Posted on 12/20/2024 4:03:09 PM PST by nickcarraway
Released in 1965, the record was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2001.
The Mamas & The Papas’ classic 1965 version of “California Dreamin’” has joined Spotify’s Billions Club. It’s the seminal California band’s first time achieving the milestone.
The group, fronted by Mama Cass, originally sang backup on the song, first released in 1963 by Barry McGuire. But their version would go on to endure as one of the most popular hits of the era.
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Click to load video Although “California Dreamin’” was released as a single in late 1965, it wouldn’t break through on the charts until 1966, after gaining some traction off Boston radio play. At the opening of the song, some of McGuire’s vocals are even still slightly audible.
The Billions Club certification is the latest in a long list of accolades achieved by the song since its release. The track has been certified three-times Platinum by the RIAA, and was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2001. In Rolling Stone’s 2021 ranking of the “500 Greatest Songs of All Time,” “California Dreamin’” came in at number 420.
Beyond the numbers, “California Dreamin’” has also left a notable cultural footprint. The song features as a prominent plot point in Hong Kong director Wong Kar-wai’s 1994 film Chungking Express. A popular Beach Boys cover of the track also appears, more recently, in the Netflix series Stranger Things, the streaming platforms most-watched original series of all time. In addition to The Beach Boys, the song has also been covered by the band America, the German DJ Freischwimmer, and the Puerto Rican singer José Feliciano.
Mama Cass had such a pure voice....
I always liked the way the background vocals did that little lilt upwards at the end of some of the lines, such as:
“All the leaves are brown-owwwn”
Both Spotify and Pandora are great. If you spend lots of time driving, you’ll get more than your money’s worth.
I remember a time when I was California dreamin’. I was on active duty and I wasn’t in California anymore.
Only if you have smoked about a pound of dope or drank a fifth of whiskey. That voice could be used for worming pigs.
I disagree, but everyone has their own tastes in these things.
I had a friend who said a new version of the Simon and Garfunkel song “Sound of Silence” blew away the original version (by “Disturbed”) and I didn’t care for it at all, except as an example of a cover that was very different from the original.
The original was haunting and beautiful, but the cover by Disturbed made me want to do myself in. (only kidding, but it didn’t evoke positive feelings in me)
Queen Latifah did a good version too.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJS8Vh09BGY
There are some nice covers on this album.
Great song. Has always been a favorite. :)
Of course, I HAD to go look! ;)
The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time
#50 to #1: SPOILER! #1. It’s Aretha Franklin! ‘Respect.’
https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/best-songs-of-all-time-1224767/
Milking the notes to great effect. Very effective technique for vocals as well as instruments. Interesting that you noticed that bit of artistic flair. :)
Well I love the arrangement in Lee Moses’ version. It starts off somber like the Mamas and Papas version. Then horns come in the second verse. It’s still somber but there are some discordant melodies and some odd 5th or 7th notes (forgive my terminology). But by the end the horn section chords change into something triumphant. Like he made it to California (real or imagined, as imagined in my mind).
Of course the M&P version is fantastic. I didn’t discover Lee Moses until decades after I first heard the billion play version.
Great song... songwriter John Phillips, per claims by his daughter(s), was a degenerate perv of the highest order, but, yeah, helluva song.
“The preacher locked the door. He knows I’m gonna stay.”
It always just appealed to me…it just sounded…beautiful. Like nothing else would have ever fit there so well…:)
Ha! And yes, Mama Cass' voice is phenomenal.
Exactly. Paul Simon told the Disturbed singer that he loved the cover, and the singer said he was honored. That was great.
But a poster on Facebook said that Simon and Garfunkel just “didn’t have it.” Yeah, they just wrote it and made it a monster hit. Sigh.
So let’s hear Disturbed’s cover of Cecelia or Me and Julio. Those songs need more growling. (And maybe more cowbell).
Speaking of cowbell, I do like The Bangles’ cover of Hazy Shade of Winter.
today’s version is california leaving...
I pretend to pray-the meaning? Please help.
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