[nickcarraway]

The Mamas & The Papas "California Dreamin'" (September 24, 1967) On The Ed Sullivan Show

[dfwgator]

Too bad John Phillips was such a sicko in real life.

[Libloather]

[Steely Tom]

I remember it very clearly. I was in fifth grade. There were so many good songs during that time, in 1965 and '66; California Dreamin' was just one of them. A few years earlier, I had spent six months in Santa Monica; I walked to school every day, and I thought California was terrific. I didn't exactly miss it; I always believed I'd be able to go back and it would be the same as I remembered.

The story I heard was that the song came to John Phillips as he was waking up in a cheap NYC hotel next to Michelle. It was in the pre-dawn hours. He woke her up, asked her to write down what he sang, and said "this is going to make us rich." I don't think her contribution went beyond transcribing the words, I don't know if she also wrote down the music (I doubt it).

I saw an interview with Paul McCartney in which he was asked "how did you manage to make your songs so catchy?" He answered "we didn't have a tape recorder back then, the songs had to be catchy, or we'd forget them." Maybe that's how Phillips remembered the music.

I liked I Saw Her Again Last Night as much as I liked California Dreamin'. It came out six months later, in June 1966.

[Montana_Sam]

Great vocals and harmonies! Lots of good memories.
Thanks for posting.

[kawhill]

Yes, John and Michelle Phillips had one child together during their marriage, daughter Chynna Phillips, born on February 12, 1968. Chynna later became famous as a singer in the trio Wilson Phillips. They were pretty good too.

[qam1]

Michelle Phillips and the Banana

Got love it

[sit-rep]

Kudos!! Classic Indeed!!

I’m a Rocker from the beginning but ALWAYS appreciated talent no matter the form!! Cass Elliot truly had a set of pipes on her!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZ0PZRYin2s&list=RDZZ0PZRYin2s

[MplsSteve]

In the 1980 movie “The Hollywood Knights”, there’s a touching scene in which the song is played in the background.

I think that scene is still available on YouTube.

[Fiji Hill]

On July 27, 1966 I was sitting behind a flatbed truck carrying crates of tomatoes that was stopped at a red light in Naples. On the car radio, Sognando la California (California Dreaming) by the Dik Diks was playing. Suddenly, two scugnizzi, the infamous Neapolitan juvenile delinquents which have plagued Naples since the days when the inhabitants spoke Greek, darted out and helped themselves to a couple of crates of tomatoes from the truck and then fled into an alleyway.

I would not hear the Dik Diks' opus again until Youtube came along.

[MotorCityBuck]

The big gal sure could carry a tune

https://youtu.be/fJwjLYRPxJY

Dream a Little Dream.👍