Tell me do you feel the way I feel Some may say I need to be afraid Well, I'm not gonna change Machine I won't change anything in my life La la la la la...." | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lyle Lovett | L.A. County | This is a country song from Lovett's 1987 album "Pontiac." I think of it as his violent take on the ending wedding scene of The Graduate, but with his coal black .45 doing the talking instead of Dustin Hoffmann. "She left Dallas for California And the lights of L.A. County One year later I left Houston And the lights of L.A. County So I drove on all the day long And the lights of L.A. County And as she stood there at the altar And they kissed each other And the lights of L.A. County And the lights of L.A. County | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Low | California | California is not all sandy beaches and palm trees, but there aren't many songs about California when it's cold and wet. Low is an indie rock slowcore band, but this 2005 tune has a little more energy and tempo than much of their music. "See your reflection in the mind Though it breaks your heart It fell around you like the stars And though it breaks your heart | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lowell (featuring Icona Pop) | Ride | Lowell is a female Canadian singer-songwriter so far known mostly for this song which features Icona Pop, a female Swedish electropop duo. This song was featured in the 2016 film Nerve. "Yo, kiss me I can see you got stars in your eyes Speed demon, my little angel I can see you got stars in your eyes (Ride, ride, ride!) Break the windows (Ride, ride, ride!) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Luna | California (All the Way) | Upbeat guitar pop, the opening track on 1994's Bewitched, the second album from the now defunct Indie pop band fronted by Dean Wareham formerly the leader of Galaxie 500. "Well, she followed him from Phoenix out to California why can't we smile just like we used to and now i realize i'm livin' like a trucker does | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lyrics Born | The Bay | Lyrics Born (formerly known as Asia Born) is a Tokyo born rapper/songwriter who eventually ended up in Berkeley. This is from a 2005 album. The bay is the defining feature of The Bay Area, but for most people it's just an obstacle they have to travel on or over or under in order to get anywhere. "Ladies and Gentlemen, Where the people are intelligent, articulate, eloquent, The Bay... The Bay... | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Jeanette MacDonald | San Francisco | This is the old chestnut from the classic 1936 movie "San Francisco" starring Jeanette MacDonald, Clark Gable, and Spencer Tracy, where it is played for what seems like half the movie, until the 1906 earthquake puts an end to it. It's a movie you should see at least once because it's very good up until the end when it becomes cheesy. "It only takes a tiny corner of San Francisco Other places only make me love you best. San Francisco | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mac Dre (featuring Coolio da Unda Dogg) | California Livin' | Mac Dre was a rapper from the Bay Area active from 1984 until he was murdered in 2004. This is from his 1991 "California Livin' EP". "(Mac Dre) (Coolio Da' Unda' Dogg) (Mac Dre) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Madonna | Hollywood | Madonna is a singer, songwriter & actress from Michigan who has been performing since the 1970s. This is a dance pop song (with acoustic guitar) from her 2003 album American Life. Like just about any song now that uses the word "Hollywood," this song evokes the illusory dreams of wealth and fame that bring people to the entertainment capital, where most of them fail. This was a minor hit by one of the wealthiest and most famous entertainers in the world who used Hollywood to provide her with a large part of that success, so its hard to sympathize with her complaints. (Music stations always play the same songs all over the world, not just in Hollyweird.) "Everybody comes to Hollywood Shine your light now There's something in the air in Hollywood Everybody comes to Hollywood I lost my memory in Hollywood Push the button | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Madonna | I Love New York | In this dance pop hit from her 2005 album "Confessions on a Dance Floor," Madonna channels her inner cranky old man screaming "get off my street." She loves New York, but not so much Paris, London, Texas, or Los Angeles, and she makes it clear that New Yorkers are angry with an attitude, probably because they're sleep deprived, unlike the well-rested people of L.A. "I don't like cities Other cities always make me mad If you don't like my attitude New York is not for little pussies who scream I love New York | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The Magnetic Fields | California Girls | The woman who sings this indie song from 2008 has a fewissues with the standard media images of women that she associates with California. She has a brand new battle ax that she wants to use on them. I'd watch that if it was on TV... "See them on their big bright screen | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The Magnetic Fields | Come Back From San Francisco | One of 1999's "69 Love Songs" from Stephin Merritt, in which a woman begs a man to come back from San Francisco, and not get distracted by pretty boys in discos. Sounds like maybe he's discovered the Castro and she's barking up the wrong tree... "Come back from San Francisco. You need me like the wind needs the trees to blow in. Come back from San Francisco and kiss me; I've quit smoking. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mamas and the Papas, The | California Dreamin' | This is the 1965 folk pop hit sung with lots of harmonies, tambourines, and even a flute solo. The original version was released by Barry McGuire with backing vocals by the Mamas and the Papas, but shortly afterwards the Mamas and the Papas used the same music to make their own version. The song has been covered by a lot of musicians, some of which are also found on this list including: America Nappy Roots also does a re-imagined raper version of the song. "All the leaves are brown and the sky is grey Stepped into a church I passed along the way All the leaves a brown and the sky is grey | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mamas and the Papas, The | Creeque Alley | This song from the 1967 album "Deliver," tells the story of the formation of The Mamas and The Papas, with references to other folk artists and bands of the time. After the success of their huge hit "California Dreamin'" which is mentioned in the last line of the song, the band was no longer "broke, busted, disgusted" and forced to survive on credit. "John and Mitchy were gettin' kind of itchy Zally said "Denny, you know there aren't many When Cass was a sophomore, planned to go to Swarthmore Mugwumps, high jumps, low slumps, big bumps Broke, busted, disgusted, agents can't be trusted | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mamas and the Papas, The | Pacific Coast Highway | This is from the group's 1971 album "People Like Us." Rollin' along Pacific Coast Highway Looked in at me and when I could see her Looked like a swan, but brown as Chuck Berry | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mamas and the Papas, The | Twelve Thirty (Young Girls Are Coming to the Canyon) | This is from the band's fourth album "The Papas & The Mamas" released in 1968, though it had previously appeared on a greatest hits compilation "Farewell to the First Golden Era" when the band was temporarily broken up. The canyon of the song is Laurel Canyon, a neighborhood of Los Angeles above Hollywood, where the songwriter John Phillips lived. According to Wickipedia "A popular interpretation is that girl "groupies" would party into the night at the homes of show business types in the canyon and wander home the next morning, passing the house and engaging the songwriter in conversation as they went." "I used to live in New York City Young girls are coming to the canyon At first so strange to feel so friendly Young girls are coming to the canyon Cloudy waters cast no reflection Young girls are coming to the canyon I can no longer keep my blinds drawn | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Aimee Mann | Freeway | This is from Mann's 2008 album @#%&*! Smilers. The song mentions Orange County, and I know there is also an Orange County in New York State, home to that old TV show about choppers, but New Yorkers call their toll-free multi-laned controlled-access higways "expressways," not "freeways," which we call them in California, so I'm going to declare that Mann is singing about the O.C. in SoCal and stick this great song on my list. Please don't run me over with your freaky looking motorcycle. "You've got a lot of money but you can't afford the freeway You know it You've got a lot of money but you cannot keep your bills paid You know it | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Aimee Mann | Patient Zero | Aimee Mann is a singer/songwriter originally from Virginia. This song is from her 2017 album "Mental Illness." Though it never specifically mentions the city, it is totally an L.A. song. According to Mann, in a Song Exploder Podcast interview where she breaks down how the song was made, it's about an artist who comes to Hollywood to make a movie but gets chewed up and spit out by corrupt influences. She wanted to evoke the L.A. of Nathanael West's "Day of the Locust" & of Raymond Chandler: "...the version of Los Angeles that's darker, and more noir, and more disturbing." The song mentions a screen test and focus pulling on a movie camera and it references Chandler's L. A. novel and movie "The Big Sleep" in which Carmen Sternwood is a character who is mixed up in a shooting, as well as Nathanael West's dark novel set in Hollywood about the American dream turning into a nightmare. "They served you champagne like a hero Life is good Hip hip hooray, hocus pocus Life is good Go west, young man And in the hills, where all the sunshine, constant companion But news filtered out of the transom Life is good And in the hills, where all the sunshine, constant companion | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Marilyn Manson | The Mephistopheles of Los Angeles | This is from the 2015 album "The Pale Emperor." Marilyn Manson is the stage persona of Brian Warner, a singer etc. from Ohio. Mephistopheles is a demon who works for the devil by collecting the souls of those who are already damned. That's gotta be a mighty big job in the City of Angels. I hope Brian has a lot of helpers. You have to like someone who sings "Loss Ann-ja-leeze" instead of "Loss Ann-ja-liss." I enjoy the old timers who completely ignored the city's Spanish roots and pronounced it "Los Ang-gah-iiss" or "Los Ang-gah-leez" with a hard G. Mayor Yorty did that. "I don't know if I can open up I was fated, faithful, fatal I feel sole and alone like a heretic Don't know if I can open up I was fated, faithful, fatal I feel sole and alone like a heretic | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mark-Almond Band | The City | The Mark-Almond Band was an English jazz-rock group from 1970-1981, formed by Jon Mark and Johnny Almond. This song is from the album "Mark-Almond" released in 1970. The long version is ten and a half minutes long. Eventually, Almond lived in the SF Bay Area, but I think the band was still in England when this song was written. The only California mention in the song is the redwood tree. There are redwood trees in Oregon, also, but they are more commonly associated with California, where the band was eventually based. "Well, I slept last night in the open | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Martin, Terrace | Leave Us Be | Terrace Martin is a musician and record producer from Los Angeles. This song is a single from his upcoming album "DRONES" to be released in late 2021. "Early Friday, traffic on the 405 T Lee's gumbo, cuzzo's s**t be fire | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mates of State | California | Mates of State are an indie pop duo from Kansas active since 1997. This song is a cover of the Phanton Planet's theme song to the TV show "The OC." It was released on a 2006 compilation CD "Music from the OC: Mix 6." I actually like it better than the original, probably because I never watched the show and this is the first version of the song I heard. "On the stereo California! | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| John Mayall | California | John Mayall is a musician from England active since 1956. This great jazzy blues-rock song is from his album "The Turning Point" released in 1969. "Goin' back to California, California, | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| John Mayer | Queen of California | John Mayer is a Connecticut born singer-songwriter, who is also known for his guitar playing and for being a staple of the gossip tabloids because of his many famous girlfriends. This song is from his 2012 album Born and Raised. "Goodbye cold, goodbye rain I just found out her ghost left town Hello beauty, hello strange I just found out her ghost left town If you see her say, "Hello" I just found out her ghost left town | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| (Frankie Beverly &) Maze | Look At California | Frankie Beverly relocated from Philadelphia to the San Francisco Bay Area in 1971 and his group Maze, playing a mellow soul style sometimes called "quiet storm," released their first album "Maze Featuring Frankie Beverly," which includes this song, in 1977. Samples have been used in a few hip hop versions including those by Mr. Shadow, The Scrayper Boyz, and Young Thugg. "Look at California Look at California The rollin' hills seem to do something for you Look at California All the flowers are bloomin' all about Look at California | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mazzy Star | California | Mazzy Star is an alternative rock band from Santa Monica best known for their slow and dreamy 1993 hit song "Fade into You" sung by Hope Sandoval. With mostly acoustic guitar and atmospheric vocals, this song is from "Seasons of Your Day", released in 2013, the band's first album since 1996. "I think I'm going back to California I think I'll drift across the ocean now I think I'll fly across the ocean I think I hear the whisper of my own best friend | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chuck McCabe | I'd Rather Be in Redding | According to a web site about him, before Chuck McCabe died in 2010, he was a musician and author who wandered and played music all over the country and spent most of his adult life in the San Jose area. This song is from his 2008 CD "Creatures of Habit." I can't find anything besides this song that connects him to Redding, but the town obviously made a big impression on him. Either that or the song was commissioned by a coalition of the Redding Chamber of Commerce and Indian casinos. I don't know if they do that sort of thing, but if they do, they got their money's worth. "Beyond the almonds and the olives I've been to cities by the ocean Where the Sacramento River Where the Siskiyous rise up All the bright lights up in Reno Where the blackjack, dice, and Cuervo And from Weaverville to Shingletown Where the blossoms and the buzzards If I ever get to heaven | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Reba McEntire (featuring Ronnie Dunn) | Does the Wind Still Blow in Oklahoma? | Reba McEntire is an American country music artist and actress from Oklahoma who made her first record in 1976. This song is from her 2007 album "Reba: Duets." It's a slow traditional country love duet with Ronnie Dunn, formerly with the very successful country duo Brooks & Dunn. [Reba:] I met a boy a few weeks back At times lonely sneaks up on me [Chorus:] [Ronnie:] I met a girl you're gonna like her Mama I can't say I don't get lonesome [Chorus:] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tim McGraw | California | Tim McGraw is an American country singer-songwriter and actor. This is from his "Damn Country Music" album released in 2012. It's about a woman hungry for the California Dream and the lure of stardom who is willing to leave the singer behind to achieve it. (I wonder if it isn't the promise of fame and fortune that lures all these people to L.A. - maybe they just want to get away from where they're at and who they're with. That's a song I'd love to hear a guy sing.) There's even a Nissan Altima product placement in the song. I know that's a hip-hop thing, but I didn't know it had spread to country. "It's a 3 day drive if she drives all night Cuz she's in love with California Got a waitress job waitin' in an Ihop Cuz she's in love with California Well she was all mine She's in love with California | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bonnie McKee | California Winter | Bonnie McKee is a singer-songwriter who has co-written a lot of songs with Katy Perry, including "California Gurls" and a bunch of other number-one hit songs with other artists. She put this song online in 2014. "Dreaming of palm trees tonight Outside, it's cold and gray Cuz when I'm in your arms it's like a California winter Dark skies, December hail Cuz when I'm in your arms it's like a California winter | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Scott McKenzie | San Francisco | This is the 1967 pop song that gave San Francisco bound travelers an important floral fashion tip. The song never sounded as hip as the era it described, but it was a massive hit and is credited with bringing lots of young people to the city. (It was also used as an anthem during Czechoslovakia's 1968 uprising against the Soviet Union. Who knew such wimpy pop could be so revolutionary?) "If you're going to San Francisco For those who come to San Francisco | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Jensen McRae | Immune | Jensen McRae is a singer-songwriter from Los Angeles, active since 2017. This song about waiting in line to get vaccinated in L.A. was released in 2021 during the pandemic. Her comments on the YouTube page for this song describe it as a parody of a song one of her favorite songwriters, Phoebe Bridgers, could have written. "Traffic from the East side got me aggravated Lay the seat back, turn this place into a bed What will we say to each other Radio is static through the Taylor song What will we say to each other Think the nurse that gave our shots is judging us | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The Mekons | Lawrence of California | The Mekons are a band formed in the late 1970s in the UK. This song is from their 2019 album "Deserted." This is probably a reference to Lawrence of Arabia, but who knows? The great thing about song lyrics is that they don't always have to make sense. (I tried that line once in an English paper when I couldn't understand a poem. It didn't work then, either.) "Lawrence of California I will be the king Take the bottom of the sea I will be the king Barbs and burs to clutch and cling Oh, I will be the king | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Johnny Mercer and the Pied Pipers (featuring June Hutton) | The Hills of California | This swing vocal with orchestral acompaniment was given new exposure from its use in the 2013 movie "Gangster Squad." Johnny Mercer was an Academy-Award-winning American singer-songwriter and a co-founder of Capitol Records who was active mostly from the mid-1930's through the mid-1950s, but he didn't write this song. It was written in 1947 by robert Hayward and Robert Staver. "The hills of California Though we've overworked terrific The hills of California You'll settle down forever The hills of California We've overworked terrific The hills of California You'll settle down forever | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Natalie Merchant | San Andreas Fault | Natalie Merchant is a singer-songwriter from New York, who joined the band 10,000 Manicacs in 1981 and went solo in 1993. This song is from her 1995 album "Tigerlily." Since the San Andreas Fault is almost entirely in California I'm logging this as a Calfornia earthquake song / California Dream becomes a nightmare song. It seems to be about going to paradise to become a star but finding the fragile rags-to-riches dream shattered like a house in an earthquake. Time to bolt the foundation, brace the walls, and earthquake retrofit that dream, girl. "Go west You'll be the brightest star Go west You'll be the brightest light Your pale blue eyes Your future bright San Andreas Fault San Andreas Fault O, promised land O, promised land | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Joe Dee Messina | Heads Carolina, Tails California | This was the debut song and first big hit back in 1996 for this female country singer from Massachusetts, but it wasn't her last. She's had several number one hits since then. I always flip a coin when I'm thinking of driving thousands of miles, don't you? I also like to spin a globe and stop it with my finger pointing to where ever I want to go before buying a plane ticket, like I've seen someone do in the movies. "Heads, Carolina Tails, California. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Joe Dee Messina | You're Not in Kansas, Anymore | This is another hit from Messina's self-titled first album released in 1996. "He said "I grew up in Wichita You're not in Kansas anymore He said do you know where Carson lives You're not in Kansas anymore I'm so happy now boy | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Metro Station | California | Another let's-get-in-the-car-and-drive-to-California song from this L.A. pop rock band's 2007 album. "What do you say we leave for California? We could leave our friends I could drive What do you say we leave for California? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Middle of the Road | Sacramento (A Wonderful Town) | Middle of the Road is a Scottish pop group active since the early 70s that has been most popular in Europe and Latin America. With its bubblegum sound, this song was a million-selling single off their thierd album "The Best of Middle of the Road" released in 1972. I'm not saying Sacramento is not a wonderful town - don't send me hate mail - but it's hard to imagine what inspired a group of foreigners to sing a song praising a city which is not exactly on the tourist circuit, though it's possible the lyricist had visited the city. Harold "Lolly" Stott, a British singer/songwriter who also wrote Middle of the Road's biggest hit, co-wrote the song with three Italian songwriters, which still doesn't explain the connection with Sacramento. Maybe he just picked the name off a map, or maybe it was commissioned by the Sacramento Chamber of Commerce. I guess we'll never know. "There's something about the weather There's something about the people Now that spring is here again There's something about the weather Sacramento | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bette Midler | White Christmas | This is the classic nostalgic Christmas song written by Irving Berlin in the early 1940s. Bing Crosby's 1942 recording of the song became a smash hit with help from its popularity with American GI's fighting overseas during World War 2. According to the Guiness World Records it's the best-selling single of all time. But the version Crosby sings omits the opening verse which shows that the singer longing for snow is in Beverly Hills on a sunny Christmas eve. Bette Midler sings the opening verse in her version as do a few other singers including Barbara Streisand. This is from Midler's 2006 release Bette Midler - Cool Yule. "The sun is shining, the grass is green, I'm dreaming of a white Christmas I'm dreaming of a white Christmas I'm dreaming of a white Christmas | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Thee Midnighters | Whittier Blvd. | This is a mostly instrumental blend of surf rock, r&b, and Mexican music from a Chicano band once called "East L.A.'s Beatles." It's an anthem to East L.A.'s famous cruising street in the 1960s. There are no lyrics, but it begins with someone shouting "Let's take a trip down Whittier Boulevard!" Then we hear a parody of the Mexican mouse cartoon character Speedy Gonzales: "Arriba arriba!" followed by wild laughter. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mighty Mighty Bosstones, The | To California | A 2007 song from the Ska-Core band from Massachusetts. In this one, a guy decided to take the California trip, ran into some obstacles, but got there anyway, only to end up in the L.A. County jail. "...To California. He quit his job down at the diner. To California. So he decided To California. To California. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Miguel | Leaves | Miguel is a singer-songwriter-producer from L.A. who is usually placed among the curent new wave of R&B artists, although he also incorporates rock, psychedelic, electronic, funk, and hip hop styles in his music. He's another great musician who proves that genres are no longer very relevant. This song is off his 2015 album, Wildheart. "The leaves don't change you Sweet California, sour California Heart caught in a rift, cold Pacific waters Sweet California, sour California You know I'm from here, I never saw it coming Sweet California, sour California | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Miguel | Hollywood Dreams | This is another song off Miguel's 2015 album, Wildheart, that's about a woman with dreams of Hollywood fame and with a coke habit. "Lost angel with an urgent subtle And we could be better than heroes baby, alright Say wow, up fame, became your religion woman And we could be better than heroes baby, alright (alright) And we could be better than heroes baby, alright (alright) (Up and down Hollywood and Sunset) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Miguel | The Valley | Another song from his 2015 album, Wildheart. The lyrics are a bit too explicit for me to show many here. It's about a man who ants to enjoy his time with his lover like they're "filming in the valley,' a reference to making a pornographic film in the San Fernando Valley, the heart of that branch of the film industry. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Blake Mills | It'll All Work Out | Blake Mills is a singer-songwriter-session musician-producer from Malibu. This is from his first solo album "Break Mirrors" released in 2010. "West Valley, Mormon family My mother was the youngest child My father loved us right, stayed up at night He'd say, "go to college, get your knowledge straightened out," Is that your letter in the middle of the pile? Now, I don't feel a speck of hate | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ronnie Milsap | Santa Barbara | Ronnie Milsap is a CMA and Grammy-winning country music artist from North Carolina. He has made 35 #1 country singles and some of his hits have also crossed over to the pop charts. This is from his 1978 album "Only One Love in My Life." "Crowded streets, speeding cars What Santa Barbara is to you I took you far from home What Santa Barbara is to you What Santa Barbara is to you What Santa Barbara is to you | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Minutemen | History Lesson - Part II | Minutemen was a seminal early 80's punk band from San Pedro. The opening line of this song inspired the title of the definitive book about 80's American indie underground music. This song is from their great 1984 double album Double Nickles On the Dime. "Our band could be your life We learned punk rock in Hollywood Mr. Narrator, Our band is scientist rock | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Missing Persons | Walking in L.A. | 80's New Wave female vocals meet Hair Metal guitars in this 1983 American pop hit about someone who is shocked to see a pedestrian while driving in LA: "Walkin' in L.A., nobody walks in L.A. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Joni Mitchell | California | Joni Mitchell is a singer-songwriter originally from Alberta, Canada, who has made music since the 1960s, achieving commercial success, winning awards, and induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. She's regarded as an important, influential, and independent recording artist, writing her own songs, producing her own records, and designing her own album covers. This is from Mitchell's 1971 album "Blue" which was rated the 30th best album ever made by Rolling Stone Magazine in 2012. I think it's one of the best California songs ever made, too. "Sitting in a park in Paris, France Oh, but California I met a redneck on a Grecian isle But my heart cried out for you, California Oh it gets so lonely So I bought me a ticket Then I'm going home to California | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Joni Mitchell | Ladies of the Canyon | This is from Mitchell's third album "Ladies of the Canyon," which was released in 1970. The canyon is Laurel Canyon, in the hills above Hollywood. "Trinna wears her wampum beads Annie sits you down to eat Estrella circus girl Trinna takes her pains and her threads | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Joni Mitchell | Little Green | This is another song from the album "Blue" released in 1971. "Born with the moon in Cancer Just a little green Just a little green Just a little green | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Joni Mitchell | Trouble Child | This jazzy pop song is from Mitchell's 1974 album "Court and Spark." "Up in a sterilized room So what are you going to do about it They open and close you So why does it come as such a shock? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Keb Mo | House in California | Keb Mo, or Kevin Moore, is a Nashville-based blues guitarist whose been around for a while. This is off his 2004 Grammy Award-winning album "Keep it Simple." I don't think he'd have written the same lyrics after the housing bubble burst in 2008, especially in So Cal. More references here to good weather and earthquakes... "He said, 'boy you got to be a big time actor or a corporate lawyer, Cause it don't snow and it don't rain, | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Van Morrison | St. Dominic's Preview | This is a classic Van Morrison song from his1972 album with same title as the song. He names several locations from different times in his life, including San Francisco, where the album was recorded. "St. Dominic's" is also a Catholic church in San Francisco. Another song on the album "Redwood Tree" is about taking shelter under a redwood tree, maybe one in Marin County where Morrison was living at the time. "Shammy cleaning all the windows, Meanwhile back in San Francisco And it's a long way to Buffalo. As we gaze out on, as we gaze out on | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bill Morrissey | Barstow | Bill Morrissey was a folk singer based in New Hampshire. This is from his first album "Bill Morrissey" released in 1994. "Well here comes Parks and he's found another bottle Don't the freight yards sound like a drunk in a metal shop? Then Parks takes another drink and he starts to sing off key | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Motels, The | So L.A. | The Motels is an L.A. new wave band that had some hits in 1982 and 1983 and eventually was re-formed with the name Martha Davis and The Motels. This song, drenched in cheezy 80's synthesizer sounds, is from their third album "All Four One" released in 1982. "Walk of the town on a sunburned night Jimmy cracked when he came out here And the man on the corner got something new Walk of the woman that came to say And the man on the corner got something new Walk of time as time goes on Cause the man on the corner got something new | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mothers of Invention, The | Who Needs the Peace Corps? | Frank Zappa and the other Mothers released this song about fake hippies in the Haight on their 1968 classic album "We're Only in it for the Money." I was reminded of it after hearing it in the 1969 film set during the 1968 Chicago Riots "Medium Cool." "What's there to live for? Go to San Francisco . . . | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mötley Crüe | Girls, Girls, Girls | Mötley Crüe are an enormously commercially successful heavy metal band formed in L.A. in 1981. But boy do I hate 80s glam metal spandex hair bands, and their videos. This song is from the band's album of the same name, released in 1987. It's an ode to the tremendous contributions made to society by brilliant and successful women all over the world. OK, no it's not. It's just a stupid song about female strippers that, according to Wickipedia, mentions several L.A. strip clubs on the Sunset Strip - The Tropicana, The Body Shop, and Seventh Veil. "Friday night and I need a fight Girls, girls, girls Trick or treat, sweet to eat Girls, girls, girls Have you read the news I'm such a good good boy You know the one I mean | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mötley Crüe | Saints of Los Angeles | This song is from their 2008 album "Saints of Los Angeles." "Tonight So come right in If you think it's crazy We are, we are the saints Red line, tripping on land mines She's jacked up, down on her luck We are, we are the saints | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mountain Goats, The | Birth of Serpents | The Mountain Goats are a band formed in Claremont, California in 1991 by John Darnielle. This song from "All Eternals Deck" released in 2011 includes references to both herps and California. I think we've all seen those rooms with heat lamps and plastic containers full of breeding snakes. "Let the camera pull back till the fullness of the frame is clear and plain Let the fixer work until the silver's washed away Crawl through the tunnel and follow, follow the light north west | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mountain Goats, The | Going to Chino | This song that sounds like it was commissioned by the Chino City Council comes from "The Hound Chronicles" a cassette-only release from 1992. "I'd like to say hello to all our friends from Chino I know how hard it is down in Chino I'd like to say hello to all our friends from Chino Convenient exit to the 60 freeway I'd like to say hello to all our friends from Chino | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mountain Goats, The | Going to Norwalk | This is from "Hot Garden Stomp" a 1993 cassette-only release. I have no idea what these lyrics have to do with Norwalk, but these are the lyrics. "At one thirty on a Thursday night And I can't stand the way the moon expands and fills out The old buildings stood tall against the sky The world will | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mountain Goats, The | San Bernardino | This song is from "Heretic Pride" released in 2008. A man's voice and an acoustic guitar are all that are needed in this sweet song about a couple driving to San Bernardino to give birth in a hotel bathtub. "We got in your car and we hit the highway And flaming swords may guard the garden of Eden I checked us into our hotel and filled the bathtub And it was hard but you were brave, you are splendid We were safe inside | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mountain Goats, The | This Year | From "The Sunset Tree" released in 200, this is an upbeat indie rock song that is great to listen to when you feel like giving up - just sing along with the chorus and try to survive another day. Mills Avenue is a street in Claremont California, where the singer John Darnielle went to high school, so maybe this song is somewhat autobiographical. "I broke free on a Saturday morning My broken house behind me I am going to make it through this year I played video games in a drunken haze And then Cathy showed up I am going to make it through this year I drove home in the California dusk I down shifted I am going to make it through this year | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Move, The | California Man | The 1972 song by The Move (Roy Wood's band that became The Electric Light Orchestra) with a bunch of classic boogie rock nonsense lyrics about a party where the jive is really cool and he's a California man and can't stop dancing. Or something like that. A hit for Cheap Trick in 1978. "Goin' to a party, And if the band stops a playin' Get that real guitar boy shakin', | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mr. Shadow | Look At California | This version samples the Maze song. Mr. Shadow is a Chicano rapper from San Diego. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mr. T. Experience, The | Gilman Street | An upbeat fun punk classic from Frank Portman and his Berkeley pop punk band. 924 Gilman Street is an all-ages, not for profit, collective music club started in 1986 in Berkeley where no racist, homophobic, misogynistic, or major label bands are allowed, that was still in operation 26 years later when I put it on this list. The song documents and parodies typical Berkeley grass roots democracy at the same time "you can vote on whether you're gonna vote," and turns it all into an anthem for all young punks and socially conscious do-it-yourselfers everywhere. "Seems like it was only yesterday and if the band is hell of rad at Gilman Street Radley does the sound and if you've got nothing better to do | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Shawn Mullins | Lullaby | Shawn Mullins is an American singer-songwriter originally from Georgia. This talky rock song was a big hit in 1998. It's all about a girl in LA, but my favorite line describes the city as "Nashville with a tan." "She grew up with the children of the stars She feels safe now in this bar on Fairfax Everything's gonna be all right She still lives with her mom outside the city Everything's gonna be all right I told her I ain't so sure about this place Everything's gonna be all right | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| My Morning Jacket | One Big Holiday | One of the best from this great great band from Kentucky, from their 2003 lp, "It Still Moves." "Wakin' up feelin' good and limber | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Leona Naess | Charm Attack | Leona Naess is a singer-songwriter from the UK. This is from her debut album "Comatised" which was released in 2000. "He's the kind of guy who's always passin' by Watch out! He'll charm you. And he has his minions with no real opinions Watch out! He'll charm you. Smoother than the L.A. weather, that's how he holds himself together | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nantucket | California | Nantucket is a rock band formed in North Carolina in 1969. This song is from their album "Your Face or Mine" released in 1979. "I've been waiting California I've been thinking Telegrams of sadness California Mr. Ticket man punch me a hole California | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nappy Roots (featuring Slick & Rose) | Kalifornia Dreamin' | Nappy Roots is a hip-hop group from Kentucky, active since 1995. Slick & Rose was a Pop/R&B duo based in Atlanta starting in 2000. This song is not a cover but a re-imagining of the Mamas and Papas classic (which is probably why they spell it "Kalifornia.") It's from the group's album "The Humdinger" released in 2008. It adds new lyrics and melody, but keeps a fewof the original song lyrics and melody, much like a sample-based song, or even a jazz interpretation, but instead of sampling the original song, they sing and rap it. So fast that I can't understand some of the words, which are marked with ??? instead. "When all the chips are down Kalifornia dreamin' When all the leaves are brown Kalifornia dreamin' I'm Kalifornia dreamin' When all the chips are down Kalifornia dreamin' When all the leaves are brown Kalifornia dreamin' Kalifornia dreamin' When all the leaves are brown Kalifornia dreamin' | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Narrative, The | California Sun | The Narrative is an indie pop rock band formed in Long Island in 2008. This song is from their 2016 album "Golden Silence." The singer of this song is upset that his friend took a trip to California and isn't coming back. He thinks that everybody in California spends all day shootin' off their guns, drugged up, passed out in the sun by a pool full of women at a big house in the hills with a fancy car in the driveway. Oh come on! Sure, that's an amazingly accurate description of my life, but not everybody in California lives that way! "California sun And I wish I could be someone else Ahh I bet a twenty dollar bill And I could use a fancy car Ahh But I won't waste my energy Ahh It feels good with the sun in your life | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Matt Nathanson | Kinks Shirt | Matt Nathanson is a singer-songwriter from Massachusetts who has been recording since the early 1990's. This song was released in 2013. I assume he lives or lived in San Francisco based on the oddly specific intersection he mentions which is in the Sunset district a block south of Golden Gate Park and includes a Starbucks, a gas station, a Bank, a deli, a flower shop, a Pizza joint, a Vietnamese noodle house, and a nail salon. I'm guessing he wants to meet at the nail salon to fix those chipped red fingernails. "Rent love, run in circles. It's all there in your chipped red fingernails. It's the way she walks, Sidewalk mariachis, Don't need no songs playing on the radio, Getting what you want can break your heart. It's the way she walks, | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| National, The | Pink Rabbits | The National is a critically acclaimed indie rock band from Cincinnati formed in 1999 that found their way to Brooklyn like so many bands. This song is from their sixth studio album "Trouble Will Find Me" released in 2013. It doesn't seem to be about California but it does name check Los Angeles. "I couldn't find quiet Am I the one you think about when you're sitting in your faintin' chair drinking pink rabbits? You didn't see me I was falling apart And everybody was gone | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Neighbourhood, The | Sweater Weather | They use the British spelling of "neighborhood" but this alternative rock band was formed in Newbury Park, CA in 2011. This song, from their 2013 album "I Love You," was a #1 hit on the Billboard Alternative chart. "All I am is a man She knows what I think about 'Cause it's too cold | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Willie Nelson and Lee Ann Womack | Mendocino County Line | A sweet country duet from 2001 with Lee Ann Womack and the Country Music Icon. The sun sinking west of the Mendocino county line seems to signify the breakup of the singers' relationship, but I wonder if they know that the ocean is west of Mendocino county, so there's not really a county line there, just a shoreline? (Maybe they're in Lake County?) Whatever, it's a good line for singing... "Counted the stars on the 4th of July Scarce as as Monday morning feeling washed away I have these pictures and I keep these photographs These pictures and these photographs I use to make you happy once upon a time | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Neon Trees | Hooray For Hollywood | Neon Trees are a rock band formed in Utah in 2005 by a couple of guys who grew up in California. The title is a sarcastic play on the campy Hollywood anthem, evidenced by the list of dead stars who died tragically by 2012. Unfortunately, there have been a lot more names to add in the following six years. "Take me on Gimme gimme gimme your attention Ohhh Read my lips I only wanna move like you move Ohhh River Phoenix, James Dean, Corey Haim, Brandon Lee, Michael Jackson, George Reeves, Sharon Tate, Britney Murphy, Heath Ledger, Freddie Prinze, Marilyn, The Lizard King, Natty Wood, John Belushi, Janis, Jimi, Amy, Whitney... Ohhh | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nessa (featuring jxdn) | La Di Die | Nessa Barrett is a singer-songwriter and TikTok personality who was born in 2002 either in New Jersey or in L.A., depending on the source. Jxdn is a singer-songwriter and TikTok personality from Tennessee, born in 2001. This was released in early 2021. It's got a brief mention of rain in California and an allusion to California Dreamin', and some nice word play on fame and joining the 27 club like Curt Cobain. In 9 years! I can't remember ever being that young... "Does it rain in California? I got a bully in my head La da di, oh la di da Oh-oh, oh-oh-oh, oh-oh-oh, ah-ah-ah-ah Said I'm gonna be a rockstar, yeah yeah yeah La da di, oh la di da Does it rain in California La da di, oh la di da Yeah, I'm gonna be a superstar" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Never Shout Never | California | Upbeat pop from 2010 recorded by Christofer Drew Ingle, who calls himself Never Shout Never. "...I had the most amazing time last night They started slow [La La La La] Oh my god I But I'm so lost [La La La La] Just so you know [La La La La]" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| New Amsterdams | From California | A 2003 release by the Lawrence Kansas indie pop band started by Matthew Pryor of The Get Up Kids. "I hope that you know this is killing me La da la da da da da da da da da da da (repeat) As heavy as all this is weighing me | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Randy Newman | I Love L.A. | I'm not sure if this song is satire or if it was commissioned by the L.A. City Council to promote tourism. Many of Newman's other songs are satirical, and there's some of that here - New York is too cold and the people dress like monkeys and Chicago is for Eskimos. But mostly, it seems he just loves driving around L.A. If he didn't have a car, I doubt he would love L.A. as much. "Hate New York City Rollin' down the Imperial Highway Roll down the window, put down the top From the South Bay to the Valley I love L.A. (We love it!) Look at that mountain Century Boulevard (We love it!) I love L.A. (We love it!) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Joanna Newsom | In California | Newsom is an amazing singer-songwriter from Nevada City with a harp, an unusual voice, and weird and often incomprehensible lyrics that I'm not going to try to deciper. Here are some of them from this song released in 2010: "My heart became a drunken (?) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nickleback | Rockstar | This was a top 10 hit in 2007 for Canadian band Nickleback, the most successful rock band of the 2000s. It only refers to Hollywood Boulevard, but everything else it describes screams L.A. and the search for entertainment business fame part of the California Dream. "I'm through with standin' in lines to clubs I'll never get in I want a brand new house on an episode of Cribs I need a a credit card that's got no limit I want a new tour bus full of old guitars I'm gonna trade this life 'Cause we all just wanna be big rockstars And we'll hang out in the coolest bars And well, hey, hey, I wanna be a rockstar | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nico Vega | Hollywood Sign | Nico Vega was (and might be again) a rock band from LA formed in 2005, fronted by vocalist Aja Volkman. This song, from their first release - 2006 EP "chooseyourwordspoorly," appears to be another reference to committing suicide by jumping from the top of the Hollywood sign. "Yesterday's post was a nightmare I'm sloppy Don't leave me next to the pool bar I'm sloppy The name's Baby, and in the spot light I'm a real lady I won't remember your first name | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, The | Santa Rosa | The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band is a country rock band founded in Long Beach in 1966 and still kickin' more than 50 years later. This song is from their album Uncle Charlie and His Dog Teddy, released in 1970. It was written by Kenny Loggins, who went on to fame and fortune with the duo Loggins & Messina. The lyrics "...standing by the bay at Santa Rosa" are confusing because Santa Rosa is landlocked and more than 20 miles from the San Francisco Bay. "Seems like ten years ago Robbed a bank to get some bread Now and then ol' Mick'd say But he'd spit and slap his side He said, whoa Then one day, sang ol' Craig Now one time late at night But he picked a bit 'fore sleep He said, whoa 'Til I come once again | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Maty Noyes | California Palms | Maty Noyes is a singer-songwriter from Mississippi. This song is from her album "The Feeling's Mutual" released in 2021. "...A million dollar sunset, Yeah California palms (Ohh Whoa Oh The Polaroid is faded, Yeah California palms Would've been so easy I'm going way way back California palms | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| N.W.A. | Straight Outta Compton | Ice Cube is angry and crazy as f.... in this classic 1988 ganster rap song. He and Dr. Dre had a huge success in the summer of 2015 with a movie by the same name. "Ain't no tellin when I'm down for a jack move | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Laura Nyro | California Shoeshine Boys | Laura Nyro was a singer/songwriter from New York, now in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, who also wrote hit songs for and influenced many other artists. This is an upbeat folk rock song with a banjo from her first album "The First Songs" released in 1967. "California shoeshine boys, counting up their dimes, California shoeshine boys never really care, California shoeshine boys, rapping ten feet tall. California shoeshine boys, counting up their dimes, California shoeshine boys | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Connor Oberst | Sausalito | Bright Eyes considers moving west and living on a houseboat in Susalito in this 2008 indie song. I hope he brings plenty of cash - it's in Marin County after all. And he should get a kayak .It's a good place to paddle. "We should move to Sausalito, | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Frank Ocean | Thinkin Bout You | Frank Ocean is a singer/songwriter/rapper born in Long Beach and raised in New Orleans. This song is from his 2012 Grammy-Award-winning debut album "Channel Orange." It uses the presumption that it never rains in Southern California to apologize for his emotional distress which is likened to a bad storm. "A tornado flew around my room before you came When I'm thinkin' 'bout you (ooh, no, no, no) Or do you not think so far ahead, ahead? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Phil Ochs | Bound for Glory | Phil Ochs was a folk rock protest singer-songwriter in the 1960s and 1970s. This song, about one of his major musical infuences, Woody Guthrie, is from Ochs' first albm "All the News That's Fit to Sing" released in 1964. The title of the song comes from Guthrie's partly fictionalized autobiography of the same name published in 1943. "He walked all over his own growin' land He wrote and he sang and he rode upon the rails He sang in our streets and he sang in our halls And its Pastures of Plenty wrote the dustbowl balladeer Now they sing out his praises on every distant shore | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Phil Ochs | Tape From California | This is a long story song, from the 1968 album "Tape from California," but we never really find out what will be on that tape. Maybe it's this song... "Who's that coming down the road Feathers at his fingertips In the corner of the night Sorry, I can't stop and talk now New York City has exploded The landlord's at my window Someone's banging on the wall Sorry, I can't stop and talk now | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Odetta | Pastures of Plenty | This is a cover of a Woody Guthrie song. Odetta was a singer, actress, songwriter, and activist called "The Voice of the Civil Rights Movement" in America from the 50s on. She inspired many musicians including Harry Belafonte, Bob Dylan, Joen Baez and Janis Joplin. She recorded this Woody Guthrie song in 1960 on her "Ballad for Americans and Other American Ballads" album. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Offspring, The | Cruising California (Bumpin' In My Trunk) | The Offspring is a punk band formed in Huntington Beach in 1984 that became one of the best-selling punk bands of all time. This song is from their 2012 album, Days Go By. It's sort of a punk/pop hybrid summer-song anthem about OC girls wearing g-strings made of dental floss and waving their cabooses, the sort of beach parties that I certainly was never invited to.... "Boom, boom, boom Ahh, summertime and the living's easy And the girl that you want 'I know you heard that bass 'I know you heard that bass Boom, boom, boom The sun goes down Well I'm not no baller And the girl with the gloss 'I know you heard that bass Boom, boom, boom Boom, boom, boom | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Okkervil River | Don't Move Back to L.A. | Okkervil River is rock band formed in Austin, Texas in 1998 led by Will Sheff who is originally from New Hampshire. This song is from the album "In The Rainbow Rain" due to be released in April, 2018, but this song was put on YouTube in February, 2018. The singer of this song is begging someone not to move back to L.A., even though it appears like that person is doing well there - big house, got sober. I think he's just tired of creative people moving to the big cities and abandoning their roots when they could be writing songs about the Midwest and the Deep South instead of getting destroyed by the music industry. Makes sense to me. "Don't move back to L.A. I'm gonna send this out to Mistress Mike Don't move back to L.A. 'Cause those West Coast cats Well, in two more weeks I'll drop this track And I will tell him They're gonna tune, gonna tune, gonna tune, gonna tune you out | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Angel Olsen | California | Angel Olsen is a singer/songwriter originally from St. Louis then Chicago. Like so many interesting musicians these days, her music is not easy to shoehorn into any one genre. Wickipedia currently describes her music as: art pop, indie folk, indie rock, and alternative country. This song is the B-side of her 2013 single "Sleepwalker." "On the way to California you read so softly over my head in the silence dripping wet with there's just something about the way you surrender your eyes on the way to California | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| OneRepublic | Good Life | This is one of my favorite songs from this Colorado pop rock band, best known for their huge 2007 hit "Apologize," remixed by Timbaland. I'm also a big fan of the producing and songwriting of the band's lead vocalist Ryan Tedder, who has written some great songs for Beyonce, Taylor Swift, Adele, Leona Lewis, and many others. So I'm putting this song on the list, even though it barely mentions L.A. "Woke up in London yesterday New names and numbers that I don't know Oh this has gotta be the good life Say oh, got this feeling that you can't fight To my friends in New York, I say hello Sometimes there's airplanes I can't jump out When you're happy like a fool Oh this has gotta be the good life | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| OneRepublic & SEEB | Rich Love | In this 2017 pop song, OneRepublic and SEEB, a trio of Norwegian producers, venture into the tropical dance music genre. A good place for them. The Hollywood Sign again symbolizes fame and fortune in the entertainment industry. "I remember talking and drinking what we could find I remember feeling broke as a bottle of wine Ooh, broke as a bottle of wine She'd say, "Hey man" Do you remember dancing? The parties out in the yard? Ooh, broke as a bottle of wine | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rita Ora | Anywhere | Rita Ora is an English singer and actress. This is a dance-pop song from 2017. Some time in the early 21st Century, songwriters ran out of words to use in the chorus of their songs, and sometimes in the verses, too. Maybe hip hop used them all up. It's probably the worst word drought since the Doo-Wop era with its dom de dooby rat a ta ta toos, and the great Jazz Scat word shortage with its doot-n doodle du-ee-ah vee zee nonsense. During the current lyrics scarcity, the solution seems to be to chop up a couple of words, throw them in a song blender to stretch them back and forth and bounce them around to the beat. The breakdown in this song does just that. It makes a silly and catchy hook, but not one you can sing along with easily unless you're Max Headroom. In the song's chorus, the singer wants to be taken anywhere a million miles from L.A., but since the moon is only around 240,000 miles from Earth, that would put her about four moons away in the middle of space where she would freeze to death instantly and never record another hit song. So Rita, maybe L.A.'s not so bad after all? "Time flies by when the night is young You're painting me a dream that I Over the hills and far away Fun, little less fun Truth comes out when we're blacking out You're painting me a dream that I Over the hills and far away | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Roy Orbison | California Blue | A song co-written by Tom Petty and Jeff Lynne, released postumously in 1989 on the last album recorded by the late great tenor from Texas who began recording in the mid 1960s. This song expresses the pain and loss and yearning you hear in most of his songs. "Working all day And the sun don't shine California Blue Dreaming all alone One sunny day, I'll get back again Living my life With you on my mind | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mike O'Rourke | California's Callin' Me | Mike O'Rourke sent me a copy of his song which nicely evokes the 1960s Beach Boys sound. "I'm on my way to California California's callin' me California's Callin' me Oh way out west under a blue sky California's callin' me California's callin' me I never thought I'd get to go I'm on my way to California And I can hear the ocean's roar I'm on my way to California California's callin' me California's callin' me | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Buck Owens and The Buckaroos | Streets of Bakersfield | Written by Homer Joy and first released in 1973. Dwight Yoakam and Buck Owens had a 1988 hit with the song. Owens was a singer and guitarist. He and his band The Buckaroos were the pioneers of the "Bakersfield Sound" and racked up 21 number 1 country hits. "I came here looking for something I've spent a thousand miles of thumbin' Hey, you don't know me but you don't like me Spent some time in San Francisco Left him my watch and my old house key | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Owl City | West Coast Friendship | By request: from "Maybe I'm Dreaming" the 2008 debut album by Owl City, an electonic pop project from Adam Young of Minnesota. A very catchy chorus on this one. "Aloha, my happy west coast friends I bought a one way ticket Am I awake or is this just a dream? The new year is out here | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ozomatli | City of Angels | A 2007 song from the L.A.Latin hip hop rock band that is not afraid to throw in shout outs to their high school or to Manicheism. The title of the song refers to the literal translation of the Spanish language name for the city of Los Angeles. "What you know about my city that's tic tac? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Anderson .Paak | 'Til It's Over | Anderson .Paak (Brandon Paak Anderson) is an American singer-songwriter/rapper from Oxnard, CA. Even though he collaborates with Dr. Dre, his music owes more to vintage soul, funk, and R&B than to hardcore rap. This song is a single that was released in 2018. It mentions L.A. only briefly, but it's a really good song. (Looking at Wickipedia a year later, I see that this song has now been used in a TV commercial by Apple.) You can tell he's from So Cal just by looking at the names of the albums he's released so far: Venice, Malibu, Oxnard, and Ventura. "We stayed up all night watching the comedy show Only one more night in Los Angeles I'ma ride it 'til it's over I'ma ride, I'ma ride And don't all this new music sound the same? I'ma ride it 'til it's over...." | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Palaye Royale | No Love in L.A. | Palaye Royale is a rock band formed in Las Vegas in 2008 by three brothers. This is a single released in 2021. "Livin' in the moonlight The creeps are crawling up to the doorways There is no such thing as love in L.A. Livin' on Melrose In motel rooms I'm late for my own premiere There is no such thing as love in L.A. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Patti Page | (How Much is) That Doggie in the Window? | Patti Page was an American pop and country singer. According to Wickipedia "She was the top-charting female vocalist and best-selling female artist of the 1950s, selling over 100 million records during a six-decade long career." This song from 1953 is one of her four number one hits. It's considered a novelty song, popular with little children, but I think the singer is a hard boiled dame with foul play in mind. (Don't believe me? Listen to Page's hit "Conquest" sung by a femme fatale who hunts down an innocent man and traps him in a legal contract until one of them dies.) Why does the woman singing this song have to suddenly take a trip to California? Why does she think her sweetheart is such a cad that he needs a puppy to keep him from cheating on her while she's away? Why does she talk about armed criminals coming to his house? I suspect that her California trip is just an alibi and she's hired a hitman to wack her cheating boyfriend while she's gone. The dog is just a McGuffin. Or maybe I've been watching too much Film Noir lately.... "How much is that doggie in the window? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Van Dyke Parks | Palm Desert | Van Dyke Parks' career as a singer-songwriter, actor, composer, producer, and author has been amazingly prolific. He wrote some lyrics with Brian Wilson for the Beach Boys' Smile album and played with the Byrds, etc. Born in Mississippi, he moved to LA to become a Beatnik. (I don't know how you became a Beatnik back then, but I think the first step was growing a Van Dyke then going to the Beatnik store and buying a beret and some bongo drums. Maybe I just watched too much Dobie Gillis when I was a kid.) This is a very weird song from "Song Cycle" his first album, released in 1968. "By Palm Desert By Palm Desert Juxtaposed to B.B.D. and O. Dreams are still born Palm Desert So head your head Meanwhile in the wild west | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gram Parsons | California Cottonfields | This is a country rock song about dust bowl refugees going to Califirornia to find work picking cotton. It's from the album Live in 1973, released posthumously. Parsons made an album with the Byrds and two with the Flying Burrito Brothers then went solo, helping to create the L.A. country sound of the 70s and becoming an Alt Country forefather. When he died in 1973, Parson's friends stole his body and cremated it at Joshua Tree near Cap Rock. I've read that the National Park Service keeps removing any evidence of the location to keep it from being overrun by those who want to pay their respects. (The damage to the park during the government shutdown in 2019 was far worse than any of Parson's fans could ever manage, but the NPS couldn't be bothered to close the park to protect it from a bunch of entitled idiots and their 4 x 4s. But no worries, the trees they burned down will grow back in a few hundred years....) Emmylou Harris sings on this song and also made her own version. "My drifiting memory goes back to the spring of 43 And then one night I heard my daddy Californa cottonfields where labor camps are filled | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Pavement | Two States | These 90's Indie Rockers are obviously from Northern California (Stockton) as you can hear in this song released in 1992. Nobody in Southern California wants to split the state in two and give up all that water. Although now (2014) some venture capitalist wants to split the state into 6 states so Silicon Valley can rule them all. That would make a mess of this web site, so for that reason I urge you to Vote No! "Two states Forty million daggers Two states | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Pavement | Unfair | A regular tour of the state in this loud dissonant wonderful 1994 Indie rocker. Stephen Malkmus is better than most at screaming about things that don't need screaming about and making them sound worth screaming about. "Down in Santa Rosa over the bay Lost in the foothills of my pride | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Michael Penn | Bunker Hill | Michel Penn is a singer, songwriter, producer, and film soundtrack composer from New York who comes from a family of actors, including his brothers Sean and Chris Penn. This song is from his 1992 album "Free-for-All." There are a few Bunker Hills, but this one seems to be about the Bunker Hill neighborhood in Los Angeles. The line about fires on Vermont (an avenue a few miles to the west of Bunker Hill) makes me think that this is about the 1992 L.A. Rodney King riots. "Always thought it was a game with us So take a look My baby sees every sentence with an underline Hey, Luanda Try, The only points of light are fires on Vermont | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Pernice Brothers | PCH One | Another song about the Pacific Coast Higway. This 2006 song from the Massachussets Indie rockers is a more realistic version of the need to go on a road trip. "Let's leave on Saturday Pull the trigger, I don't care which myth I kill PCH One might be a catalyst, our panacea | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Katy Perry (featuring Snoop Dogg) | California Gurls | Katy Perry is a singer-songwriter from California, Snoop Dogg is a rapper from Long Beach. It was impossible to avoid this massive #1 pop hit in the summer of 2010 with its Willy Wonka diabetic's nightmare video. All the old California cliches are re-packaged here - greener grass, girls on the beach, palm trees and they even throw in some of Tupac's "California Love" electronic effects on the word "California." Be careful not to melt your popsicle. "...[Katy] You could travel the world California girls California girls Sex on the beach You could travel the world California girls California girls [Snoop Dogg] The girl's a freak Homeboys [Katy] California girls [Snoop Dogg] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Katy Perry | Save as Draft | This song is from Perry's "Witness" album, released in 2017. All we get in the song regarding Cali is an SUV drive-by on Sunset Boulevard, but stop complaining, it's a good song. Congrats to the singer for having found a way to save her life as a draft to work on later, but I think I'd rather have an "undo" feature. "I remember when you used to be my every other thought I struggle You don't have to subtweet me I struggle | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Peter, Paul and Mary | I Dig Rock and Roll Music | Do they really? I'm not so sure about that. This is a catchy and witty pop song, with some good parodies of the styles of Donovan and The Beatles. Peter, Paul and Mary was an American folk trio formed in New York City in 1961 who were not too thrilled with the emergence of folk rock or rock 'n' roll. They made the transition very well in this hit song from 1967, but their biggest hit was a return to their folk style in 1969 with "Leaving on a Jet Plane." "I dig rock and roll music I dig The Mamas & The Papas at the trip Sunset Strip in L.A. I dig Donovan in a dream-like, tripped out way I dig rock and roll music | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers | California | Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member Tom Petty is one of the best selling music artists of all time. He grew up in Florida where he formed his band Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. This is another California song with an apocalyptic earthquake reference. "California's been good to me There's time to roll, I'm all done | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers | Free Fallin' | This song is from Petty's 1989 solo debut album "Full Moon Fever" and ranks as one of his all-time best, ranking #177 on Rolling Stone's magazine's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. "She's a good girl, loves her mama It's a long day livin' in Reseda And I'm free, free fallin' All the vampires walkin' through the valley And I'm free, free fallin' Free fallin', now I'm free fallin' I wanna glide down over Mulholland And I'm free, free fallin' | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers | Into the Great Wide Open | This is from Petty's album Into the Great Wide Open, released in 1991. "Eddie waited 'till he finished high school They moved into a place they both could afford Into the great wide open The papers said Ed always played from the heart His leather jacket had chains that would jingle Into the great wide open, | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Madeileine Peyroux | California Rain | Peyroux is a jazz singer-songwriter from Georgia who grew up in New York City, southern California, and Paris.This beautiful 2006 release is slow mellow jazz with a singing style reminiscent of Billie Holliday. In a refreshing change from all those songs that praise the weather in the state, she sings about being stuck in cold and rainy California, longing to go somewhere far away where she belongs. "California rain is fallin' Put me on a plane tomorrow It's so cold here without the sun What a fool to be ambitious Shut the phone off and pack my bags I'm so sorry for some things I've done I'm goin' back, back where I belong | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Liz Phair | California (Also titled "Why I Left California) | Originally from a 1991 self-produced 4-track "Girly Sound" cassette, the song is also on her 1995 Juvenilia EP and her 2010 Funstyle album. With a solo guitar strumming in the background Phair tells a dirty joke involving a young bull and an old bull on a hill above a pasture full of cows (the same joke Robert Duvall tells to Sean Penn in Dennis Hopper's 1988 movie "Colors.") Inbetween the joke, she sings the only line in the song several times: "And I tried to tell you before that that's why I left California." | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Phantom Planet | California | This is another song about driving and returning to California. It was used as the theme to "The OC," a primetime soap opera about beautiful and spoiled California kids, the kind who always seem to be a staple on TV. Mates of State recorded a cover version that's a bit moodier. This version rocks a little bit more. "On the stereo California! | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| John Phillips | Malibu People | John Phillips was the leader and backing singer of the Mamas & the Papas who went on to have a solo career before resurrecting the band. This song is from his 1970 solo album "John Phillips (John, the Wolf King of L.A.)" "I got a fine beach house, baby A castle in the sand and a lady It took some time to find a crack in her defenses Big belly woman laying waiting in the sand for her baby | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| John Phillips | Topanga Canyon | This song is another song from his 1970 solo album. The references to picking up drugs and being over his head in deep waters are certainly autobiographical references to his notorious drug addictions, which caused him a drug trafficking conviction and a liver transplant later in life. "Sometimes I drive out to Topanga And maybe down to Farmer's Market Oh Mary, I'm in the deep waters You've heard of train wrecks in the mountains Oh Mary, I'm in the deep waters Someone's sick in San Fransisco Oh Mary, I'm in deep waters | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Pink | Gone to California | Slow, soulful, moody, and atmospheric, with some sax thrown in, Pink is leaving the mean streets of Philadelphia for the promised land where the sun is always shining in this 2001 song. Haven't we seen this before? Does it ever work out? "I'm goin' to California I'm goin' to California | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Pitbull (featuring Chris Brown) | International Love | Pitbull is an American rapper from Miami. This song from his 2011 album "Planet Pit" brags about having girls all over the world including "La Mexicana" in Los Angeles. "You can't catch me boy You put it down like New York City I don't play football You put it down like New York City Down in DR they're looking for visa's You put it down like New York City | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Pixies | Velouria | The Pixies are an alternative rock band formed in Boston in 1986, fronted by Black Francis, aka Frank Black. (There are other California songs on this list under Frank Black.) Velouria is from the Pixies' third album "Bossanova" released in 1990. The song uses the theremin extensively, which adds a sense of other-worldliness to it. Mt. Shasta is a large mountain in northern California that dominates the landscape. (It's alluded to in the lyrics "shastasheen"). There are stories about survivors from the sunken continent of Lemuria who live in a secret city under Mt. Shasta. The lyrics mention "lemur" skin, which might reference Lemuria, which rhymes with Velouria, who might be a mysterious Lemurian woman. Or not. You can make up your own crackpot theory. "Hold my head, we'll trampoline My Velouria, my Velouria Say to me, where have you been? We will wade in the shine of the ever Forevergreen, I know she's here in California My Velouria, my Velouria | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mike Posner | I Took A Pill In Ibiza | Mike Posner is an American singer-songwriter. He recorded an acoustic version of this song for his 2016 album At Night Alone, but the remix by Norwegian duo SeeB, released in 2015 and also included on the album, became a huge international hit. In the song, the singer lives in L.A. and drives a sports car to impress people, but he took a pill in Ibiza to impress Swedish musician/DJ/producer Avicii. I wonder how Avicii felt about the insinuation that he thinks drugs make people cool. "I took a pill in Ibiza But you don't wanna be high like me I'm just a singer who already blew his shot | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Post Malone | Hollywood's Bleeding | Post Malone is a singer/songwriter/rapper/actor from Texas and New York. This song is from his third studio album, also called Hollywood's Bleeding. It was released in 2019, debuting at number 1 and producing two number 1 singles. But not this one... "Hollywood's bleeding, vampires feedin' I just keep on hopin' that you call me Outside, the winter sky turnin' grey I just keep on hopin' that you call me | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Post Malone (featuring Ty Dolla $ign) | Psycho | This hypnotic rap song is from Malone's second album Beerbongs & Bentleys, which debuted at number 1 on the charts in 2018, and produced two number 1 singles, including this one. In the song Malone brags about women, his watch, his cars, his diamonds, his clothes, the wads of cash stuffed inside his shorts, and how he's so rich, he can even afford to give drinks to the ugly girls. Ty Dolla $ign brags about all that plus getting high and luxury shopping on Rodeo Drive in L.A. and something about Pico, another L.A. street. For a hilarious and educational full translation of the lyrics, check out this page by Gee Lowery. "Damn, my AP goin' psycho, lil' mama bad like Michael You stuck in the friend zone, I tell that four-five the fifth, ay Damn, my AP goin' psycho, lil' mama bad like Michael The AP goin' psycho, my Rollie goin' brazy | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Presidents of the United States of America, The | F**k California | The Presidents of the United States of America was a rock power trio formed in Seattle in 1993. This song is a single released in 1995. The guy who sings it hates L.A., San Bernardino, San Francisco, Santa Cruz, Yreka, even Weed. (How could anyone hate Weed?) He doesn't say why he hates the state, but the lyrics describe the Seattle area very well, so it's probably about the weather. "I'm in the mountains And the air's so clear I dream of some little evil land I'm there in my dreams You've been naked in the sunshine I've been pounding up and down I-5 This city is so beautiful Even on a cloudy day Ohhh I'm in Central Oregon now Green onions on the little stereo (Yeah keep goin' north boys!) Sonic cookie on the outside The only good thing about California | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Pretenders | Hollywood Perfume | The Pretenders are an English-American rock band formed in 1978 and fronted by Chrissie Hynde. This song is from the band's 1994 album "Last of the Independents." "I went out on the balcony in the middle of the night I went out on the balcony and looked across the way I feel like a fugitive escaped from my life I went out on the balcony to clear my head I went out on the balcony with your photograph | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tristan Prettyman | California Girl | Tristan Ann Prettyman is a singer-songwriter from San Diego. This song is from her album Hello (2008). It's slow and moody, starting with acoustic guitars, then builds. This time it's the California Girl who does the singing, but she's cynical and bitter and has learned her lesson. (Still, you just know she is gonna fall for that old trick again.) "I'll let you fall in love with me Never gonna fall, I'm never gonna fall I can't believe I even came Never gonna fall, I'm never gonna fall | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Dory Previn | Mary C. Brown and the Hollywood Sign | This song has some great lyrics about Hollywood dreams and disillusionment. Previn was an American singer-songwriter. After writing lyrics for film songs with her then husband Andre Previn, she became a solo singer-songwriter. This song is from her album with the same name, released in 1972, which I haven't listened to but which Wickipedia calls "a thematic album about Hollywood misfits. The songs were intended for a musical revue that ran briefly in Los Angeles." It was a flop in previews so it never opened. The character of Mary C. Brown is based on Peg Entwistle who jumped off the "H" in the Hollywood sign in 1932. "You know the Hollywood sign Give me your poor Mary Cecilia Brown Sometimes I have this dream When Mary Cecilia jumped I hope the Hollywood sign Give me your poor You know the Hollywood sign | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Billy Prewitt | The Hollywood Sign | This is a hard rock song from 1979. Prewitt appears to be a blues musician with some videos on YouTube, but that's all I can find out about him. "Well it's time that I be California bound All my friends said I would never get half way | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Margot Price | All American Made | Margo Price is country music singer-songwriter from Illinois, now based in Nashville with all the others. This song is from her second studio album "All American Made" released in 2017. "I woke up from a movie I immediately forgot Through everywhere I go, somebody puts me in the dirt I have been all over but I can't help feeling stuck 1987 and I didn't know it then But I was just a child unaware of the effects And I wonder if the president gets much sleep at night | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Margo Price | Cocaine Cowboys | This is another song from Price's 2017 album "All American Made." It only has one reference to California in a list of places, and many songs like that I haven't taken the time to add, but since this one has a cheezy 70s wah wah guitar sound and it's about drugged up cowboys who are bad in the saddle and she rhymes "Seattle" with "Cattle," here it is. "Well the boys round here ain't like the boys back home Cocaine cowboys Well they're riding the rails right before the show Cause the cocaine cowboys Cocaine cowboys, they never get sleep | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| John Prine | Take The Star Out Of The Window | John Prine was an American country/folk singer and songwriter whose first album was released in 1971. This song about a Viet Nam veteran returning to his parents in California, is from his second album, Diamonds in the Rough, released in 1972. Robert was a sailor And it's hello California Now he sailed across the ocean And it's hello California | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Propellerheads | Take California | This 1997 song is made up of lots of heavy beats and a canned voice that repeats "Take California." Speculation on the web is that the voice is Richard Nixon. According to Wickipedia this was the first song ever used in an iPod TV ad. "Senator welcome to our microphones Is there anything of yours that we can keep as a memento of this visit? Take California | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chuck Prophet | Temple Beautiful (the song and the complete album) | Chuck Prophet released "Temple Beautiful," a song and an album of rocking guitar-based songs, in early 2012. The album is described on his web site as "...untimately an open love letter to San Francisco..." Check out all the songs, especially "Play That Song Again") "There she stood right next to me at the She got so excited Everybody doing criminal acts Someday this is all gonna be gone | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| PS1 (featuring Alex Hosking) | Fake Friends | PS1 is a New York dance music producer and Alex Hosking is an Australian singer-songwriter. This is a house dance track from 2020. Rich people all over the world artificially enhance their smiles and bodies, but the West Coast (L.A.) always gets the blame. "It's the middle of the night, what the f**k we gon' do? You hate those West Coast plastic, tinsel, botox, perfect smiles (umm hi) Maybe we could be like the others, they know how to have fun | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Public Enemy | Burn Hollywood Burn | Public Enemy is Hip hop group from New York that had huge critical and popular success in the '80s and '90s. This song is from Fear of a Black Planet released in 1990 and features Ice Cube and Big Daddy Kane. Hollywood has changed in the 30 years since this song was written, but it still has a lot of burning to do. "Burn Hollywood burn, I smell a riot Ice Cube is down with the P E | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Charlie Puth | Attention | Charlie Puth is an American singer and songwriter from New Jersey. Released in 2017, this song is about a woman who seems to be a bit of a stalker. The singer claims she goes around to every party in L.A. because she knows that he'll be at one of them. In a city of at least 4 million people, that's a lot of parties if you consider all the birthday parties, pool parties, house parties, cocktail parties, weddings, bar mitzvah parties, Quinceañeras, etc. etc. I'm calling Fake News on this. But it's still a very infectious pop song with a great bass line. If you like people who make music with their mouths, check out the great a cappella version of this song by Pentatonix. "You've been runnin' round, runnin' round, runnin' round throwin' that dirt all on my name I know that dress is karma, perfume regret You just want attention You've been runnin' round, runnin' round, runnin' round throwing that dirt all on my name | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Charlie Puth | L.A. Girls | Another song about California Girls - from Puth's 2018 album Voicenotes. "Told you I'm moving out to bigger and better things There was Nikki, Nicole, Tiffany, and Heather I miss my baby I miss the days we'd take a Greyhound to NYC (NYC) There was Nikki, Nicole, Tiffany, and Heather I miss my baby I miss my baby 1, 2, 3 There was Nikki, Nicole, Tiffany, and Heather Messin' with these L.A. girls | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Q | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Q-Feel | Dancing in Heaven (Orbital Be-Bop) | This new wave classic is the only hit from the British synthpop group from their only album also titled Q-Feel, released in 1982, but I think it's one of the best New Wave dance songs ever. The singer says he'll be the first to dance the Bossa Nova ten thousand miles above L.A., and that is close enough to California to be put on this list, which has shamefully minimal presequisites for inclusion. "Are you ready? Here we go! Slow, slow. Quick-quick, slow. Countdown it's getting near to flight time Dancing in heaven, I never thought I'll be the first to Bossa Nova Hey! Here I am! | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Quasi | California | This song is a brief two minutes of 1998 indie rock from a Portland band. The depressed tour guide singer of this one thinks panhandlers should be kicked into the sea. I say we give him the first boot. You have to like the end line: "sinking in the vast ambivalent sea of California." That's why I stay out of the water... "Life is full life is grey: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| R | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Radiohead | Palo Alto | Radiohead is the award-winning Hall of Fame English rock band that killed upbeat 90s Britpop and made us all listen to sad, atmospheric, dystopian British rock with the release of their 1997 masterpiece "OK Computer." Not that that was a bad thing. This is from the band's 1998 EP "Airbag/How Am I Driving?" "In a city of the future In a city of the future But I'm okay, how are you? Give me one of those days I'm okay, how are you? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rage Against the Machine | Down Rodeo | Rage Against the Machine is a rock band from Los Angeles, formed in 1991, known for their political songs, including this one about race and class in L.A. not long after the Rodney King riots of 1992. The song is from their second album "Evil Empire" released in 1996. "Rodeo" is Rodeo Drive, the famous street in the upscale shopping district in Beverly Hills, where, due to the color of his skin, the singer felt he needed to defend himself with a shotgun as he drives down Rodeo. "Yeah I'm rollin' down Rodeo wit a shotgun So now I'm rollin' down Rodeo wit a shotgun So now I'm rollin' down Rodeo wit a shotgun Bangin' this bolo tight on this solo flight can't fight alone Can't waste a day when the night brings a hearse Yes I'm rollin' down Rodeo wit a shotgun Bare witness to tha sickest shot while suckas get romantic ... ... ... ... The rungs torn from the ladder can't reach the tumor Just a quiet peaceful dance! | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bonnie Raitt | Marriage Made in Hollywood | Bonnie Raitt is a multiple-Grammy-Award-winning singer-songrwriter and guitar hero born in California and raised in New York who has been doing it since 1971. This song probably shouldn't be on this list, because the "Hollywood" in the lyrics refers to the entertainment industry and not the city, but I'm glad to have something of hers on this list. It's from her 2012 album "Slipstream." "Jimmy's not a high concept guy We all love tragedy and it loves us too Loved by women, admired by men We all love tragedy, it loves us too Like a free-fall chute that didn't open We all love tragedy, it loves us too | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rascall Flats | She'd Be California | A 2009 song from the Ohio country band with yet another tanned blonde with a convertible. But this time they're saying if California was a girl, it would look like her, or she should be a movie star, or something like that. "She got the long blonde hair Hey she's like a canyon drive She's small town from the country Hey, Hollywood never looked this good | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ramones | California Sun | The Ramones was a punk rock band formed in 1974 in New York City that is considered the first band to define the punk rock sound. It's hard to imagine how radical they sounded in the mid 70s because their sound is so commonplace today. Many established rock music fans back then hated them because they couldn't play more than 3 chords but the Ramones also inspired thousands of others to pick up instruments and start a band, in the do-it-yourself spirit the punk movement inspired. It took many years, but eventually they have become considered one of the greatest bands of all time. This song is a great cover of the 1964 Rivieras classic described below, from Ramones second album "Leave Home" released in 1977. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ramones | Judy is a Punk | This is from Ramones first album "Ramones" released in 1976. The SLA was the "Symbionese Liberation Army," a radical California group that committed bank robberies and murders, and is best known for kidnapping Patricia Hearst in Berkeley in 1974. "Jackie is a punk | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rancid | Telegraph Avenue | Rancid is a punk band from Berkeley, California, formed in 1991. Telegraph is a long avenue that stretches several miles from Oakland to the main entrance to the U.C. Berkeley campus and has been the center of many protests, including the Free Speech protest in 1964, led my Mario Savio, and the People's Park riots in 1969, when Ronald Reagan was governor of the state. "I was there in the rain When I was only 17 Na na na na na, na na na na na na, na na Mario Savio gave a speech Governor Reagan had enough Na na na na na, na na na na na na, na na The ones who stand for freedom of speech Na na na na na, na na na na na na, na na | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Raveonettes, The | Ode to L.A. | A 2005 release from the Danish duo. This one has a Phil Specterish girl group sound with the heartbeat drums, the wo ho ho's, and an almost mono mix. And as usual, the theme is let's go to L.A. for the fun and sunshine. "Come on let's go to where it's fun Take a minute listen to this town See you excited in her arms | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Susan Raye | L.A. International Airport | This song was written by Leanne Scott and first recorded by David Frizzell in 1970. Susan Raye sang country music in Bakersfield with Buck Owens. Her version of this song became an international crossover pop hit in 1971. "Standing in that silent hall waitin' for that final call Cab arrives he blows his horn, I stumble out in the early morn L.A. International Airport A stewardess in a miniskirt, hippie in a leather shirt Baggage car goes quickly by, I see my case and I start to cry L.A. International Airport | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Red Hot Chili Peppers | Californication | The title of this song always reminds me of those bumperstickers on Oregon cars back in the 70's that said "Don't Californicate Oregon." It seems to be about phony Hollywood dreams, plastic surgery, unicorns, and a lot of other words that they fit in just to have something to sing - like most rock songs. Who needs lyrics that make sense as long as the music's good? "It's the edge of the world | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Red Hot Chili Peppers | Dani California | This 2006 song isn't really about the state. It's about a poor southern girl named Dani California who robs banks and was killed in North Dakota. But she's got a good name, and it's a good song, and that's good enough for this lousy list. "Gettin' born in the state of Mississippi Black bandana, sweet Louisiana California rest in peace | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Red Hot Chili Peppers | Out in L.A. | This is from the band's debut studio album "The Red Hot Chili Peppers" released in 1984. "We're all a bunch of brothers livin' in a cool way L.A. is the place, sets my mind ablaze The town makes me jump, it's got a bunch of bad chicks The action never stops, I'm as wild as can be Antwon the Swan, from the pretty fish pond He threw a hundred women up against the wall Last night and the night before, I heard a Now that I told you a little something about the Flea We're all a bunch of brothers livin' in a cool way Step out!" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Red Hot Chili Peppers | Under the Bridge | Anthony Kiedis sings about the city of L.A. being his only companion and of using drugs under a bridge downtown. (Kiedis refuses to say which bridge it was, though one writer claims it was one in MacArthur Park, the same one where someone left the cake out in the rain.) A slow and emotional ballad about loneliness and drug use from the band's 1992 album Blood Sugar Sex Magik that came as a pleasant surprise from the super animated butt-flopping hard rocking band. It went on to be a huge radio hit and, with the help of a video directed by Gus Van Sant, helped the band break through to a huge new audience. "Sometimes I feel like I don't have a partner I drive on her streets cause she's my companion I don't ever want to feel like I did that day Under the bridge downtown | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Otis Redding | (Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay | This is one of the great R&B classics of the 1960's. Otis Redding was a Georgia born soul singer-songwriter who died in a plane crash in 1967 at the age of 26 shortly after recording this song. It became a posthumous number one record and has been covered by many other artists. Redding started writing the song when he was literally in a dock on the bay, living on a houseboat in Sausalito and it was finished in Memphis with guitarist Steve Cropper (of the Stax house band, Booker T. & the M. G.'s, and later of the Blues Brothers band). "Sittin' in the morning sun I'm sittin' on the dock of the bay I left my home in Georgia So, I'm just gon' sit on the dock of the bay Looks like nothing's gonna change Sittin' here resting my bones I'm just gon' sit at the dock of the bay | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The Regrettes | California Friends | The Regrettes is a pop punk rock band formed in 2015 in Los Angeles and led by Lydia Night. This song is from the band's album "How Do You Love?" released in 2019. I give the song extra credit for offering to make a playlist of the songs of a band from California. "Will you come a little closer? Won't you come and hold my hand now? If I think that you might like me And if I take you to a movie I think I love you but then I think, "No way!" I think I love you but then I think, "No way!" Will you come a little closer? Won't you come and hold me close now? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The Regrettes | Monday | This is a single released in 2021 by the L.A. punk band. "Open my door, I step between my clothes I'm pulling down my eyelids two at a time Gotta get the f**k out of L.A. (Yeah-yeah-yeah-yeah) No sympathy, don't look at me that way I'm pulling down my eyelids two at a time Gotta get the f**k out of L.A. (Yeah-yeah-yeah-yeah) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Release the Sunbird | Always Like the Son | Release The Sunbird is a side/solo project of Zach Schwartz (a.k.a. Zach Rogue) of the Indie Rock band Rogue Wave from Oakland. This song is a very nice mix of acoustic instruments and harmonies with some background electronic effects. I don't know what it's about because I can't fully understand the lyrics and I can't find any online. "From the time that we were born Well you're always like the son | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| R. E. M. | Electrolite | R.E.M. is a rock band from Athens Georgia, formed in 1980, recognized as one of the pioneers of Alternative Rock, or College Rock, or Jangle Pop, whatever you want to call it. This is a ballad about looking down at the electric lights of L.A. from Mulholland Drive in the hills above Hollywood, thinking about movie star masculinity and the end of the 20th century. It's from the band's 1996 album "New Adventures in Hi-Fi." (It's not about the chemicals they put in all the sports drinks so you'll pay a fortune for sweetened dyed water.) Radiohead has covered it, also. "Your eyes are burning holes through me Twentieth century, go to sleep You are the star tonight If I ever want to fly Hollywood is under me You are the star tonight If you ever want to fly | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| R. E. M. | I Remember California | This is a slow and moody song from the band's 1988 album "Green." "I remember redwood trees, bumper cars and wolverines I remember traffic jams | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The Rentals | California | The Rentals are an Amerian band fronted by the former Weezer bass player. "Hoo hoo, I need your huggin' California From here to Bel Air | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Replacements, The | Left of the Dial | The Replacements were one of my favorite bands to see live back in the 80's. The Minneapolis band was a staple on left of the dial radio stations then, and their music, and Paul Westerburg's solo work, still hold their own in the 21st century. "Pretty girl keep growin' up, playin' make-up, wearin' guitar | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The Residents | Death in Barstow | According to the myth, the Residents are an anonymous collective who formed in Louisiana then went west in 1966 to become hippies in San Francisco but ended up in San Mateo when their truck broke down. I think everybody should find their home that way. It's hard to describe or categorize their weird and experimental music but this example might help: Back in the day, when I needed to get rid of unwanted visitors, all I had to do was put the Residents album "Duck Stab!" on the turntable. This song was recorded for their 1977 album "FIngerprince" but ended up on their 1979 album "Babyfingers." If you don't know, Barstow is a city in the California Mojave Desert the most people just pass through on their way from L.A. to Vegas. "Once I went to Barstow All his clothes were burned up | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The Residents | I Left My Heart in San Francisco | This is from the 1979 album "Eskimo" by the Bay Area collective. No, it's not a cover of the Tony Bennett classic, it's more like an attack on that song. "I know that soon I will be gone Left his heart in San Francisco Left his heart in San Francisco Left his heart in San Francisco Left his heart in San Francisco | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Malvina Reynolds | Little Boxes | Malvina Reynolds was a folk singer/songwriter and activist from San Francisco. She wrote this satirical song in 1962. It was recorded and released by Pete Seeger in 1963, who made it a hit song and there have been many other covers of it since. The version linked to here is from her album "Malvina Reynolds...Sings the Truth" released in 1967, but there is a different version of the song which you can listen to here, which was used for a few years as the theme song to the hit TV show "Weeds" beginning in 2005, when it was originally set in a California suburb. According to her daughter, Reynolds got the idea for the song when driving through Daly City and started writing it in the car. Though it does not mention the state, or Daly City, it's still a well-known song about California. "Little boxes on the hillside And the people in the houses And they all play on the golf course And the boys go into business | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Thomas Rhett | Die a Happy Man | Thomas Rhett is a coungry singer-songwriter. This slow-burning love song is from his second studio album "Tangled Up." Besides being a number one hit for many weeks, it won a lot of awards, including Single of the Year for both the Academy of Country Music and the Country Music Association. Driving a sportscar up the coast of California is definitely worthy of inclusion on the singer's bucket list. "Baby, last night was hands down And I know that I can't ever tell you enough If I never get to see the Northern lights Happy man, baby Baby, that red dress brings me to my knees And I know that I can't ever tell you enough If I never get to see the Northern lights I don't need no vacation, And if I never get to build my mansion in Georgia Baby, I could die a happy man | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Jonathan Richman & The Modern Lovers | California Desert Party | Richman was a trailblazer of minimalist rock and one of the progenitors of punk rock. Born in Massachusetts, he moved to California in 1975, where he obviously spent some time in the deserts. This song, with its upbeat rythm, handclaps, raunchy saxophone mixed in with a few doo wop background vocals, always makes me want to go sleep in the sand with the lizards and the cactus. "Everybody's dancing 'round California desert party. They brought the harp and lyre, | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rihanna | California King Bed | Rihanna is a singer, songwriter, and actress originally from Barbados, who has become one of the best selling musical artists of all time. This song is from her 2010 album "Loud." I like to think that Rihanna is singing a love song to her pet California Kingsnake, but I'm probably the only one. "Chest to chest In this California king bed | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rilo Kiley | Glendora | Rilo Kiley was an indie rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1998, fronted by Jenny Lewis and Blake Sennett, both of whom were child actors, and both have solo careers in music. This song is from their first record "Rilo Kiley" released in 1999. (The record was later released as "The Initial Friend EP" without the song.) "It's New Year's Eve, I'm in Glendora I cry, cry, cry, then I complain I'm on my way, I want to see you | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Josh Ritter | California | Josh Ritter is a singer-songwriter from Idaho. This is another song about going to California to warm up. (A space heater might be cheaper.) The singer knows it's been done a hundred thousand times but needs to do it himself. It's also probably been sung about that many times, too. "Going out to California | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rivieras | California Sun | The Rivieras was a rock band from Indiana, part of the early 60's "frat rock" sound that was overtaken by the British Invasion shortly thereafter. This song was a big hit in 1964. It was also recorded in the mid 70's by the Dictators and the Ramones and probably a hundred other bands. "Well, I'm goin' out west where I belong Well, I'm goin' out west out on the coast Well the girls are frisky in old 'Frisco | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| RL Grime (featuring 24 Hrs) | UCLA | I'm filing this under "R" because even though the name RL Grime is a tribute to children's author R.L. Stine, it is stylized without periods and Grime refers to a music genre, not a name, so I am considering RL Grime to be all one artist name, like a band name with more than one word. The man behind the confusing name is Henry Alfred Steinway, an American music producer from L.A. who specializes in trap, grime, and bass music and also uses the stage name Clockwork to further confuse everybody. This is a hip-hop/dance song from the second RL Grime album "Nova" released in 2018. The featured rapper, 24 Hrs, is from Atlanta. "She just moved to L.A. She just moved to L.A. Surfboard shorty, she just caught the wave She just moved to L.A. She ain't used to the weather She just moved to L.A. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ron Rogers | God Came Down to Hollywood | Ron Rogers is a singer/songwriter/producer from New York City. He sounds like he's from the southwest but he's from the South Bronx. This song is from his album "La La Land" released in 2000. "Well God came down to Hollywood I look around and what I see Well God came down to Hollywood | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Olivia Rodrigo | Deja Vu | Olivia Rodrigo is a singer and actress from Temecula. She had a huge hit with her song "Driver's License" in early 2021 then she started her next hit single remembering car rides to Malibu to get strawberry ice cream. "Car rides to Malibu So when you gonna tell her Do you get deja vu when she's with you? Do you call her I'll bet that she knows Billy Joel So when you gonna tell her Do you get deja vu when she's with you? Strawberry ice cream in Malibu I know you get deja vu | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ron Rogers | La La Land | This is another song about Hollywood from Rogers' album "La La Land" released in 2000. "I looked up at the neon sky I wandered down the sidewalk of the stars Here I am, here I am I finally found a group of my peers Here I am, here I am La la la la la la la la la la la land Car alarms and cops in the sky | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rogue Wave | California | Inscrutable lyrics with warm and fuzzy acoustic guitars. "Screw California and friends that are never there and places that they ought to pretend that they even care from a false family. She could light you up like a holiday tree in the summer... and ice that will never melt from hearts of the modern children of Cicero... so lead us there." | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rolling Stones, The | Far Away Eyes | From from the band's "Some Girls" album released in 1978, this is another great Jagger/Richards composition in the Bakersfield Country style. It's hard to imagine that there is much of an audience in Bakersfield for black gospel music, but Jagger said the country stations there played it on Sunday mornings and evenings when he drove through. It's also hard to imagine Mick Jagger driving through Bakersfield. Where was he coming from and where was he going? I want to hear that song. "I was driving home early Sunday morning through Bakersfield | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rolling Stones, The | Route 66 | An early Stones cover of the Nat King Cole original from their debut album "The Rolling Stones" released in 1964. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rolling Stones, The | Some Girls | This is from the "Some Girls" album released in 1978 back when rock stars were expected to be sexist and racist when singing about their groupies. Zuma Beach is a beach in Malibu, California. "Some girls give me money Some girls give me diamonds Some girls give me jewelry So give me all your money Some girls take my money French girls they want Cartier English girls they're so prissy White girls they're pretty funny Chinese girls are so gentle Give me all your money Some girls they're so pure Give me half your money So gimme all your money | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rolling Stones, The | Star Star | This is the infamous banned Rolling Stones 1973 single with the original title of starf***er. Notorious for its explicit lyrics as well as mentions of celebrities and allusions to Mick Jagger's affair with Carly Simon, who had just moved zout to Hollywood, like the groupie in the song. Joan Jett also recorded the song in 1983, titled "Star Star" but with uncensored lyrics. She snuck it onto a cassette as a hidden track, but when that was discovered, and her cassette was banned, it was re-released without the song. "Baby, baby, I've been so sad since you've been gone Honey, honey, call me on the telephone Yeah! You a starf**ker, starf**ker, starf**ker, starf**ker...." | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rolling Stones, The | The Under Assistant West Coast Promotion Man | In this song from the 1965 album "Out of Our Heads," the Stones skewer the music industry with a song about someone working in one of its lower levels who thinks he's sharp and claims to have a sports car, but then why is he taking a bus in L.A. and why doesn't he even have bus fare? (Wait, bus fare was only a dime in 1965!) "Well I'm waiting at the bus stop in downtown L.A. Well I'm sitting here thinkin' just how sharp I am Well I promo groups when they come into town Well I'm sitting here thinking just how sharp I am Yeah, I'm sharp, I'm really, really sharp Here comes the bus, uh oh | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Linda Ronstadt | Adios | This sad and nostagic song is from Ronstadt's 1989 album "Cry Like A Rainstorm - HowI Like The Wind." "Ran away from home when I was seventeen Drinking margaritas all night in the old cantina Don't think that I'm ungrateful We never really made it baby Going up north where the hills are winter green Going where the water's clear and the air is cleaner Our dreams of endless summer And I miss the blood red sunset | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Linda Ronstadt | Willin' | Linda Ronstadt was the most successful female rock singer of the 1970s based on sales, Billboard charts, and all of the awards she won. And she kept on singing into the 21st century. She has worked in several genres including rock, country, and Latin. This song, a cover of a Little Feat song, is from her 1974 album "Heart Like a Wheel." I prefer her version to the Little Feat version even though it doesn't make me happy to think of Linda Ronstadt as a drunk and dirty trucker popping pills and throwing trucker bombs out the window. But I guess any human driver would be more attractive than a driverless truck, which makes me wonder: Some day, will robots sing country songs about driverless trucks? "I been warped by the rain And I was out on the road late at night I've been from Tucson to Tucumcari Well, I've been kicked by the wind I smuggled some smokes And I been from Tuscon to Tucumcari | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Roots, The | The Day | A brief reference to touring and a stop in Los Angeles from the great band from Philadelphia (and the official house band on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon) off their 2010 album "How I Got Over." "When I wake up, I look into the mirror Yeah, it's like everyday I wake up When I wake up, I look into the mirror | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Runaways, The | California Paradise | This is a 1977 song from the American all-female LA rock band formed in the late 70s, known mostly for the song "Cherry Bomb" and for their founder who went on to bigger fame - Joan Jett. But other band members also had success after The Runaways, including Micki Steele with The Bangles, and Cherie Currie, and Lita Ford with their solo projects. Kristin Stewart starred in an interesting biopic about them in 2010 called "The Runaways" but I'd rather see a biopic about the wild producer who put the band together, Kim Fowley. "Turn up that radio California - you're so nice | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Runaways, The | Hollywood | This is one of their better known songs from the band's 1977 album "Queens of Noise." "Each night alone I dream | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Jane Russell | Five Little Miles From San Berdoo | Jane Russell is singing this tune in a cantina in Nogales, Mexico, when Robert Mitchum first lays eyes on her in the 1951 Howard Hughes produced movie "His Kind of Woman." She sings a shortened version in the movie and a longer more fully-orchestrated version on LP. "Ten little miles Five little miles from San Berdoo Four little miles from San Berdoo Three little miles from San Berdoo Two more miles and you're in heaven One little mile from San Berdoo From San Berdoo Two more miles and you're in heaven Little mile from San Berdoo San Bernardino! | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Charley Ryan | Hot Rod Lincoln | This is a 1955 rockabilly answer song to Arkie Shibley's 1950 song Hot Rod Race. The singer of this song is the Model A driver in Shibley's song who comes out of nowhere to win the race. It was a top ten hit in 1971 for Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen. "My pappy said, 'Son, you're gonna drive me t' drinkin' ... Well, you've heard the story of the hot rod race, It's got a 4-barrel carb and dual exhausts, We left San Pedro late one night; Then, all of a sudden, in the wink of an eye, Well, the fellers ribbed me for bein' behind, Well, I wound it up to 110; Now the fellas thought I'd lost all sense; Went around a corner and passed a truck; There were flames comin' from out of the side; All of a sudden a rod started knockin'; Well they arrested me and put me in jail. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Saint Etienne | Downey, California | Saint Etienne is an electronic indie dance band formed in London in 1990 with vocalist Sarah Cracknell. This song is from their Sound of Water Album (2000). "Dream home You don't, don't want to believe him now | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| St. Vincent | Los Ageless | St. Vincent is the stage name for Anne Clark, a Grammy-winning singer-songwriter known for her innovative guitar playing. This song is from her Masseduction album released in 2017, and no, that's not a typo. The title is wordplay on an obsession with youth in Los Angeles. The city is never specifically mentioned, but the first line of the song which comments on the weather, along with the title, make it obvious that this song is about Los Angeles. The very colorful video for the song parodies women's yoga, beauty treatments, fashion, plastic surgery, and weird sushi, all of which are more stale stereotypes of L.A. Clark was raised in Texas but she lives in New York City where women are just as obsessed with youth and everything else shown in the video. There's another song on the album called "New York" with another colorful video. "In Los Ageless, the winter never comes [Chorus] The last days of the Sunset superstars [Chorus] Oh my Lord, oh, we really did it now | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sacramento | L.A.? Not Alone Girl! | I couldn't find anything out about this band or singer by searching for "Sacramento." All I know is that English is not the first language of the singer, who sings with an unidentifiable accent. At the end he sings L.A. as "lay" which is nice. I can see that becoming a thing in the future. And I don't know why the name is "Sacramento." Maybe they are using the Spanish meaning of the word. "No matter what you do No matter if I win or lose Remember the swans in Echo Park You can't let me alone out there No matter what you do It's always been my dream, but never without my lead Ain't no be no L.A. alone Ain't no be no L.A. alone | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Savage Garden | California | Savage Garden was an Australian pop duo. This is a previously-unreleased song from their album "Truly Madly Completely: The Best of Savage Garden" released in 2005. "I've got a cottage with a sea view, And welcome to my Californian home. And we were dying from the get-go, Welcome to my Californian home, Love is elusive when you search for it, (I need to find, I've got a cottage with a sea view, And welcome to my Californian home, Welcome to my California, (I need to find) (Welcome to my Californian home) I know you can never go back again, | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Savage Garden | Santa Monica | This is an ode to the city in southern California. I'm pretty sure that anybody could tell the difference between a supermodel and Norman Mailer, especially since he's dead. "In Santa Monica, in the winter time, In Santa Monica, all the people got modern names But on the telephone line I am anyone | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Boz Scagg | Hollywood | Boz Scaggs is a singer/songwriter and gitar player mostly from Texas, who started his career in the 1960s, moving to San Francisco in 1967 where he worked with the Steve Miller Band and then went on to an award-winning solo career. This is a disco song from Scaggs' 1977 album "Down Two Then Left." "The way you read the crowd, the way you make them pay I see your name in lights, I see them standing in line Camera, action, do it again Camera, action, do it again No one had to tell you what your smile was for Throwing roses and Holy Moses Camera, action, do it again Camera, action, do it again They gave you 5 stars, they're sending big cars Camera, action, do it again | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Boz Scaggs | Sierra | This song is from Scaggs' 1994 album "Some Change." "Sierra Nevada" is the correct way to refer to the California mountain range, but since Scaggs lived in San Francisco, and Californians tend to abbreviate the name to the "Sierra" or the "High Sierra." I'm sure he's singing about that mountain range and not a different sierra. There's even a great Bogart film called "High Sierra" from 1941. "What about the one who said he loved you Oh you played with his heartstrings The angels lay their clouds across his sky There he's got a bird to give him warning The angels lay their clouds across his sky What about the one who said he loved you | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Scarub | California Dreaming | Scarub is the stage name of Armon Collins, a rapper from Los Angeles and member of the collective Living Legends, a group of indie hip hop artists from California. This is from his "The California EP," released 2011, which contains several songs about California. It samples some of the iconic The Mamas & the Papas song of the same name to use as a chorus. [The Mamas & the Papas: I'd be safe and warm [Scarub] "....Hello world reporting live from Cali [The Mamas & the Papas: ...Warm | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Scarub (featuring Dirty Gold) | California Sunrise | This is another song from Scarub's "The California EP," released 2011. It samples some of the band Dirty Gold's song also called "California Sunrise"to serve as the chorus. The Tourist Board should think about using this song to promote California tourism, because it's nearly four minutes of stream of consciousness lyrics praising the state. I have only transcribed part of the lyrics below, though I couldn't understand them all. [Scarub] ".... Cali she calling me back [Dirty Gold: California sunrise [Scarub] Home yeah that's where the heart is [Dirty Gold: I've been sleepin' far too long, I've been hidden from your love | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Scarub | Just Like the Sun | This is another song from The California EP, released 2011, which contains four songs about California, including a version of California Drreamin'. It uses the chorus of "Looks Just Like the Sun" by Broken Social Scene, released in 2003. I can't find the lyrics online, and there are a million words in it, so I have only tried to transcribe part of it that I could understand. "....These Cali sunsets breathtakin' so mystic | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Scoobert Doobert | I Live in California | All I can find out about Scoobert Doobert is that his location is listed as San Diego and that he has quite a few songs online. His name is thought by some people online to be Scooby Doo's real name, though others claim the cartoon Great Dane's last name is simply Doo. This song was released in 2021. (Thanks to LD for the recommendation and help with the lyrics.) "I'ma I'ma take a selfie hangin' at the beach in Yeah I'm from I'ma take you down to California Take you down to California I'm a waiter on the westside I'm holistic AF Ohio I'ma take you down to California Take you down to California | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Scrayper Boyz, The | Look at California | This song samples the Maze version of the song described above. The Scrayper Boyz are Hyphy rappers from the Bay Area. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Pete Seeger | Little Boxes | Pete Seeger was a celebrated American folk singer and activist from New York. This is a cover of the Malvina Reynolds song that Seeger released in 1963. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Pete Seeger | Seventy Miles | This is a 1965 folk song about the sad state of the San Francisco Bay after many years of unregulated urban growth and unrestricted dumping of garbage and pollutants poisoned the water and filled in over 25 percent of the marshland. Save The Bay, one of the very first environmental organizations, active since 1961, eventually succeded in getting legislation passed that began the protection and cleanup of the bay. (Unfortunately, the bay is now home to one of the greatest concentrations of non-native species of any waterway with more than 200, and possibly as many as 400.) "Seventy miles of wind and spray, What's that stinky creek out there, | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ty Segall | California Commercial | Segall is a singer-songwriter from SF, member of several bands including Ty Segall Band, known for its psychedelic garage rock. This is from "Goodbye Bread" a 2011 release. It's repetitous and monotonous and really short. "Come to California I was gonna tell you | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ty Segall | Californian Hills | This is from Segall's 2016 album "Emotional Mugger." "I met the candy queens American nightmare The gift of affluent life | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band | Hollywood Nights | Bob Seger is an American rock singer-songwriter from Detroit who had many hits, including this one, form his 1978 album "Stranger in Town." "She stood there bright as the sun on that California coast She took his hand and she led him along that golden beach And those Hollywood nights | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tupac Shakur (2Pac) | California Love | Tupac Shakur, also known as 2Pac, was a rapper and actor from New York City who moved to California at 17, where he became a huge star and a convicted felon - the first artist to have a #1 album on the charts while serving a prison sentence. This was his first single after getting out of prison, released at the end of December 1995. It was a huge hit that reached #1 on the Billboard hot 100 chart. "Now let me welcome everybody to the wild, wild west California...knows how to party | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tupac Shakur (2Pac) | Check Out Time | From Shakur's All Eyez on Me album released in February 1996. The mentions of death and Las Vegas in this song seem eerily prescient of his shooting death in Las Vegas seven months after the song was released. "…. Now I'm up early in the mornin', breath stinkin' as I'm yawnin' | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tupac Shakur (2Pac) | To Live and Die In L.A. | Another "katruple katrople platinum" hip hop hit from 1996WARNING! - don't let your kids listen to this one. According to former Vice President Dan Quayle, 2Pac's music incites violence. (Come to think of it, maybe Quayle was right - Tupac might have lived in LA, but was assassinated in Las Vegas.) "No doubt... to live and die in L.A. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Marlena Shaw | California Soul | Marlena Shaw, from New York, has been singing since 1967. This is a poppy soul tune with too many strings, written by Ashford and Simpson, and released in 1969. It has been used in movies and commercials, and sampled in rap songs. For a less soulful version, check out the Fifth Dimension's 1968 release. "Like a sound you hear It's all in the air California soul, California soul | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Marlena Shaw (featuring Ya Boy) | California Soul (Lincoln Lawyer Remix) | Before Matthew McConaughey was making commercials for Lincoln, he played a lawyer who gets chauffered around in one in the 2011 movie "Lincoln Lawyer." During the end credits we hear a remix of the classic Marlena Shaw song "California Soul", with Ya Boy, a rapper from San Francisco, rapping extra lyrics on it. Most of the music and lyrics are new, but since it uses a lot of Shaw's original song, Shaw gets the performance credit and Ya Boy gets a feature. I have put the parts Shaw sings in italics. "Like a sound you hear It's all in the air Killa Cali hustler California hustlin' For the green we rushin' Can't be a victim California soul California hustler Like a sound you hear It's all in the air It's gonna grab a hold on you California soul See I live through the fear Puts a brand new kind I feel you baby I go hard in the paint Movin' through the streets In the fast lane Top gettin' closer California hustler So happy they were rockin and reelin' | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| She & Him | Home | A 2010 release from M. Ward and Zooey Deschanel, the film actress with Anime eyes and a TV Sit Com. M. Ward is also a solo artist and works with the Monsters of Folk. "California is a great big nation of one They just go home Youre the nicest, nicest boy I've ever met Why don't we just sit and stare and do nothing? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Arkie Shibley | Hot Rod Race | Arkie Shibley was a country singer from Arkansas. This song is about a race between 2 hot rods that started in San Pedro and made it all the way out to the desert but was won by a third driver. It's one of the first songs about automobile racing and inspired an answer song - Hot Rod Lincoln, by Charley Ryan in 1955. I guess it took a long time to make an answer song in those days. "Now me and my wife and my brother Joe Now along about the middle of the night We had twin pots in the [Columbia?], but We made grease spots out of many good town Now we were Ford men and we likely knew I looked down at my lovely bride My brother was pale he said he was sick Now on through the deserts we did glide I looked in the mirror and I saw somethin' comin' When it flew by us I turned the other way | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Michelle Shocked | Come a Long Way | Michelle Shocked (Karen Michelle Johnston) is a singer-songwriter originally from Texas. Her stage name comes from "shell shocked" which was the term for the acute stress suffered by combatants during war until it was watered down to what is now called "post-traumatic stress disorder" or "p.t.s.d." by the millitary which has perfected making something horrible sound palatable. "Collateral damage" and "friendly fire" are other good examples of the military's Orwellian "doublespeak." Karen Michelle may really be shell shocked now, because, after what were interpreted as anti-gay rants at a show in San Francisco in 2013, she was shunned as a homophobic fundamentalist Christian. She hasn't released any new music as far as I can find since 2009, and, when I checked again in May 2020, her music seems to have disappeared from most places online. I can't find this song to play or purchase anywhere. A lot of journalists have asked the question should we still listen to music made by people whose behavior has been immoral or prejudiced or even criminal - including musicians such as R. Kelly, Michael Jackson, Gary Glitter, and even Michelle Shocked. I don't have an answer for that but it's a shame that this song, from her album "Arkansas Traveler" released in 1992, is no longer available because it's a great L.A. song that takes us on a trip all over the city (which can easily feel like a 500 mile drive) and the song even includes an earthquake, as the singer rides her reclaimed Yamaha 920 motorcycle in the hills. "I kicked in his door at 5 AM I've come a long way I drive by the Plaza where the gay boys pose I've come a long way I gunned it down to San Pedro Bay I've come a long way Now you tow it to the repo man's front door I've come a long way | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Shocking Blue | California Here I Come | Shocking Blue was a Dutch rock band formed in 1967, best known for their #1 hit song "Venus," which also went to #1 in the U.S. in 1986 when covered by Bananarama. This song is from the band's 1968 album "At Home." "Got a long long way to go I'm not afraid of the distance When the sun's going down I'm not afraid of the distance Day after day But now troubles are over | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Shwayze (with Cisco) | Golden Dreams | Shwayze is an American rapper. This song is from his third album "Island in the Sun" released in 2011. It's essentially an upbeat guitar rock song with rapped verses. "(Chorus): Pair of dice and a pair of eyes Another year goes bye, priorities change (Chorus) It's all good like I knew it would Another year goes bye, priorities change (Chorus) California, California, land of golden dreams Hey Cali baby, will you be my sugar honey You make me feel like love for the first time (Chorus)" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sia | California Dreamin' | Sia is a singer/songwriter originally from Australia. This is an excellent version of the Mamas and the Papas classic from the 2015 San Andreas soundtrack. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Silver Convention | San Francisco Hustle | Silver convention were a disco band from Germany, best known for their #1 hit "Fly, Robin, Fly." This is another disco dance song from the band's album "Get Up and Boogie" released in 1976. "San Francisco Hustle Come and dance San Francisco Hustle Do, do, do, do Do, do, do, do San Francisco Hustle Do, do, do, do Hustle, aha Hustle, aha Do, do, do, do Do, do, do, do San Francisco Hustle...." | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Silver Jews | Smith and Jones Forever | From 1989-2009 the Silver Jews were an indie rock band from New York City that included Stephen Malkmus from Pavement. This is from their 1998 album "American Water." I don't know what any of it means or who Smith and Jones are other than common generic surnames. "Are you honest when no one's looking? O come let us adore them Smith and Jones forever! Build a stage for Autumn's b**ch O come let us adore them Smith and Jones forever! I've got two tickets to a midnight execution Smith and Jones forever! | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Simon & Garfunkel | Cloudy | Paul Simon & Art Garfunkel met in elementary school in New York City in 1953 and went on to form a folk-rock duo that was one of the best-selling musical groups of the 1960s before they split up in 1970. This is from their third album "Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme" released in 1966. "Cloudy Cloudy Hey sunshine Cloudy, | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Simon & Garfunkel | Punky's Dilemma | This song from the album "Bookends" released in 1968 somehow uses breakfast foods to make fun of the movie industry. That's fine, though I prefer strawberry jam on my muffin, but I have to ask - where on earth is "South Callifornia?" "Wish I was a Kellogg's Cornflake Wish I was an English muffin I'd ease myself down, I prefer boysenberry Ah, South California. If I become a First Lieutenant | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Frank Sinatra | California | This big bombastic song is off "The Reprise Collection" recorded in 1963. It sounds like Sinatra is trying to make a new state anthem. "I've known her valleys, I've known her mountains I've often wandered her farthest reaches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Frank Sinatra | L.A. Is My Lady | Maybe Sinatra was trying to corner the market on big city anthems when he added this one to his others - "Theme From New York, New York," "My Kind of Town (Chicago Is)," "I Love Paris," "London by Night, " etc. This is from his 59th and final solo studio album, released in 1984 - also called "L.A. Is My Lady." "The music she moves to, is music that makes me a dancer 'Cause L.A. is my lady, I've been in love more times, than I care to remember L.A. is my lady, | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Frank Sinatra | The Lady is a Tramp | This is a Rogers and Hart song from the 1937 musical comedy Babes in Arms, but it is also used in the 1957 film version of Pal Joey. Watching the sleazy San Francisco nightclub singer played by Frank Sinatra sing this to a rich society widow who used to be a stripper, played by Rita Hayworth, is a great musical moment. The song features an ironic view of the usual image of sunny California. This song has also been covered by many other singers including Ella Fitzgerald and Tony Bennett. "She gets too hungry for dinner at eight Doesn't like crap games with Barons or Earls She likes the free fresh wind in her hair, She gets too hungry to wait for dinner at eight She'll have no crap games with sharpies and frauds She loves the free fresh wind in her hair | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nancy Sinatra | California Dreamin' | Nancy's weird orchestral/acoustic cover of the Mamas and the Papas 1966 classic is one of the best. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sir Douglas Quintet, The | Mendocino | In this 1969 rock classic, after thanking all his friends for all the beautiful vibrations, the singer pleads with his teeny bopper lover to stay with him in his love house by the river where life's such a groove you blow your mind in the morning. Can you dig it? (Yes, they really sing "Can you dig it?" And it is dug.) "Teeny Bopper, my teenage lover | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sir Mix-a-Lot | Jump On It | Sir Mix-a-Lot is a rapper and producer from Seattle. This song is from his 1996 album "Return of the Bumpasaurus." The rapper brags about knocking dames and "Chasing the skirts like a playa supposed ta," in cities and area codes across the U.S.A., including California from Redding to the Valley to the TJ Border, and his favorite football team from Frisco. (Yes, he uses that forbidden city name, and not even because it rhymed with something.) This song has an interesting genealogy: First there was the rock instrumental song "Apache" by The Shadows, released in 1960. It was covered as a rock instrumental a few times before it was turned into an instrumental dance song with lots of horns and percussion by The Incredible Bongo Band in 1973. The percussion break from that song was later sampled in a lot of hip hop songs, including The Sugarhill Gang's version of Apache in 1981, which kept the title and added rapped lyrics, including the words "jump on it. Then Sir Mix-a-lot sampled the melody of the Sugarhill Gang's Apache and the percussion of The Incredible Bongo Band and also used the words "Jump on it" in 1996, adding all new lyrics. "Ho, Ho, Ho What's up Dallas, what's up Welcome to the 2 1 4 What's up Phoenix, what's up Welcome to the 6 0 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sister Sledge | He's the Greatest Dancer | Sister Sledge is a group from Philadelphia that formed in 1971 and had several big disco hits. This song is from 1979 from the "We Are Family" album. I don't know if this was the first song to rhyme "Disco" with "Frisco," but it certainly wasn't the last. It was a top 10 hit in 71, but the guitar riff became the best part of an even bigger hit in 1998 when it was sampled in "Gettin' Jiggy Wit It," Will Smith's #1 hit. "Oh, what, wow One night in a disco on the outskirts of Frisco | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 6ths, The (featuting Barbara Manning) | San Diego Zoo | How can you not like a song with driving directions? But unless it's backed up, you might want to get on the 110 south after leaving the Boom Boom Room, then connect with the 405, that'll save you at least 5 miles of crosstown driving. This is a song by Stephin Merritt, the musical genius behind the Magnetic Fields and the 6ths and more. It's sung by singer-songwriter Barbara Manning. "Met you on a traffic island Highway 405 will take you from the Boom Boom Room | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Skatalites, The | Skalifornia | The Skatalites are a ska band from Jamaica that played from 1963-1965 then formed again in 1983. This song was released in 1993. This is an instrumental song, but since it has such a great California song name, I had to include it here. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sleater-Kinney | Jumpers | Sleater-Kinney is a rock trio named after a road in Olympia Washington where the band formed in 1994. They are usually mentioned as part of the Riot grrrl feminist punk rock movement that had much of its origins in the Olympia area in the early 90s. Guitarist Carrie Brownstein is also known for starring in the satirical comedy TV series "Portlandia." This song is from their 2005 album "The Woods." The singer is sad and lonely and lost in the San Francisco fog and quotes the beginning of Mark Twain's witty weather observation that the coldest winter he ever saw was the summer he spent in San Francisco. She takes a taxi to the Golden Gate Bridge where she will become another suicide "jumper." She imagines what she will look like as she falls and reminds herself that it will only take four seconds before she hits the water and dies. I spend the afternoon in cars The sky is blue most every day Lonely as a cloud The only substance is the fog There is a bridge adored and famed Lonely as a cloud Be still this old heart Sing your last song Be still this sad day You're not the only one My falling shape will draw a line I took a taxi to the Gate | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Elliott Smith | L.A. | Elliott Smith was an American singer songwriter born in Nebraska, raised in Texas, who lived mostly in Portland, Oregon, and died at 34 in Los Angeles, probably by suicide, although some think he was murdered. This song is from the last album he released before his death "Figure 8" released in 2000. "The gentleman's in the lane Morning had to come, I'd be walking in the sun Things I've never done, cars parked in the sun | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Hank Snow | I've Been Everywhere | Hank Snow was a Canadian-American country singer who made a lot of records and a lot of hit songs over his long career. This song was a #1 country single in 1962. It was written by Geoff Mack, an Australian country singer, in 1959 and made popular by Australian singer Lucky Starr in 1962, with the names of Australian places in the lyrics. Then Geoff Mack re-wrote the lyrics with the names of North American towns that he took from a road atlas so Hank Snow could sing the song. So not only had the songwriter NOT been everywhere listed in the song, he didn't even know where the places were. Before you get upset that the song is a total fraud, remember that most song lyrics are lies - Bruce Springsteen never really was on fire, Jay-Z only had 88 problems, and Lady Gaga was not born that way, her real name is Stefani. There are more versions of the song that list towns in New Zealand, Great Britain and Ireland, Canada, Finland, Germany etc. Cover versions of the song have been recorded by Lynn Anderson, Asleep at the Wheel, Johnny Cash, and more. You can listen to Lucky Starr's original Australian version here. I was totin' my pack I've been everywhere, man Been to Reno, Chicago, Fargo, Minnesota, I've been everywhere, man Boston, Charleston, Dayton, Louisiana, I've been everywhere, man Louisville, Nashville, Knoxville, Ombabika, I've been everywhere, man Pittsburgh, Parkersburg, Gravellburg, Colorado, I've been everywhere, man | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Phoebe Snow | San Francisco Bay Blues | This is a jazzy acoustic version of the Jesse Fuller 1954 original from Snow's 1974 debut album "Phoebe Snow." The lyrics are shown under Jesse Fuller. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| SOB X RBE (featuring Kendrick Lamar and Zacari) | Paramedic! | SOB X RBE is a four-man rap crew from Vallejo. This song is from the Black Panther movie soundtrack, released in 2018. (I am Killmonger) No one's perfect Ay, they better call a paramedic in the street .22 or.23, I'm heavy with the heat I wish a n***a would | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Social Distortion | Bakersfield | A 2011 release from the Orange County cow punk band which formed in the late 1970s. It's about being stranded in Bakersfield. This would segue nicely into Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Lodi," though, if I had my pick, I'd choose to be stranded in Bakersfield, but only because I spent some time there a few times and learned to like it. "Stranded here in Bakersfield So I walked out that lonely truck stop So I wrote a song for you baby girl Stranded here in Bakersfield | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Social Distortion | California (Hustle and Flow) | Another one from their 2011 album. "Well, I was born, babe, with nothing to lose Take me down I went too fast with that rhythm and booze Running around like you're front page news | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Social Distortion | Highway 101 | From 2004, another driving on the coast highway song. "Take a drive baby up the coast, yea highway 101 Listen to the boulevard, listen to the falling rain | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bonnie Somerville | Winding Road | Bonnie Somerville is an American actor and singer from Brooklyn who moved to LA when she was 22. This is a soft rock song that she co-wrote with David Weisberg. It starts with solo acoustic guitar, then other instruments are added, and some male backup singers enter and do a little bit of Beach Boys harmony when she sings "California sun in your hair." The song was included on the Garden State Soundtrack in 2004, which is probably where most of us first heard it. "Well, the rain keeps on coming down And it's a winding road And I can see a little house And its a winding road All these dreams took me so far And it's a long way home | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sonic Youth | Expressway to Yr Skull | Another anti-California Girl song from the New York City band that was the archetype of the Indie movement of the '80s, off their 1986 "Evol" album. According to Michael Azerrad ("Our Band Could Be Your Life" 2001) Neil Young called this "the greatest guitar song of all time" in 1990 when the band opened for him on his Ragged Glory tour. Azerrad's description: "Moore sings the first line, dreamily, like some homicidal twist on a Beach Boys lyric. The song builds to a cataclysm...then back down to a meditative, after-the-storm feeling, the whole roller-coaster ride ending with a good three minutes of Moore and Ranaldo drawing sounds from their guitars like the music of the spheres..." "We're gonna kill the California girls We're gonna find the meaning of feeling good Mystery train | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sonic Youth | Death Valley '69 | From 1985's "Bad Moon Rising" album, this song was co-written and co-sung by New York No Wave icon Lydia Lunch. Sonic Youth was obsessed with obsession, insanity, and violence, and the embodiment of all three - Charles Mansion, who hid out at the Barker Ranch ranch (now in Death Valley National Park) after the notorious Los Angeles murder spree until he and his followers were captured there. "Coming down | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sonic Youth | Pacific Coast Highway | Beautiful, dissonant, and sinister noise-guitar-pop or whatever you want to call it from their 1987 album "Sister." Kim Gordon explores the dark side of the coast highway from a woman's perspective. This ain't the Mamas and the Papas' coast highway anymore.... "Come on get in the car | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sonic Youth | Tunic (Song For Karen) | This song from the album "Goo" released in 1990 is about Karen Carpenter, the drummer and singer of the Carpenters who died of anorexia, who came from Downey, California. "Dreamin', dreamin' of a girl like me. She said, 'You aren't never going anywhere.' I'm in Heaven now. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sons of the Pioneers, The | Sierra Nevada | The Sons of the Pioneers are a western vocal group formed in Los Angeles that has been active since 1933 and has included many different members including founding member and film star Roy Rogers. The band and their music has been used in many movies over the years, including several of John Ford's westerns. This song is from 1962. "Way up high in Sierra Nevada Will I find my love waitin' with teardrops in her eyes Way up high in Sierra Nevada Will I find my love waitin' with teardrops in her eyes Way up high in Sierra Nevada | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Soul Coughing | Screenwriter's Blues | Soul Coughing was an alternative rock/jazz rock band that formed in New York City in 1992. This song is from their debut album "Ruby Vroom" released in 1994. "Exits to freeways twisted like knots on the fingers Your Cadillac breathes four hundred horses over blue lines It is 5 A.M., and you are listening to Los Angeles And the radio man says, "It is a beautiful night out there" Gone savage for teenagers with automatic weapons and boundless love It is 5 A.M., and you are listening to Los Angeles I am going to Los Angeles to build a screenplay about lovers who murder each other It is 5 A.M., and you are listening to Los Angeles | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Soundgarden | Outshined | Soundgarden was a rock band formed in 1984 in Seattle a few years before the grunge scene that they helped define. This is from their album "Badmotorfinger" released in 1991. Me, I'm looking Minnesota but feeling California. "I got up feeling so down I just looked in the mirror So now you know, who gets mystified Show me the power child It gives me the butterflies I'm feeling out-shined ... Someone let the dogs out I'm feeling that I'm sober So now you know, who gets mystified Show me the power child It gives me the butterflies I'm feeling out-shined ...." | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Spirit | California Blues | Spirit was a rock band founded in Los Angeles in 1967 that is one of the best and most underappreciated L.A. bands of the 60's. Jimi Hendrix even gave Spirit's guitarist the name "Randy California." This song is from the band's last album "California Blues" released in 1996, and features a male and female singer singing alternate lines. "Come back Got that low down Got that California blues Come on come on now take me Just love me Got that California blues Come on come on now show me Got that California blues I need your love Come back | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Spirit | The Great Canyon Fire in General | This is from the band's first album "Spirit" released in 1968. This song doesn't say which canyon is burning, but it's without doubt a California canyon subject to California's typical winter rains and summer through fall drought. It could be Topanga Canyon, the subject of another song on the album "Topanga Windows," but I hear it as a general California fire song since the fire season in the state is as predictable as death and taxes and blockbuster movie sequels. "Somewhere, someone's calling | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Spirit | Topanga Windows | This song is about Topanga Canyon in the Santa Monica Mountains above Los Angeles which used to be a decadent countercultural bohemian enclave, and hopefully still is. It's off their first album from "Spirit" released in 1968. "Watching the world through our Topanga window Your time is going much too fast People searching for a better season Your time is going much too fast | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bruce Springsteen | Rosalita | Bruce Springsteen is a guy from New Jersey who should need no introduction. He sings about cars, and girls, and people with nicknames like "Sloppy Sue" and "Big Bones Billy." This song is from his second album "The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle " released way back in 1973. "Spread out now Rosie, doctor come cut loose her mama's reins Dynamite's in the belfry, baby, playin' with the bats Rosalita, jump a little higher Jack the Rabbit and Weak Knee Willie, don't you know they're gonna be there Rosalita, jump a little higher Now, I know your mama, she don't like me, 'cause I play in a rock and roll band And my tires were slashed and I almost crashed, but the Lord had mercy | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bruce Springsteen | Tucson Train | In this song from Springsteen's 2019 album "Western Stars" the singer is a crane operator who moved to Tucson when he got tired of his pills getting soggy in the San Franciso rain. Just to rub it in to the city by the bay, he uses the unforgivable name "Frisco" and it's not even for a rhyme! (Tucson is a great place, but I advise him to be careful to keep his pills dry during the summer monsoons.) "I got so down and out in Frisco I come here lookin' for a new life We fought hard over nothin' | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bruce Springsteen | Western Stars | This is another song from "Western Stars," Springsteen's 19th studio album released in 2019. The CD cover (remember those?) has a wild horse on it and Bruce wearing a cowboy hat and boots standing in front of an old Dodge truck parked at a run-down house in the Joshua trees. That pretty much tells you all you need to know about the album, with its sometimes lushly-orchestrated songs about hitch-hiking drifters, movie stunt men, and lonely motels. This song is sung by an old Western movie actor who is glad to still be alive instead of buried with all the other decease western stars at the Forest Lawn cemetery near Interstate 5. I suspect that his breakfast of raw eggs and a shot of gin with a viagra chaser has contributed significantly to his longevity. "I wake up in the morning, just glad my boots are on Ride me down easy, ride me down easy, friend Here in the canyons above Sunset, the desert don't give up the fight Hell these days there ain't no more, now there's just again Sundays I take my El Camino, throw my saddle in and go Once I was shot by John Wayne, yeah it was towards the end Here's to the cowboys, the riders in the whirlwind Tonight the riders on Sunset are smothered in the Santa Ana winds I woke up this morning just, glad my boots were on" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Starcrawler | I Love L.A. | Starcrawler is a rock band formed in L.A. in 2015 who sound on this song like they formed back when guitar rock and quarter-a-call pay phones were still alive. This is from their 2018 eponymous debut album. "Walking down the street I love L.A. Talking to a friend I love L.A. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Starship | We Built This City | Starship is an arena rock band formed in San Francisco in 1984 after splitting off from Jefferson Starship (which evolved out of Jefferson Airplane) before the name "Jefferson" was slashed off by lawyers. This song, which rose to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, is from the band's first album "Knee Deep in the Hoopla" which was released in 1985. The city that the song claims to have built on rock and roll about a thousand times, is, of course, San Francisco - The City, the city by the bay, the golden city, San Fran, Don't call it Frisco. Alas, they tossed the rock and roll and rebuilt the city with tech companies many years ago. (Don't ask me why Marconi, the inventor of radio, plays the Mambo which wasn't popular until after he died. I have no idea.) "We built this city Say you don't know me or recognize my face Marconi plays the mambo, listen to the radio We built this city Someone's always playing corporation games Marconi plays the mambo, listen to the radio We built this city It's just another Sunday Who counts the money underneath the bar? (I'm looking out over that Golden Gate Bridge on another gorgeous sunny Saturday and I'm seein' that bumper to bumper traffic.) Don't you remember? (remember) (Here's your favorite radio station, in your favorite radio city, the city by the bay, the city that rocks, the city that never sleeps.) Marconi plays the mambo, listen to the radio | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The Steam Machine | Home to Sacramento | This is a soft rock single released in 1971. It seems like the songwriter has never been to Sacramento, which is nowhere near the sea. The city does have a port on the Sacramento River which can accomodate oceangoing vessels, but it's a good 90 miles from the Golden Gate. "Take me back to a place I know Take me back to the early spring I'm going home to Sacramento I'm going home to Sacramento Let me breathe in the morning sun Spread my wings and I'm gonna fly I'm going home to Sacramento I'm going home to Sacramento | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Steely Dan | Babylon Sisters | Steely Dan is a jazz rock band originally from New York. This is from the band's seventh album Gaucho, released in 1980. You have to like a California song that begins with L.A. driving directions... "Drive west on Sunset Here come those Santa Ana winds again We'll jog with show folk on the sand | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Steely Dan | My Old School | This is from the band's second album Countdown to Ecstasy, released in 1973. Wickipedia shows that the duo formed at Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York, which explains the Annandale and old school references in the song. The duo was later based in California, which explains why the singer won't go back to Annandale unless California is destroyed in an earthquake. I feel the same way about my old school, even though it is in California. "I remember the thirty-five sweet goodbyes Well, I did not think the girl Oleanders growing outside her door (Chorus) California tumbles into the sea | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Steely Dan | Reelin' In the Years | This is from the 1972 album "Can't Buy a Thrill." Elliott Randall does some amazing guitar playing on this song. It's a post break-up song in which the singer is bitter about having spent a lot of time and money taking his ex to Hollywood before he was dumped for another guy. "Your everlasting summer Are you reelin' in the years You been tellin' me you're a genius Are you reelin' in the years I spend a lot of money | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lennon Stella (featuring Charlie Puth) | Summer Feelings | Lennon Stella is a Canadian singer and actress and Charlie Puth is a singer-songwriter-producer from New Jersey. This is from "Scoob! The Album" released in Spring 2020. It's the soundtrack for the upcoming animated Scooby-Doo film. (Lenon Stella) Ooh, now what you do, nothin' like tell the truth (I slide) Yeah (good), I'm in my summer feelings (Charlie Puth) Oh, now what you do, your brown eyes tell the truth (that's right) Hey, gettin' in my summer feelings (summer feelings) (Lennon Stella) (Both) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stereophonics | Have a Nice Day | Stereophonics are a Welsh rock band formed in 1992. This song is from their 2001 album "Just Enough Education to Perform." It's about the vacuousness of tourism and conformity or something like that. That's exactly what they should expect if they're going to touristy places like Pier 39. "San Francisco Bay It started straight off So have a nice day | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stereophonics | Plastic California | This is from the band's 1999 album "Performance and Cocktails." It's another song denigrating California tourism. Blackpool is a seaside resort on the northwest coast of England. "Plastic California I like pink architecture It's a beautiful place for nature | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Steve Miller Band, The | Rock'n Me | The Steve Miller Band was formed in San Francisco in 1966 and had quite a few classic rock hits in the mid 70s and early 80s, including this one from the band's 1976 album Fly Like an Eagle. It's another song that stereotypes California Girls. "Well I've been lookin' real hard and I'm tryin' to find a job Well, I ain't superstitious, and I don't get suspicious So keep on rock'n me baby I went from Phoenix, Arizona all the way to Tacoma, Keep on a rock'n me baby | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| John Stewart | Gold | This was a hit song from Stewart's 1979 album "Bombs Away Dream Babies" that features Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham of Fleetwood Mac. I first heard about this song in the now defunct California forum on FieldherpForum.com where Jim Bass, who's mentioned in the song, used to hang out. "When the lights go down in the California town Drivin' over Kanan, singin to my soul Well my buddy Jim Bass he's a workin' pumpin' gas Drivin' over Kanan singin' to my soul Ah, the California girls are the greatest in the world Drivin over Kanan singin' to my soul When the lights go down in the California town Drivin over Kanan singin' to my soul | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stranglers, The | Dead Loss Angeles | The Stranglers are a rock band formed during the punk era in England in the 1970s. This song is from their 1979 album "The Raven." I wonder if they wrote this after taking a tour of the La Brea Tar Pits or something. All that bubbling tar can be inspiring. "The plastic peaches there The dredged up mastodon The lunar base camp there The dedged up mastodon From the La Brea pit From the La Brea pit They get the tremors there The dedged up mastodon | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sublime | April 29, 1992 (Miami) | Sublime was a ska punk band formed in Long Beach in 1988 that broke up far too soon because of a drug overdose. This song about the riots in Los Angeles in 1992 is from the band's last album "Sublime" released in 1996. "....April 26th, 1992 First spot we hit it was my liquor store The next stop we hit, it was the music shop, Alright ("Call fire and tell them respond local station out to meet us at Anaheim. It's uh, flaming up good." "10-4 Alamitos at Anaheim") Homicides never doing no time When we returned to the pad to unload everything 'Cause everybody in the hood has had it up to here They said it was for the black man It's about comin' up and stayin' on top (Units, units be advised of an attempted 211 to arrest now at 938 Temple, 9-3-8 Temple. As I'm alive, I'm a live illegal Let it burn Riots on the streets of Miami | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sublime | What I Got | This is another song from the band's last album "Sublime" released in 1996. Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County. "Life is too short so love the one you got cause you might get | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sublime | Garden Grove | This is another song from the band's last album "Sublime" released in 1996. Garden Grove is a city in Orange County, California. "We took this trip to Garden Grove | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sudan Archives | Limitless | Sudan Archives is the stage name of Brittney Denise Parks, a violinist and singer based in Los Angeles. This is from her first studio album "Athena" released in 2019. There is only one mention of "Topanga," the canyon in the hills just west of L.A., but it's definitely an L.A. song. "Said she met him on the net What happened to your dreams? Limitless at our fingertips | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sugarcult | Back to California | A 2004 ballad from the alterative rock punk pop whatever band from Santa Barbara. Seems like this guy is thinking about driving to California to make up with his ex girlfriend but realizing that won't ever happen. "You're gone How long I'll wait Leave it all the fights and all | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Supertramp | Breakfast in America | Supertramp was an English rock band formed in 1969. This song is from the band's 1979 album "Breakfast in America." "Take a look at my girlfriend Take a jumbo across the water Could we have kippers for breakfast I'm a winner, I'm a sinner Don't you look at my girlfriend (girlfriend) Take a jumbo cross the water | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Supertramp | Gone Hollywood | This song is from the band's 1979 album "Breakfast in America." "It's just heartbreaking It was a sight to see It's such a shame about it I'm in this dumb motel Ain't nothing new in my life today I've had too much cryin', seen too much grief Ain't nothing new in my life today Ain't nothing new in my life today If we only had time, only had time for you It was a heartbreaking So keep your chin up boy There's no use in quitting | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Taylor Swift | White Horse | Taylor Swift is a singer-songwriter originally from Pennsylvania. This is a pop country breakup song about a Prince who turned out to be not so charming, and a singer who realizes she's not living in a fairy tale or a Hollywood movie with a happy ending. It's from her best-selling Grammy-Award-winning album Fearless (2008). "Say you're sorry That I'm not a princess, this ain't a fairy tale, | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Matthew Sweet | Come to California | Sweet released this one in 1997. It's got his typical high tenor and backed by rocking boogie guitars and bongos. "Started with a rose, ended up a millionaress queen Flew into L.A., caught a screening of your lifelong dream Come to California (come to California) ooooo oooooo ooooo Come to California, baby let it all hang out | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Tancred | Bed Case | Tancred is the solo project of singer-songwriter Jess Abbott along with two other musicians. This is an upbeat power-pop song from her third Tancred album "Out of the Garden" released in 2016. There's only a brief reference to California in the song, but it really stands out, comparing someone to the state in an almost ecstatic moment. "I remember touching down These days I've become quite the bed case You make me feel like God You look like California You make me feel like God You make me feel like God | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Terri Tarantula | Shaker Star | Terri Tarantula is Terri Moeller, a member of Seattle Band "The Walkabouts" since 1991 and also a member of Seattle band "The Transmissionary Six." She released a solo CD in 2010 that includes this song which she wrote. I'm assuming that the song "Death Valley Rain" she mentions is the 2001 song by Steve Wynn, but I don't know that for sure. Also check out Eef Barzelay's cover of this song. "We could be unfettered Shaker shaker, start the car Let's fall in love with a song Sky might drench tomorrow Shaker shaker, start the car Let's fall in love with a song This might sound unteathered Shaker shaker, start the car Let's fall in love with a song | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Theory of a Deadman | Santa Monica | Theory of a Deadman is a Canadian rock band formed in 2001. This song is from their 2005 album "Gasoline." Wickipedia says that this song was used in the video game Fahrenheit/Indigo Prophecy, which makes me wonder if video games will be releasing soundtracks some day. This is another song about a girlfriend who leaves for California (Santa Monica) presumbably to find fame and stardom. In the song it's not clear what happens to her, but in the video she ends up as a hooker with a pink wig working on Santa Monica Boulevard. Maybe the song is actually named after the Boulevard and that's why the song is not named "Hollywood" or "L.A." or "California" like all the others. "She fills my bed with gasoline And I remember the day when you left for Santa Monica It hurts to breathe And I remember the day when you left for Santa Monica I wanted more than this I needed more than this And I remember the day when you left for Santa Monica And I remember the day when you left for Santa Monica | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| They Might Be Giants | San Francisco (Fillmore) | They Might Be Giants, aka TMBG, is a rock band formed in New York in 1982. This is the only song I know where every word of the lyrics is a place in California, specifically a street in San Francisco. I'm a little bit disappointed they couldn't squeeze in Columbus or Grant or even Montgomery, where I wasted away too many good years. "Golden Gate Van Ness Anaheim (Anaheim House of Blues) "Oh, put away that crack pipe L. A. (West Hollywood House of Blues) "There's a band that's living in L.A. And at the House of Blues in | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Thirty Seconds to Mars | City of Angels | Thirty Seconds to Mars is a rock band from Los Angeles fronted by lead vocalist Jared Leto, who is also an Oscar-winning actor and film director. This song is from their 2013 album "Love, Lust, Faith and Dreams." Leto says that the song is the story of his brother (the drummer for the band) and his travels to Los Angeles to make their dreams come true. "It's a love letter to that beautiful and bizarre land." "Lost in the City of Angels; Bought my fate The silver of a lake at night; Lost in the City of Angels; | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| B. J. Thomas | Everybody Loves a Rain Song | B.J. Thomas is a singer from Houston, Texas, probably best known for his number one hit "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head" from the 1969 movie "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid." This is an easy listening single from 1978. If everybody loved your hit song about rain, it makes sense to sing another one. And dig that sitar that comes out of nowhere in the middle of the song. "I heard about it raining on a Georgia night She was a rainy day woman Everybody loves a rain song Everybody loves a rainbow | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Dante Thomas (featuring Pras) | Miss California | This is a 2001 R&B song about a California Girl - the rich kind, with diamonds, jet skis and a Ferrari. Dante Thomas is an American man living in Germany, Pras is a rapper from New Jersey, formerly with the Fugees. The song was bigger hit in Europe than in California. "She's Miss California, hottest thing in west L.A. She's a rich girl from the top of the food chain In a couple a days she had me a bracelet made | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Three Dog Night | Never Been to Spain | Three Dog Night was an American rock band from L.A. who recorded a bunch of hit songs in the late 60s and early 70s, mostly written by other songwriters. This nonsense rock song, written by Hoyt Axton, was a top 10 hit in 1971. I just had to include it on this list because of the rare reference to Needles, even though the name was only used because it rhymes with Beatles. Nobody would take the 40 to Needles when they're driving to Vegas from southern California or Arizona unless they're coming from Blythe, maybe, or Lake Havasu. Axton released his own version of this song years after Three Dog Night. "Well, I've never been to Spain They don't abuse it Well, I've never been to England Can you feel it? Well, I've never been to heaven In Oklahoma, not Arizona Oh, I've never been to Spain They don't abuse it Well, I've never been to heaven In Oklahoma, not Arizona | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Three Doors Down | Be Like That | 3 Doors Down is a rock band formed in Mississippi in 1996. This song is from the band's multi-platinum-selling debut studio album "The Better Life" released in 2000. "He spends his nights in California, If I could be like that, Now and dreams we run If I could be like that, I'm falling into this, dreams, | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Thrills, The | Santa Cruz | This Irish indie rock band took a summer vacation in Santa Cruz and ended up with several indie pop hits, including this one from 2003. "Well tell me Oh you gotta be, oh you gotta be Cos Santa Cruz | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Thrills, The | Big Sur | One of those 'baby please don't go' songs from the same 2003 album as "Santa Cruz." "So much for the city Hey, hey you're the monkees Just don't go back to Big Sur | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tim Dog | F**k Compton | Tim Dog was a rapper from New York City. This savage 1991 diss track rips the entire L.A. gangsta rap scene - the artists, the music, and the fashion. It reflects the resentment some N.Y. hip-hop artists had for West Coast artists who had become very popular, many with connections to the city of Compton, notably N.W.A. whose album "Straight Outta Compton" released in 1988 was a huge hit. I don't know if this song started the East Coast/West Coast hip-hop wars that five years later contributed to the deaths of two of the biggest artists on each coast, Tupac Shakur and Notorious B.I.G., but it certainly helped to fan the flames. "Oh s**t motherf***ers step to the rear and cheer F**k Compton (Why you dissing Eazy?) F**k Compton Tim Dog and I'm the best from the East F**k Compton | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tony! Toni! Toné! | It Never Rains (In Southern California) | Toni! Toni! Toné! is an R&B group from Oakland that had its biggest success in the 80s and 90s. This was a #1 R&B hit from 1990. The title is almost the same, but it's not a cover of the Albert Hammond song. "I haven't seen your face in a year It never rains in southern California Maybe I'll take the flight out tonight It never rains in southern California Now I can't sleep at night Oh it may be cold on the East Coast We have so much to talk about 'Cause they tell me... It never rains in southern California | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tool | AEnema | Tool is a progressive metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1990. This is the title track from their very popular 1996 album. The song won the Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance in 1998. They don't have much good to say about their home town in this song, which is described as "...a great big festering neon distraction..." a "...hopeless f**king hole..." and "...a bulls**it three ring circus sideshow...." If they added something about smart phones in the lyrics, you would hardly know the song is more than 25 years old. Nevertheless, the people in Yuma are still waiting for their beachfront property. "...Some say the end is near Of freaks here in this hopeless f**king hole we call L.A. Fret for your figure and fret for your latte and Of freaks here in this hopeless f**king hole we call L.A. Hey, hey, hey, ... Some say a comet will fall from the sky Learn to swim, learn to swim, learn to swim, learn to swim F**k L. Ron Hubbard, and f**k all his clones Learn to swim, learn to swim, learn to swim, learn to swim Yeah, f**k retro anything, f**k your tattoos Learn to swim, learn to swim, learn to swim, learn to swim Yeah, f**k smiley glad-hands with hidden agendas Learn to swim, learn to swim, learn to swim, learn to swim 'Cause I'm praying for rain Yeah, time to bring it down again | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mel Tormé | L. A. (California Suite) | Mel Tormé was an American singer, songwriter, musician, actor, and author whose singing career spanned 65 years. His album "Mel Tormé's California Suite" was released in 1957 though it was first written in 1949. I have included only a few songs from the album below, but I'll add more. They are some of the most unintentionally funny songs about California I've heard. The whole project feels like it was commissioned by the California Chamber of Commerce as a recruiting tool. (The organization is even mentioned in one of the songs.) It's hard to believe that 60 years ago people were still trying to encourage immigration into the state where "La Jolla won't annoy ya" and "La Mesa, what a place-a...." Sammy Davis Jr. also recorded a 24 minute version of the California Suite in 1964. "There's an old familiar bromide Musicians, technicians, and electricians on the job Don't call us | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mel Tormé | La Jolla (California Suite) | "La Jolla won't annoy ya La Mesa what a place-a Salinas is as keen as it can be You'll feel better in Murietta Stomp your feet over Montecito Go insane for the lovely terrain wait and see Think about all the fun you've missed (Woman) West Coast schmest coast (Mel) We got colleges We've got title bouts Dreary days are so very few We got West Coast by far the most And California has everything conducive to fun (Woman) Well are you done with your list? (Mel) No, I've only just begun Arrowhead and Catalina We think the West Coast is the best coast in the land We love Diego, San Francisco, San Jose There's not a thing about them I would change in any way | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mel Tormé | San Fernando Valley (California Suite) | This very strange song starts with a long instrumental with horse clomping sounds, a banjo, and a string orchestra that sounds like it strayed out of an old western. Then there are a few lyrics, and the music inexplicably changes to sexy jazz saxophone until the very end when it returns to the old west now with a female chorus. "If you're tired of dodging taxis on the city streets | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mel Tormé | We Think the West Coast is the Best (California Suite) | "I think the West Coast is the best coast in the land We got the bluest water and the whitest sort of sand We got the kind of neighbors who lend each other a hand If there ever was a California rooter, I'm it It's the climate Love San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose Palm Springs, Vallejo, Modesto, hoo-ray Love Santa Barbara We are quite sure a few | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tower of Power | The Oakland Stroke | Tower of Power is an American horn-based funk band formed in Oakland in 1968 and probably best known for the 1973 song "What is Hip." This song is from their 1974 album "Back to Oakland." When I lived in Oakland, I was not aware that there was a stroke, or that it had once been lost, so I have no idea what this means, other than being an excuse to get people to get up and dance, and really, what more does music need to do? "They done found the stroke, They done found the stroke, They done found the stroke, They done found the stroke, | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Umberto Tozzi | California | A song from 1994 from an Italian pop rock singer. He sings it in Italian so I put some of the Italian lyrics into a web translator and this is what came out (I hope it makes better sense in Italian.) "Lights on you California | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Train | California 37 | Train is a rock band formed in 1993 in San Francisco. Finally somebody wrote a song about Highway 37 - which runs between Vallejo and Novato. I hope this means that the 94 will finally get its song, and maybe the 168, too, and let's not forget the 395. "Knock knock, who's there? I was looking for some heaven Here's to those who didn't think Train could ever roll again I was looking for some heaven | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Train | Save Me San Francisco | This song is from Train's 5th studio album. Save Me, San Francisco, released in 2009. It charted as a top 10 single. "I used to love the tenderloin I've been high, I've been low, Oh, oh Every day so caffeinated I never knew all that I had, I've been up, I've been down, | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Transplants | California Babylon | From the 2002 first album by the punk rock/rap group formed by members of the band Rancid along with musicians from Slackers and Blink-182. "Waitress out dressed like nurses in bondage Don't say that you don't understand | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tribe Called Quest, A | I Left My Wallet in El Segundo | New York hip-hop group A Tribe Called Quest were pioneers of Alternative hip-hop in the late 80s. This is the debut single from their debut album "People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm" released in 1990. It's a road trip fantasy song about losing a wallet. I know that driving from Brooklyn to El Segundo in California takes more than the two and a half days drive mentioned in the song, which might indicate that the El Segundo of the song is only a fantasy place, but for more than 25 years I have not been able to see or hear the name of the city in LA County without thinking of this song, so this will always be a California song for me. Left my wallet in El Segundo I left my wallet in El Segundo My mother went away for a month-long trip (Well describe to me what the wallet looks like) Anyway a gas station we passed Yo, it was a brown wallet, it had props numbers Lord, have mercy | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Trippie Redd | Topanga | Trippie Redd is a rapper from Ohio. This melodic sung rap song is from his third mixtape "A Love Letter to You 3" released in 2018. Topanga is a bohemian community in the Santa Monica Mountains which has been home to plenty of musicians and filmmakers and other artists. "....Don't talk to strangers | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tubes, The | White Punks on Dope | The Tubes are a rock band based in San Francisco. This is from their 1975 debut album The Tubes. The Pacific Heights the singer comes from was a very affluent neighborhood in 1975, but that was when much of the city was still affordable. Now every neighborhood is probably more expensive than Pacific Heights was then. The song was also covered by Motley Crue in 2000. "Teenage had a race for the night time We're white punks on dope Other dudes are living in the ghetto We're white punks on dope I go crazy 'cause my folks are so f***ing rich We're white punks on dope | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tyga | Goddamn | Tyga is a rapper from Compton California. (There must be something in the water there that creates rappers.) When this song was released way in April 2019, Georgia rapper Lil Nas X was on top of the pop charts with his country trap song Old Town Road. The video for this song is similar to that yeehaw challenge with Tyga rapping to old guys with tin foil grills playing banjos and dancers sliding their boots on the floor of a country bar. But the song is basically just a dirty sex rap, the sort that I usually don't like, but this one has a good hook that I can't stop playing. "...Slide to the left, slide to the left Make a loyal b**ch unloyal I'm a California n***a in a yellow Lamborghini | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tyga (featuring The Game) | It Neva Rains | This is from Tyga's 2013 album "Hotel California." For the record, the average annual rainfall total in Los Angeles based on the average for 1981-2010 was almost 15 inches. It must rain sometime. It neva' rains in Southern California Uh fresh off the runway, today gon' be a good day ... ... ... ... It neva' rains in Southern California oh To live and die in L.A. It neva' rains in Southern California, | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| U2 | California (There is No End to Love) | U2 is a rock band formed in 1976 in Dublin Ireland that has made a gazillion dollars and won a bazillion awards. (Feel free to quote those statistics.) This song is from the album Songs of Innocence (2014). "Barbara, Santa Barbara (x10) California, then we fell into the shining sea All I know | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Undisputed Truth, The | California Soul | A 1971 Motown psychedelic soul cover of the Marlena Shaw song mentioned above. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Unemployed, The | Funky Thing Part 1 and Funky thing Part 2 | I don't know anything about this band. The song was recorded in Jackson Mississippi, so maybe that's where they were from. The record was released in 1970 in two parts, both of which mention California. The song lyrics refer to L.A. in Part 1 and California in Part 2 in a list of locations where some unidentified persons refered to only as "they" are doing a thing that is only described as "funky." The exact nature of the thing that is funky that is being done by the unidentified persons is not revealed in the lyrics, but instead the music appears to be intended to communicate the thing that is funky and to induce the listener to do the thing. At the end the little brother of one of the singers comes out to explain how to do the funky thing, which involves picking up a foot, putting it down, and shaking everything from the waist all down. We are also informed in the lyrics about some chickens that get funky after dark and we hear one of the finest chicken solos in all of funkdom. But that's beyond the scope of this list and is more appropriate for a list of funky chicken songs. Funky Thing Part 1 "They're doin' a funky thing They're doin' a funky thing Funky Thing Part 2 "They're doin' a funky thing | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Unified Theory | California | Unified Theory is a rock band formed in Seattle made of ex Blind Melon and Pearl Jam musicians. This song, from an album released in 2020, is about the downside of the good life in the Golden State. "Blue skies have chased me away from a simple life | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| United States of America, The | The American Way Of Love | The United States of America was an experimental rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1967, known for their early use of electronic instruments. This is a three-part piece from their only studio album "The United States of America" released in 1968. It's a riotous mix of noise and instruments and samples of other music that sounds years ahead of its time. Part I: Metaphor for an Older Man "Cripple Sam and Joo McGoo And watch the queens do their thing And a dollar ninety-five And every night you will find Part II: California Good Time Music Hmm-hmm, we can make California good-time music Now you know I'm not the first one (California good-time music) We'll have good-time music (Good-time music) Part III: Love Is All Love? Love? Love? Love? If I should meet you on the streets someday (streets someday) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Usher (featuring Tyga) | California | Usher is a Grammy-Award-winning singer/songwriter/actor, etc. from Texas/ Tennessee/Georgia. Tyga is a rapper from California. This song comes from the June, 2020 season finale of Songland, a songwriting competition TV series. "They done opened Atlanta It's been a while now, hope you don't hate me How they doin' it in California? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Vampire Weekend | California English | Vampire Weekend is a rock band formed in 2006 in New York City. This is a nice upbeat tune with Afro pop guitar and drums and crazy use of autotune on the vocals from the 2010 album "Contra." You'll have to figure out yourself what "California English" means because I don't know. "Gage me with a spoon," alluded to in the first line, is "Valley Girl" talk, so I suspect the woman of the song is a California girl. Contra Costa is a county in California, but it could mean something else in the context of the song. "Wouldn't ever gag you with a spoon, my only true love Someone took a trip before you came to ski in the Alps Blasted from a disconnected light switch No one sits inside a freezing flat and stays there 'til May Blasted from a disconnected light switch Sweet carob rice cake Cuz if that Tom's don't work And if it's all a curse Blasted from a disconnected light switch | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Vampire Weekend | Step | Another good song from the band's 2013 release "Modern Vampires of the City." I remember people selling those Communist readers on the streets when I lived in Berkeley. I bet they're still selling them. "Every time I see you in the world, you always step to my girl Back back way back I used to front like Angkor Wat The gloves are off, the wisdom teeth are out | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Vampire Weekend | This Life | The poor guy singing this song thought that there was no pain and no rain in California.A nother reference to the scarcity of precipitation in The Golden State. Florida's "The Sunshine State. So where are the songs about no rain in Florida? Oh right ... hurricanes. Whatever, the song is from the long-awaited 2019 album "Father of the Bride" from this band from New York, The Empire State, where apparently they're only concerned with money and power, not the weather. "Baby, I know pain is as natural as the rain Baby, I know dreams tend to crumble at extremes You've been cheating on, cheating on me | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sharon Van Etten | Malibu | Sharon Van Etten is a singer-songwriter originally from New Jersey. It's not easy to describe her music. I really don't like genre categories because they're never consistent. On her albums the genre is listed as either Alternative, Alternative Rock, or Indie Rock, but some people call it Indie Folk. I've been a fan since her first record so I just file it under great music. There were rumors she was going to retire from music after her 2014 album, but fortunately five years later she released another album "Remind Me Tomorrow" (including this song) which adds more electronic instruments to her sound. "The 1" is highway 1 which gets you to Malibu, or, as I prefer it, gets you out of there. "We held hands as we passed the truck I walked in the door Yeah, that little red number | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Victor & Leo | Não vá pra California | Victor & Leo are a Latin-Grammy-Award winning Brazilian sertanejo duo of two brothers from Brazil. Sertanejo is a style of Braziian country music that has become the most popular style of music of the 21st century, so far. There are several versions of this song on YouTube. I like this one best, which I think is a promo cd version. "Espere um pouco Amor, não vá pra California Não pense, não espere que vou impedir Amor, não vá pra California Antes do seu avião subir, saudade vai chegar Just in case you are not fluent in Google Translate, as I am, here's a translation: "Wait one moment Love, don't go to California Don't think, don't wait, I'll stop Love, don't go to California Before your plane goes up, nostalgia will arrive | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Village People | In Hollywood (Everybody Is a Star) | Village People is a disco band created in 1970s New York City, named after Greenwich Village, home to a large gay population. The band targeted the gay disco audience with the band members dressing in costumes depicting macho male stereotypes. "Macho Man" and "YMCA" were two of their biggest hits. This song is from the group's self-titled first album, released in 1977. "Take a bus, a train or a plane to Hollywood | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Village People | San Francisco (You've Got Me) | This is another song from the band's eponymous 1977 album. San Francisco was one of the few relatively gay-tolerant cities in the USA in the 1970s. (Relatively - we should not forget the assasination of Harvey Milk.) So the city was an obvious subject for a song. "(Folsom), Folsom Street, on the way to (Polk and Castro) Dress the way you please and put your mind at ease (San Francisco), San Francisco (San Francisco), San Francisco | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bryce Vine | Drew Barrymore | I don't know what this obsession with Drew Barrymore is about. SZA had a song with the same name in 2017. This one never really mentions her, using only the name Drew Barry, which makes me want to substitute the name Drew Carey instead. Bryce Vine is the stage name of a rapper from New York City who lives in L.A. (2018). This is a song about a guy who is so obsessed with having sex everywhere in his house that he is neglecting the maintainence of his household appliances - the TV is broke and the air conditioner doesn't work. And worse, his girl has no clothes to wear except an old T-shirt. To make up for that, he wants to fly her some place special, but he can't decide between flying to Cairo and flying to L.A. That's a choice we all face at some time in our lives. So far I've never chosen Cairo, but you never know, maybe some day I will. Extra credit to Vine for the nice Natural Born Killers reference that made me look it up. "I want this forever Love the way you shiver 'Cause you're the next Drew Barry 'Cause you're something like the summer 'Cause you're the next Drew Barry I wanna make 'Cause you're the next Drew Barry | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bryce Vine | La La Land | Another song from rapper Bryce Vine, this was released in 2019. (He also released another version that features Compton Rapper YG.) "Oh s**t, you live in the Canyon La la la la la Hey baby, waste your time with me in California (California) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Loudon Wainwright III | Grey in L.A. | L. W. III is a songwriter, folk singer, and the father of all those other Wainwright singers, including Rufous below. This is from his album "Strange Weirdos: music from and inspired by the film "Knocked Up" from 2007 "When it's grey in L.A. I sure like it that way And I sure love the sound of the rain pouring down And I suppose that they'll close canyon roads When it's grey in L.A. it's much better that way | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rufus Wainwright | California | Rufus is not a fan of the Golden State. Too much neon and too many surfers and part time models for his liking. "I don't know this sea of neon California, California | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tom Waits | Heartattack and Vine | Tom Waits is a singer-songwriter-composer-actor and more who was born in Pomona, California in 1949. He's been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and named one of the 100 greatest songwriters by Rolling Stone magazine. He has never achieved a lot of mainstream commercial success, but he has influenced many other musicians and has a large international following. This song is from the album by the same name, released in 1980. (The song refers to the intersection of Hollywood and Vine in Hollywood. The RTD is the old name for the Los Angeles bus system.) "Liar, liar with your pants on fire Doctor, lawyer, bcatch my eggarman, thief Boney's high on China white, Shorty found a punk See that little Jersey girl in the see-through top Better off in Iowa, against your scrambled eggs | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tom Waits | Hold On | This song is from Waits' 1999 Grammy-award-winning album "Mule Variations." In this moody and beautiful song (one of his best IMHO) another young woman took that California trip. "They hung a sign up in our town Oh you got to hold on, hold on Well, he gave her a dimestore watch Oh, but you got to hold on, hold on Well, God bless your crooked little heart Oh, you've got to hold on, hold on Down by the Riverside motel A song called "Hold On," hold on | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tom Waits | San Diego Serenade | This is from Tom Waits' second album "The Heart of Saturday Night," released in 1974. It never mentions the city except in the title, but he does sing about his "hometown" which at one time was San Diego. "I never saw the morning 'til I stayed up all night I never saw the white line, 'til I was leaving you behind I never saw the east coast 'til I move to the west | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wall of Voodoo | Wrong Way to Hollywood | Wall of Voodoo is the L. A. new wave group that brought us the hit song "Mexican Radio" in 1983. They also did a nice cover of "Ring of Fire" the Johnny Cash song. This song is a b-side to "Far Side of Crazy" and it was also on their album "The Ugly Americans in Australia" recorded live in Australia in 1987. It's another look at the dark side of the Hollywood dream as it degenerates into drugs and prostitution. "He walked into a mexican restaurant | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wall of Voodoo | Hollywood the Second Time | This is from Wall of Voodoo's 1987 album "Happy Planet." "I-65, Illinois moon. Hollywood the second time, West lane is choked, Hollywood the second time, Thanks for the ride, Hollywood the second time, | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Morgan Wallen | More Than My Hometown | Morgan Wallen is a country singer-songwriter from Tennessee. This song is a single from his as yet unreleased second album to be released some time in 2020. "Girl, our mamas are best friends and so are we That I love you more than a California sunset I ain't the runaway kind, I can't change that I love you more than a California sunset | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wallflowers, The | Back To California | This is an uptempo rock song from the roots rock band formed in L.A. in 1989 by frontman Jakob Dylan. It's off their Rebel, Sweetheart album released in 2005. This one's not about coming to California, or leaving the state, but returning to its sanctuary from what seems to be some kind post-apocalyptic war zone. The younger Dylan has his father Bob's talent for poetic imagery in a song, for sure. "Feels like a ghost here in this room Let's move back to California The days keep coming and the years overlap Let's move back to California We've got California in our eyes | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wang Chung | To Live and Die in L.A. | Wang Chung is a new wave band formed in 1980 in London. This song is from William Friedkin's great 1985 genre-bending crime movie also titled To Live and Die in L.A. "In the heat of the day I wonder why I live alone here I wonder why we waste our lives here | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| War | L.A. Sunshine | War (Originally Eric Burdon and War) is an American funk band from Long Beach that originally included Eric Burdon of the great British band "The Animals." This song is from their 1976 album "Platinum Jazz." "... L.A. is my home town Get on down, get on down, get on down Me get high off the sunshine L.A. is my home town Get on down, get on down, get on down | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| War | Summer | War had many big hits, including this one, which was the only new track from their 1976 "Greatest Hits" record, which seems kind of prescient. I enjoy the shout-outs to Disneyland and Malibu, but better yet are the mentions of Eight-tracks and CB Radios. Only in the 70s. "Ridin' 'round town with all the windows down 'Cause it's summer Stretched out on a blanket in the sand 'Cause it's summer In Atlantic City or out in Malibu Cause it's summer | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| M. Ward | Girl From Conejo Valley | M. Ward is a singer-songwriter who also works with the groups She & Him and Monsters of Folk. This is from Ward's 2016 album More Rain. It's indie folk with some vintage synth sounds thrown in. Conejo Valley stretches from Ventura to L.A. County so maybe he knows the area since he grew up in Ventura County. "Slow bring winter heart, | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Anna Waronker | California Fade | Anna Waronker is a singer/songwriter from Los Angeles. This is from her album "California Fade" released in 2011. "Things move slowly We'll go together Oh, this mess of mine I'm just hoping Let me out there Oh, this mess of mine | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Dionne Warwick | Do You Know the Way to San Jose? | Dionne Warwick is a Grammy-award-winning, 85-million-record-selling singer and actress from New Jersey. I'm sorry to spoil it for you, but she was not really born and raised in San Jose, and neither were either of the writers of this song, Burt Bacharach and Hal David, but nobody made great breezy pop songs like the three of them did throughout the '60s and '70s, as this 1968 hit proves, along with the string of other hits they produced, including Walk On By, Alfie, I Say a Little Prayer, This Girl's in Love with you, and I'll never Fall in Love Again. Just for the record, Dionne, if you're leaving from L.A., all you gotta do is just get on the 101 and drive north. It'll take you straight to The Capital of Silicon Valley, although these days there's a lot less space there - the techies have filled it all up. "Do you know the way to San Jose? L.A. is a great big freeway. You can really breathe in San Jose | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Dionne Warwick | 99 Miles From L.A. | This is a cover of a song Albert Hammond released in 1975. It's from Warwick's 2012 album "Now: A Celebratory 50th Anniversary Album" but I'm not sure when it was recorded. You can see the lyrics under Albert Hammond. While I like this version enough to put it on this list, which I don't always do with cover versions, I do find it hard to imagine Dionne Warwick behind the wheel on a long road trip, hittin' the John "Chuck" Erreca rest area in Firebaugh, or a Love's Truck Stop for a fill-up and some dasboard dining. I picture her making such a long trip in a private jet, or at least in a chauffeur-driven limo. After all, she's a national treasure. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Doc Watson | California Blues | This is Doc Watson's version of the often-covered 1928 Jimmy Rogers song mentioned above under Merle Haggard's version. If you like a little yodeling with your slide guitar, you'll like this version. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mike Watt | Drove Up From Pedro | Mike Watt is a bass player, singer, songwriter originally from Virginia who co-founded the San Pedro rock bands Minutemen, Dos, and Firehose, among and other projects, and his solo career. This song is from his first solo album, "Ball-Hog or Tugboat?" released in 1995. (The Germs were one of the original L.A. punk bands in the late 1970s.) "Now this Pedro dude had the attitude New years show, drove up from Pedro Glad to chow on some squid Drove up from Pedro, from Pedro he drove And for work he does gigs Drove up from Pedro, from Pedro | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weeknd, The | Escape From L.A. | The Weeknd is the stage name of Abel Makkonen Tesfaye, an award-winning and massively successful Canadian singer-songwriter, who thinks three "e"s in a word are too many. OK, that's his right. This song is from his 2020 album "After Hours" which features the unlikeable character we meet in this song. (The bloody-faced guy on the album cover.) It's a complaint by a famous rich guy who isn't happy with his life, but needs to make sure we know just how rich and successful and sexed up he is, driving around town in his product placement Porsche. I can really relate do this guy... or maybe not, but I do like the Keanu Reeves references. This tormented character and his hellish version of L.A. are right out of the world of Reeves' movie "Constantine," as well as the nightmare L.A. of the movie "Escape From L.A.," same as this song's title. "You pillow talk to me about the men who try to get in between us Well this place is never what it seems Yeah This place (this place) is never what it seems Whoa, no, oh, no, no She pulled up to the studio L.A. girls all look the same | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weezer | Beverly Hills | Weezer is a power pop/rock band from L.A. formed in 1992. This song is from their 2005 album, "Make Believe." Rivers Cuomo, the singer and songwriter, claims that it was not written to be sarcastic, that's just how it was received. Like everyone else but him, I like to see it as biting social satire. "Where I come from isn't all that great I didn't go to boarding schools Beverly Hills... That's where I want to be! (gimme, gimme) I wanna live a life like that Beverly Hills... That's where I want to be! (gimme gimme)(gimme gimme) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weezer | California Kids | This is from Weezer's 2016 album titled The White Album. "When you wake up Chorus: It's gonna be alright In your bare feet (Chorus) All your old friends It's gonna be alright | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weezer | (Girl We Got A) Good Thing | This is from The White Album, released in 2016. For some crazy reason the singer thinks you can get to Puerto Rico by driving the 101 into Ventura. "Girl, we got a good thing Jingle, jingle Girl, we got a good thing Puerto Rico Girl, we got a good thing | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weezer | Hash Pipe | There are lots of different verison of the lyrics for this song online. For example, "Down on Santa Monica" (Blvd.) - a street notorious for its trick-turning prostitutes - I think the lyrics should read "tricks aren't for kids, while most lyrics show "tricks are for kids" because that's how the cereal slogan goes. Either way, this is another bone-crunching guitar rock gem from the 2001 album "Weezer" aka "The Green Album. " I can't help my feelings C'mon and kick me I can't help my boogies | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weezer | L.A. Girlz | In this song from the band's excellent 2016 album called The White Album, erudite singer and songwriter Rivers Cuomo quotes Lewis Carroll's Jabberwocky and makes reference to Dante's dedication to Beatrice in The Inferno along with lifeguard towers on Santa Monica Beach. Who cares what it means. It rocks. Chorus: I think I'm in whiplash (Chorus) So would you mind if I was pregnant? Does anybody love anybody as much as I love you, baby?...." | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weezer | Thank God for Girls | This is another weird song from Weezer, released in 2015 and featured on 2016's Weezer (The White Album.) I have no idea why the singer doesn't thank God for girls from east of Tennessee, and I don't know why he's fixated on cannoli and sweaty girls in overalls. "The girl in the pastry shop with the net in her hair Thank God for girls She's so big I'm so glad I got a girl to think of even though she isn't mine Thank God for girls | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The Welcome Matt | In San Francisco (Wake Me Up) | The Welcome Matt is a band based in San Francisco fronted by Matt Langlois, a longtime San Francisco transplant originally from New England. This song is from the band's album "The Panhandle Years" released in 2012. "Wake me up in San Francisco! Driving in over the Bay Bridge Wake me up in San Francisco When the fog rolls over the ocean Wake me up in San Francisco Wake me up in San Francisco Going home | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Emily Wells | Los Angeles | Emily Wells is an American musician from Amarillo and Indianapolis. She plays violin and lots of other instruments including sampling synthesizers and mostly produces, records, and performs her albums on her own. I have heard two versions of this song. One is a very minimal acoustic version from her 2013 album Mama Acoustic Recordings. The other is a longer version with more instrumentation and a more rythmic feel that comes from her 2016 album Promise, to which I have provided a link. I couldn't find the minimal version anymore. "Her mouth, it was moving and we were always dreaming of the day that would never come She knew how to teach them boys to fight Los Angeles | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Emily Wells | Take it Easy, San Francisco | This is from her 2016 album Promise. It's very minimallly arranged with just a reggae ryhthm plucked on a violin, her voice, and voice overdubs. And it doesn't even mention San Francisco in the title, and maybe in the words "gloomy afternnon" which accurately describes a lot of summer days there. "Tell me what you've done to me Where do you go with your wiles and your woes Can we please take it easy Half of heart break is knowing the ropes Can we please take it easy Don't stop talking to me Don't stop talking to me | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Kanye West (featuring Kendrick Lamar) | No More Parties In L.A. | Kanye married a Kardashian and lives near L.A., so I'll bet he still has to go to parties in L.A. This is basically a couple of rich and famous L.A. rappers complaining about all the fake rich and famous people in L.A. It's from The Life of Pablo (2016.) "La di da di da, da No more parties in L.A. Hey baby you forgot your Ray Bans Scary | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Brooke White | California Song | An upbeat country California song from 2009 about California songs where everybody lives like they are living in the movies. From what I remember of 2009, the movies were a blend of The Grapes of Wrath and Mad Max, with The Terminator in charge of Sacramento. (I lived more like an extra in Bladerunner.) "America sang me all the way across Ventura Highway Now freeway's frozen and the traffic's jammed Hey, everybody has their song, everybody sing along The weather on the Golden Gate And it's so funny how everybody lives | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Whitney | No Woman | Whitney is an Indie Rock / Indie Folk band from Chicago that includes a couple members of the defunct band Smith Westerns. This song is from their 2016 debut album "Light Upon the Lake." There's a good article on bandcamp about the song, its creation during hard times and a brutal Chicago winter and dreams of going on the road and escaping to the sunny haze of a winter in L.A. "I left drinking on the city train No woman Midnight driving through the bay No woman I left drinking on the city train | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wilco | California Stars | On the 1998 Grammy-winning album "Mermaid Avenue," Billy Bragg and the band Wilco take turns writing new melodies for lyrics that the great folk singer/songwriter Woody Guthrie wrote but never published. In this one, Guthrie wrote about resting his head and dreaming his troubles away on a bed of California stars. Jeff Tweedy and Jay Bennett from Wilco put a beautiful melody to it. "I'd like to dream Jump up from my starbed So I'd give this world | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lucinda Williams | Here in California | This is my favorite cover of the Kate Wolf song. It comes from a 1998 Kate Wolf tribute album. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lucinda Williams | Ventura | Lucinda Williams is a singer & songwriter born in Louisiana. I've been a fan of hers since the 90s but I don't know how exactly to describe her music - she has won Grammy awards in the Country, Rock, and Folk categories. The singer of this song seems to live in L.A. and wants to drive north along the coast to Ventura to let the ocean purify herself of a mysterious hidden obsession. "Decide I'm gonna make myself Haven't spoken to no one I go out with a friend I wanna watch the ocean bend Put on my coat Take the long way home Drive up the coastline I wanna watch the ocean bend Stand in the shower Lean over the toilet bowl I wanna watch the ocean bend | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Robbie Williams | I Will Talk and Hollywood Will Listen | Robbie Williams is an English singer, songwriter and actor formerly with the pop group Take That. He was at one time the best-selling British solo artist in the UK and may still be for all I know. This dramatic name-dropping pop song is from his 2001 album, "Swing When You're Winning." "I wouldn't be so alone I will talk and Hollywood will listen Buy up the rights to my book I will talk and Hollywood will listen | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gretchen Wilson | California Girls | In this 2005 Country reply to the Beach Boys, Gretchen is another hater of the unreal image of women depicted by Hollywood. Worst of all, those skinny little girls don't even eat fried chicken! "I ain't never had a problem with California Ain't you glad we ain't all California girls | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nancy Wilson | I'm Always Drunk in San Francisco (And I Don't Drink at All) | Nancy Wilson is a Grammy-winning American song stylist originally from Ohio. This brassy nightclub jazz ballad is from her 1968 album "Welcome to My Love." In the San Francisco of 1968 I'll bet you could get high just breathing the air - in certain parts of town at least. I vote that we retire the Tony Bennett anthem and use this one now. "I'm always drunk in San Francisco It never happens nowhere else I'm always drunk in San Francisco I guess it's just the mood I'm in | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Kate Wolf | Here in California | This is a well-known and often covered song by the San Francisco folk singer/songwriter (who died too young of leukemia in 1986) from her 1981 album "Close To You." "When I was young my mamma told me She held me round the shoulders Here in California | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Kate Wolf | Redtail Hawk | This is a folk song written by George Schroder in 1975 from her 1986 album "Gold in California" which was released posthumously. (Most of the lyrics I found online use the line "it's just something that needs another's hand" but Wolf sings "but there's just some things that need a man's hand.") "The redtail hawk writes songs across the sky It's been so long love since you said goodbye Yes, a neighbour came today to lend a hand The redtail hawk writes songs across the sky | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bobby Womack | California Dreamin' | Womack turned the Mamas and the Papas' classic into a soul classic. (It was nicely used in the 2010 British film Fish Tank, also.) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| World/Inferno Friendship Society, The (aka "World Inferno," The Wifs" or "Inferno") | All of California and Everyone Who Lives There Stinks | This is a band from Brooklyn fronted by Jack Terricloth. This song was the b-side to the 1996 single "Our Candidate." Although I don't agree with the title, I can enjoy a good California hate song that debunks the myth that if you just drive west, "Things will be better in California." "Don't stop when you hit the Ocean" is sound advice. Maybe things will be better in Hawaii? Japan? "Good Luck, Bad Luck Stop your crying, keep on driving You don't care what you're finding | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| A$ton Wyld | Next Level | Aston Wylde is an Australian singer/songwriter. This song is from the soundtrack to "Fast and Furious Present: Hobbs & Shaw" released in 2019. That's where I heard it. "I'm on the next level, yeah Ooh ah ooh way I'm on the next level | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Steve Wynn | Death Valley Rain | This Steve Wynn is not the billionaire who builds casinos, he's the singer/songwriter who led the band The Dream Syndicate from 1981 to 1989 and after 2012. This is from his 2001 solo album "Here Come the Miracles." "I'm buying time Riding against the minutes We come alive Riding against the minutes. The moon it shines Riding against the minutes | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| X | Los Angeles | I wore out my cassette copy of this great L.A. punk band's amazing 1980 album "Los Angeles" while driving up and down I-5 between L.A. and San Francisco in the '80s. "She had to leave Los Angeles. She seems to be a racist in the rest of the lyrics, so good riddance to her. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Charli XCX | Boys | Charli XCX is a pop singer and songwriter from the UK who has written some very successful songs for other singers, most notably so far - Iggy Azalea's "Fancy." There's only a brief mention of L.A. in this single from 2017, but after hearing so many songs sung by guys bragging about having girls all over the world, it's refreshing to hear a song about a woman with a similar one track mind. (This song pairs well with "Girls" by the Beastie Boys.) "I was busy thinkin' 'bout boys, boys, boys I need that bad boy to do me right on a Friday And when they finally leave me, I'm all alone but I'm sorry that I missed your party But I was busy thinkin' 'bout boys, boys, boys In every city I've got one with different ringtones I'm sorry that I missed your party I was busy thinkin' 'bout boys, boys, boys | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Neil Young | California Sunset | If there was a Mount Rushmore of Rock, Neil Young would be on it. He's a Canadian born Hall of Fame and award-winning singer-songwriter who has lived in California since the 1960s. He's been a member of Buffalo Springfield and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, and has made many solo albums, some with his backing band Crazy Horse. In this song he uses violins and pedal steel guitar and praises his adopted land while thinking aboot the land of cold wind and snow he came from. "I remember long ago Land of beauty, space and light | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Neil Young | Heart of Gold | This is from Young's hit album "Harvest" released in 1972. So far it is his only Billboard Hot 100 #1 single. He used some great Nashville session musicians on the album and the country influence is present on this song, too. "I want to live And I'm getting old I've been to Hollywood And I'm getting old Keep me searching for a heart of gold | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Neil Young | Hitchhiker | In this candid autobigraphical song from 2010, Young recounts his life journey as a musician from Canada to California, and from one drug to another. "You didn't see me in Toronto Then I tried amphetamines Then came California But the neon lights | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Neil Young | Out On the Weekend | This is from Young's 1972 big hit country rock album "Harvest." "Think I'll pack it in The woman I'm thinking of, See the lonely boy, She got pictures on the wall, The woman I'm thinking of, See the lonely boy, | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Youngbloods, The | Hippie From Olema No. 5 | The Youngbloods was a rock band formed in New York City in the mid '60s fronted by Jesse Colin Young and known mostly for their anthemic version of "Get Together." This song is from the band's 1971 album "Good and Dusty." It's a response to Merle Haggard's hit "Okie From Muskogee," which disses "the hippies out in San Francisco," and in return disses the racism, consumerism, and lack of respect for the environment of the "Okies." Both characterizations were bigoted and wrong, of course, but subtle social commentary doesn't sell songs. Check out the lyrics to Haggard's song to better understand these lyrics. (Olema is a community in Marin County that's so small you'd miss it if there wasn't a stop sign. It's a nice place to stay in a B&B, though, if you want to stay overnight near Pt. Reyes National Seashore. I have no idea if any of The Youngbloods ever lived there, but I suspect they just needed the name a small northern California town with three syllables. Also, I have no idea what "No. 5" means, unless it means there at least 4 other hippies in the town.) "Well I'm proud to be a hippie from Olema We don't watch commercials in Olema And I'm proud to be a hippie from Olema We don't throw our beer cans on the highway And I'm proud to be a hippie from Olema | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Youth Brigade | Sink with California | Youth Brigade is a hardcore punk band formed by three brothers in 1980 in Hollywood. This song is from the 1983 version of their album "Sound & Fury." "Well I've been around the country and I've met a lot of kids. And we'll sink with California when it falls into the sea Oi I'm not from England, We'll sink with California when it falls into the sea. From the mountains, to the prairies | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| James Yuill | Crying for Hollywood | James Yuill is an English musician whose style Wickipedia labels "folktronica" which is a good description of his electronic dance sound with an acoustic feel. This is from his album Movement in a Storm (2010). "What a day this I'm watching the shadows fall away You discovered a rainbow Better late than You discovered a rainbow | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Frank Zappa | Uncle Remus | This is a progressive rock song from Zappa's 1974 album "Apostrophe." People used to put statues on their front lawn next to the street depicting African American jockeys holding rings that could be used as hitching posts for horses. These "lawn Jockeys" are what Zappa is referring to in this song. Most people consider them symbols of racism but others point out that colored ribbons tied to the jockeys were a system of communication with escaping slaves in the days of the Underground Railroad. "Woah, are we movin' too slow? Just keep yer nose | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Frank and Moon Zappa | Valley Girl | Legendary singer-songwriter, guitarist and ex-Mother of Invention Frank Zappa and his 14-year-old daughter Moon had a big hit in 1982 with this lampoon of the language of teenage girls from the San Fernando Valley. Unfortunately, it only popularized the stereotype and "Valspeak" until most young girls talked that way. "Valley girl On Ventura, there she goes | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention | San Ber'dino | This is a crazy progressive rock song from the band's last studio album "One Size Fits All" released in 1975. "She lives in Mojave in a Winnebago She's in love with a boy He got slobberin' drunk at the Palomino Well there's forty-four men You may think they're Looka there . . . Best-est way that The rest of their lives Say now, Oh Bobby, I'm sorry you gotta head like a potato | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Arizona Zervas | Roxanne | Arizona Zervas is a singer/songwriter from Maryland. This melodic sung rap song was a big hit on the pop charts in 2019. The Roxanne here is not the girl from the Police song with the red light on, she's a rich girl from Malibu who lives on a diet of cocaine and Whole Foods when she's not dining at NOBU or partying in Beverly Hills, and she only rides in foreign convertibles. I'll keep the top down on my Yugo for her. "All for the gram Roxanne Met her at a party in the Hills, yeah She from Roxanne I just wanna have fun! Up In Roxanne | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Warren Zevon | Carmelita | Warren Zevon was a musician and singer/songwriter from Chicago who produced a number of great rock hits beginning in the 1960s. He spent a lot of time living in California, mostly in L.A., which explains his many L.A. song references.This song is from his 1976 album "Warren Zevon." This is a quiet acoustic rock song with a beautiful melody and a dark subject - the singer, a writer with a Mexican girlfriend, has a drug problem in downtown L.A. Linda Ronstadt and others have covered the song, but Zevon wrote it, and I prefer to give credit to the songwriters, without whom singers are just paperweights. "Carmelita hold me tighter Well, I pawned my Smith Corona | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Warren Zevon | Desperados Under the Eaves | This song is from the album "Warren Zevon" released in 1976. Beach Boy Carl Wilson sings background vocals as Zevon sings an autobiographical story about about an alcoholic in a cheap hotel trying to make it in Los Angeles. According to his son, when he was just starting out Zevon lived in the Hollywood Hawaiian Hotel on Gower street but couldn't pay his bill so he climbed out the bathroom window (like a desperado under the eaves). He later returned to settle the debt. "I was sitting in the Hollywood Hawaiian Hotel And if California slides into the ocean Don't the sun look angry through the trees Still waking up in the mornings with shaking hands I was sitting in the Hollywood Hawaiian Hotel Look away | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Warren Zevon | Gorilla, You're a Desperado | This song about L.A. celebrity life is from Zevon's album "Bad Luck Streak in Dancing School" released in 1980. In looking that up, I just learned that the term "dancing school" has been a euphemism for a brothel since the mid-17th century, and that L'Emitage is a luxury boutique hotel in Beverly Hills, built in 1975. Thank you Wickipedia. "Big gorilla at the L.A. Zoo I wish the ape a lot of success They say Jesus will find you wherever you go He built a house on an acre of land Then the ape grew very depressed Big gorilla at the L.A. Zoo | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Warren Zevon | Gridlock | This is from Warren Zevon's album "Trasverse City" released in 1989. It's a subject almost everyone can relate to. According to Mary McGhee, who told me about the song "[Zevon] never actually mentions LA, and plenty of other places have horrendously jammed-up freeways. But he gives it away when he talks about the CHP [California Highway Patrol], and taking the RTD (LA's regional transit agency prior to 1993)." "It's 5:00 P.M. on a weekday, friend Gridlock Oh yeah, ain't it a shame Gridlock It's 5:00 PM on a weekday, friend Gridlock | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Warren Zevon | Join Me in L.A. | This song is from Zevon's second album "Warren Zevon" released in 1976. The Tropicana was a cheap motel in West Hollywood where a lot of musicians and actors stayed or lived in the '60s and '70s. The list of musicians is amazing. It includes Joan Jett, the Ramones, Jim Morrison, The Byrds, Iggy Pop, Alice Cooper, Tom Waits, Janis Joplin, Blondie, Bob Marley, Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham, Sly Stone, Bruce Springsteen, Frank Zappa, Led Zeppelin, The Mamas and the Papas, the Beach Boys, and Martha and the Vandellas. Andy Warhol even filmed two of his underground movies there in the '70s. So of course they tore it down. Maybe that place is evil. "Well they say this place is evil Well, they say this place is evil It was midnight in Topanga wake up . . . wake up I was at the Tropicana | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rob Zombie | (Go To) California | Rob Zombie is a musician and filmmaker who helped to found the heavy metal band White Zombie. I tend to like his insane horror movies more than his music, but this song's pretty good. It's from his album "The Sinister Urge" released in 1998. It's heavy metal but with horns. So, horny metal? "Blonde haired baby standing by the road Get up get out Get up get out Lon Chaney calling | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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ÂCountry Song Let That Black Dress Hit the Floor
Source: http://www.californiaherps.com/info/songsaboutcalifornia.html