"Born in East L.A." is a single by Cheech & Chong, released in September 1985. It is a parody of

Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter. He has released 21 studio albums, most of which feature his backing band, the E Street Band. Originally from the Jersey Shore, he is an originat ...

's "

Born in the U.S.A. ''Born in the U.S.A.'' is the seventh studio album by American recording artist Bruce Springsteen, released by Columbia Records on June 4, 1984. It topped the charts in nine countries, including the US and UK, becoming his most commercially su ...

", with references to the song "

I Love L.A. "I Love L.A." is a song by Randy Newman. It was originally released on his 1983 album '' Trouble in Paradise''. The song is about Los Angeles, California, and its hook is its title, repeated, each time followed by an enthusiastic crowd cheering, ...

" by

Randy Newman Randall Stuart Newman (born November 28, 1943) is an American singer-songwriter, arranger, composer, and pianist known for his Southern American English, Southern-accented singing style, early Americana (music), Americana-influenced songs (often ...

. The song reached 48 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Written by

Cheech Marin :''The surname'' Marin ''is of Spanish language origin. In Spanish, it is spelled'' Marín'', with an acute accent on the'' í. Richard Anthony "Cheech" Marin (born July 13, 1946) is an American actor, musician, comedian, and activist who gained ...

, the song's lyrics deal with a Mexican-American from

East Los Angeles East Los Angeles ( es, Este de Los Ángeles), or East L.A., is an unincorporated area in Los Angeles County, California. As of the 2020 census it had a population of 118,786, a drop of 6.1% from 2010, when it was 126,496. For statistical purpo ...

who is mistaken for an undocumented immigrant and deported. The song served as the basis for the film of the same name, directed by Marin.

Background

wrote the song without his comedy partner Tommy Chong, although Chong was credited for the song's writing on the album and single. Chong was subsequently insulted when Marin asked him to perform backup vocals on the song, and it was recorded without Chong. It is one of only two Cheech & Chong songs written solely by one member of the duo and not in collaboration, the other being Tommy Chong's "Up in Smoke".

Music video

A music video for the song was produced and appeared in the home video release ''Get Out of My Room''. The video featured appearances from

Cassandra Peterson Cassandra Peterson (born September 17, 1951) is an American actress. She is best known for her portrayal of the horror hostess character Elvira, Mistress of the Dark. Peterson gained fame on Los Angeles television station KHJ-TV in her stage ...

as Elvira, Mistress of the Dark, Jan-Michael Vincent, Ángel Ramírez and Sal Lopez.

Reception

The song was released as Springsteen's "Born in the U.S.A." tour was ending, missing the top 40 on the US pop chart. The subsequently released music video became popular.

Charts

Film

The song served as the basis for the film '' Born in East L.A.'', directed by Marin, which also starred the role alongside Paul Rodriguez, Daniel Stern,

Kamala Lopez-Dawson Kamala Lopez is an American filmmaker, actress, writer, director, and political activist. She has had starring roles in '' Black Jesus'', ''Medium'', ''24'', ''Alias'', ''NYPD Blue'', ''Hill Street Blues'', ''Miami Vice'', and ''21 Jump Street''. ...

, Jan-Michael Vincent and Lupe Ontiveros. The film debuted well in its first week but dropped by 40% in its second week at the box office.

References