"California Dreamin" is a song written by

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

and

Michelle Phillips Holly Michelle Phillips ( Gilliam; born June 4, 1944) is an American singer, songwriter and actress. Described by ''Time (magazine), Time'' magazine as the "purest soprano in pop music", she rose to fame in the mid-1960s with the folk rock vocal ...

in 1963 and first recorded by

Barry McGuire Barry McGuire (born October 15, 1935) is an American singer-songwriter primarily known for his 1965 hit " Eve of Destruction". He was later a singer and songwriter of contemporary Christian music. Early life McGuire was born in Oklahoma City; ...

. The best-known version is by the Mamas & the Papas, who sang backup on the original version and released it as a single in December 1965. "California Dreamin became a well-known example of the " California sound", and the

1960s counterculture The counterculture of the 1960s was an anti-establishment cultural phenomenon and political movement that developed in the Western world during the mid-20th century. It began in the early 1960s, and continued through the early 1970s. It is oft ...

era. It was certified three-times platinum by the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

in June 2023 and was inducted into the

Grammy Hall of Fame The Grammy Hall of Fame is a hall of fame to honor musical recordings of lasting qualitative or historical significance. Inductees are selected annually by a special member committee of eminent and knowledgeable professionals from all branches of ...

in 2001. In 2021, ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' placed the song at number 420 in its "

500 Greatest Songs of All Time "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" is a recurring song ranking compiled by the American magazine ''Rolling Stone''. It is based on weighted votes from selected musicians, critics, and industry figures. The first list was published in December 2 ...

" list.

History

The song was written in 1963 while John Phillips and

were living in New York City during a particularly cold winter, and the latter was missing sunny California. John would work on compositions late at night and brought Michelle the first verse one morning. At the time, John and Michelle Phillips were members of the folk group the New Journeymen, which evolved into

the Mamas and the Papas The Mamas & the Papas were an American folk rock vocal group that recorded and performed from 1965 to 1968, with a brief reunion in 1971. The group was a defining force in the music scene of the counterculture of the 1960s. Formed in New York C ...

. They earned their first record contract after being introduced to Lou Adler, the head of Dunhill Records, by

. In thanks to Adler, they sang the backing vocals to "California Dreamin, with members of the session band the Wrecking Crew, on McGuire's album ''This Precious Time''. Adler, impressed with the Mamas and the Papas, then had the lead vocal track re-recorded with

Denny Doherty Dennis Gerrard Stephen Doherty (November 29, 1940 – January 19, 2007) was a Canadian singer, songwriter and musician. A tenor, he was a founding member of the 1960s musical group the Mamas & the Papas for which he was inducted into the Rock ...

singing, but paired with the same instrumental and backing vocal tracks, and an

alto flute The alto flute is an instrument in the Western concert flute family, pitched below the standard C flute and the uncommon flûte d'amour. It is the third most common member of its family after the standard C flute and the piccolo. It is chara ...

solo by

Bud Shank Clifford Everett "Bud" Shank Jr. (May 27, 1926 – April 2, 2009) was an American alto saxophonist and flautist. He rose to prominence in the early 1950s playing lead alto and flute in Stan Kenton's Innovations in Modern Music Orchestra and thro ...

, reportedly improvised. The guitar introduction was performed by P. F. Sloan. McGuire's original vocal can be briefly heard on the left channel at the beginning of the record, having not been completely erased. The single was released in late 1965 but was not an immediate breakthrough. After gaining little attention in Los Angeles, a radio station in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

was the catalyst to break the song nationwide. After making its chart debut in January 1966, the song peaked at No. 4 in March on both the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, lasting 17 weeks, and '' Cashbox'', lasting 20 weeks. "California Dreamin was the top single on the ''Billboard'' end-of-the-year survey for 1966. As well, it tied for #1 on the Cashbox end-of-the-year survey with SSgt. Barry Sadler's " Ballad of the Green Berets". "California Dreamin reached number 23 on the UK charts upon its original release, and re-charted after its use in a Carling Premier commercial in 1997, peaking at number nine. ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' described the song as having "a fascinating new sound with well written commercial material" and praised Lou Adler's production." ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', is an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' described it as a "medium-paced, rhythmic shufflin' romantic woeser icwith a plaintive, lyrical undercurrent." The song is used repeatedly in the 1994 Hong Kong film ''

Chungking Express ''Chungking Express'' is a 1994 Hong Kong anthology crime dramedy film written and directed by Wong Kar-wai. The film consists of two stories told in sequence, each about a lovesick Hong Kong policeman mulling over his relationship with a woma ...

'' as a central plot point and a cover by

the Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American Rock music, rock band formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian Wilson, Brian, Dennis Wilson, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and their f ...

was used on season 4 of ''

Stranger Things ''Stranger Things'' is an American television series created by the Duffer brothers, Duffer Brothers for Netflix. Produced by Monkey Massacre Productions and 21 Laps Entertainment, the Stranger Things season 1, first season was released on N ...

''. Michelle Phillips wrote the lyrics, "Well, I got down on my knees / And I pretend to pray," but

Cass Elliot Ellen Naomi Cohen (September 19, 1941 – July 29, 1974), known professionally as Cass Elliot, was an American singer. She was also known as "Mama Cass", a name she reportedly disliked. Elliot was a member of the singing group the Mamas & the P ...

had sung "began" on the original recording and had continued doing so on tour until corrected by Phillips.

Personnel

According to Dan Daley: The Mamas & the Papas *

lead and harmony vocals *

harmony vocals * John Phillipsharmony vocals *

harmony vocals Additional musicians *

flute * The Wrecking Crew **

Hal Blaine Hal Blaine (born Harold Simon Belsky; February 5, 1929 – March 11, 2019) was an American drummer and session musician, thought to be among the most recorded studio drummers in the music industry, claiming over 35,000 sessions and 6,000 singles. ...

drums **

Larry Knechtel Lawrence William Knechtel (August 4, 1940 – August 20, 2009) was an American keyboard player and bassist who was a member of the Wrecking Crew, a collection of Los Angeles–based session musicians who worked with such renowned artists as Sim ...

piano **

Joe Osborn Joe Osborn (August 28, 1937 – December 14, 2018P.F. Sloanacoustic guitar Production * Lou Adlerproducer *

Bones Howe Dayton Burr "Bones" Howe (born March 18, 1933) is an American record producer and recording engineer who scored a string of hits in the 1960s and 1970s, often of the sunshine pop genre, starting in 1965 with The Turtles (band), the Turtles cover o ...

engineering Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...

Chart history

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Other versions

America version

In the spring of 1979, the band

America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

reached No. 56 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 with their remake of "California Dreamin which was the first studio recording by America as the duo of Gerry Beckley and Dewey Bunnell without third founding member Dan Peek, who had departed the group in 1977. Bunnell – who sang lead – and Beckley – who sang background – self-produced the track which featured America's touring musicians: David Dickey, drummer Willie Leacox, guitarist Michael Woods, percussionist Tom Walsh, and Jim Calire who played keyboards and also saxophone. America performed "California Dreamin at least once in concert in 1974, "California Dreamin being a sentimental favorite of the band's members having been a setlist staple of the

cover band A cover band (or covers band) is a band that plays songs recorded by someone else, sometimes mimicking the original as accurately as possible, and sometimes re-interpreting or changing the original. These remade songs are known as cover songs. N ...

in which all three had performed while London Central High School students in the late 1960s. The recording of "California Dreamin by America was specifically made to play under the closing credits of the

American International Pictures American International Pictures, LLC (AIP or American International Productions) is an American film production company owned by Amazon MGM Studios. In its original operating period, AIP was an independent film production and distribution c ...

(AIP) movie release '' California Dreaming'' which had been shot in the final months of 1977 for release in the summer of 1978 although the movie was held back from wide release until March 16, 1979 with America recording the song "California Dreamin in the autumn of 1978:''Detroit Free Press'' "Shirlebreties" by Shirley Eder November 30, 1978, p.17B Beckley and Bunnell agreed to record the song after being (at least partially) shown the movie – (Gerry Beckley quote:) "We liked what we saw" – and the track was recorded at Studio 55 (Hollywood): (Gerry Beckley quote:) "We did it more as a rock thing ompared to the original

ith The Ith () is a ridge in Germany's Central Uplands which is up to 439 m high. It lies about 40 km southwest of Hanover and, at 22 kilometers, is the longest line of crags in North Germany. Geography Location The Ith is i ...

a full sound but reliant on the harmonies." The track was originally scheduled for a January 15, 1979, release which was delayed until after AIP's February 1979 pacting with

Casablanca Records Casablanca Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group and operated under Republic Records. Under its founder Neil Bogart, Casablanca was most successful during the disco era of the mid to late 1970s. The label focuses ...

to distribute the ''California Dreaming'' soundtrack, Casablanca having recently managed to bolster the modest success of the film '' Thank God It's Friday'' through a hit soundtrack album: the recording of "California Dreamin by America was therefore given parallel release with the movie, another soundtrack item: "See It My Way" by session group F.D.R., serving as

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

. Both the America single and (in April 1978) the soundtrack album were issued by AIP on its own label (distributed by Casablanca): outside the US and Canada, Casablanca acted as label of release. By the spring of 1979, America were involved in sessions for their

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007), and simply known as Capitol, is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-base ...

debut album ''

Silent Letter In an alphabetic writing system, a silent letter is a letter that, in a particular word, does not correspond to any sound in the word's pronunciation. In linguistics, a silent letter is often symbolised with a null sign , which resembles the ...

'' and were either unable or uninterested in promoting their version of "California Dreamin which single proved unable to buoy its parent film's faltering box office take. However the publicity inherent in the film's release was evidently enough to afford minor hit status to America's soundtrack item (heard in the film's trailer, America's "California Dreamin was also cited in the movie's poster), and despite its lowly chart peak, America's "California Dreamin remake was more successful than any of their first five Capitol single releases, none of which ranked in the Hot 100 (the band's sixth Capitol single release, " You Can Do Magic" in 1982 afforded the band a sole latter-day top ten hit). "California Dreamin continued to be featured in America's live gigs eventually being established as a mandatory America concert title. A live performance of the song by America is featured on '' In Concert'', the band's 1996 album release of a 1982 live gig. The band's 1978 recording was included on the 2000 America retrospective box set '' Highway: 30 Years of America'' as well as on '' The Complete Greatest Hits'' in 2001.

Beach Boys version

Background

The Beach Boys recorded "California Dreamin in 1986 for their greatest hits compilation '' Made in U.S.A.'' It was produced by

Terry Melcher Terrence Paul Melcher (; February 8, 1942 – November 19, 2004) was an American record producer, singer, and songwriter who was instrumental in shaping the mid-to-late 1960s California Sound and folk rock movements. His best-known contribution ...

and featured

Roger McGuinn James Roger McGuinn (; born James Joseph McGuinn III; July 13, 1942) is an American musician, best known for being the frontman and leader of the Byrds. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991 as a member of the band. As a so ...

the Byrds The Byrds () were an American Rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1964. The band underwent multiple lineup changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn (known as Jim McGuinn until mid-1967) being the so ...

12-string guitar A twelve-string guitar (or 12-string guitar) is a steel-string guitar with 12 strings in six courses, which produces a thicker, more ringing tone than a standard six-string guitar. Typically, the strings of the lower four courses are tuned in ...

. This version of the song was referenced in the lyrics of the Dead Milkmen's 1988 novelty hit " Punk Rock Girl". Although the song only charted at a modest No. 57 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, it reached No. 8 on the ''Billboard Adult'' Contemporary chart and it was supported by a music video that saw heavy rotation on MTV. The video featured the Beach Boys along with John Phillips, Michelle Phillips and

was on the East coast and declined;

had died in 1974.

Personnel

Credits sourced from Craig Slowinski and Andrew G. Doe. The Beach Boys *

Carl Wilson Carl Dean Wilson (December 21, 1946 – February 6, 1998) was an American musician, singer, and songwriter who co-founded the Beach Boys. He was their lead guitarist, the youngest sibling of bandmates Brian Wilson, Brian and Dennis Wilson, ...

–

vocals Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define sing ...

Al Jardine Alan Charles Jardine (born September 3, 1942) is an American musician who co-founded the Beach Boys. He is best known as the band's rhythm guitarist, background vocalist, and for occasionally singing lead vocals on singles such as number-one hit ...

– vocals *

Mike Love Michael Edward Love (born March 15, 1941) is an American singer and songwriter who is one of the vocalists of the Beach Boys, of which he was an original member alongside his cousins Brian Wilson, Dennis Wilson, and Carl Wilson and their frien ...

– vocals *

Brian Wilson Brian Douglas Wilson (June 20, 1942 – June 11, 2025) was an American musician, songwriter, singer and record producer who co-founded the Beach Boys. Often Brian Wilson is a genius, called a genius for his novel approaches to pop compositio ...

– vocals *

Bruce Johnston Bruce Johnston (born Benjamin Baldwin; June 27, 1942) is an American singer, songwriter and musician who is a member of the Beach Boys. He also collaborated on many records with Terry Melcher (his bandmate in Bruce & Terry, the Rip Chords, and ...

– vocals ;Additional musicians and production staff *

– 12-string lead guitar *Joel Peskin – saxophone * Jeff Foskett – possible vocals * Adrian Baker – possible vocals ''unknown'' –

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

, acoustic lead guitar,

synthesizer A synthesizer (also synthesiser or synth) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis a ...

Jose Feliciano version

Released as a single on

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records (its former longtime rival), Arista Records and Epic R ...

in the summer of 1968,

José Feliciano José Montserrate Feliciano García (; born September 10, 1945) is a Puerto Rican musician. He recorded many international hits, including his rendition of the Doors' " Light My Fire" and his self-penned Christmas song "". Music genres he explo ...

's arrangement reached number 43 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart and number 20 on the ''Billboard'' Rhythm & Blues Singles chart. The song was the A-side of a single which became a big hit when radio stations started to play the B-side with his cover of " Light My Fire", which reached number 3 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and was popular in many other countries around the world. This elaborate string version with jazz Latin influences serves as the opening track of Feliciano's 1968 hit album '' Feliciano!'' (Gold status in 1968), and was heard in a key sequence in Quentin Tarantino's 2019 film ''

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood ''Once Upon a Time...in Hollywood'' is a 2019 comedy-drama film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. Produced by Columbia Pictures in association with Bona Film Group, Heyday Films, and Visiona Romantica, and distributed by Sony Pict ...

'' and is included on its

soundtrack A soundtrack is a recorded audio signal accompanying and synchronised to the images of a book, drama, motion picture, radio program, television show, television program, or video game; colloquially, a commercially released soundtrack album of m ...

Personnel

Credits sourced from album liner notes. *

– vocals, guitar * Ray Brown – bass * Jim Horn – flute, alto flute *

Milt Holland Milton Holland (born Milton Olshansky; February 7, 1917 – November 4, 2005) was an American drummer, percussionist, ethnomusicologist and writer in the Los Angeles music scene. He pioneered the use of African, South American, and Indian perc ...

– percussion *

– vocals ;Additional musicians and production staff *

George Tipton George Aliceson Tipton (January 23, 1932 – February 12, 2016) was an American composer, musical arranger, and conductor, who is well known for his work in television and for his collaborations with singer-songwriter Harry Nilsson. Among ...

– orchestral arrangements * Rick Jarrard – producer

Freischwimmer version

A tropical house version by German DJ/remixer ''Freischwimmer'' was released in 2015. This version reached number one on the ''Billboard''

Dance Club Songs The Dance Club Songs (also known as National Disco Action, Hot Dance/Disco Club Play, and Hot Dance Club Play) was a chart published weekly between 1976 and 2020 by ''Billboard'' magazine. It used club disc jockeys set lists to determine the mos ...

chart in its February 13, 2016, issue. "Dreamin" had never before hit No. 1 on any ranking, making this version the first in its nearly 50-year history to reach the top spot on a ''Billboard'' chart."'California Dreamin' Hits No. 1 After 50 Years, Thanks to Dance Remix"
from ''Billboard'' (February 4, 2016)

References

External links

''California Dreamin
at

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(streamed copy where licensed)
NPR's "Present at the Creation" segment on the origins of the songTechnical article describing how California Dreamin' was originally mixedFacts and discussion about the songReview Of California Dreaming
* * {{authority control 1963 songs 1965 singles 1968 singles 1979 singles 1986 singles 2004 debut singles America (band) songs The Beach Boys songs Bobby Womack songs Capitol Records singles The Carpenters songs Dunhill Records singles Grammy Hall of Fame Award recipients José Feliciano songs The Lettermen songs The Mamas and the Papas songs Minit Records singles RCA Victor singles Royal Gigolos songs Sia (musician) songs Song recordings produced by Lou Adler Songs about California Songs about hippies Songs about Los Angeles Songs written by John Phillips (musician)

History

Personnel

Chart history

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Other versions

America version

Beach Boys version

Background

Personnel

Jose Feliciano version

Personnel

Freischwimmer version

See also

References

External links