California Girls

Infobox Single
Name = California Girls


Artist = The Beach Boys
Album = Summer Days (And Summer Nights%21%21)
A-side =
B-side = "Let Him Run Wild"
Released = July 12, 1965
Format = Vinyl
Recorded = track: April 6, 1965; Western Studios
vocals: June 4, 1965; Columbia Records Studio
Genre = Pop music
Length = 2:38
Label = Capitol
Writer = Brian Wilson/Mike Love
Producer = Brian Wilson
Audio sample? =
Certification =
Last single = "Help Me, Rhonda"/"Kiss Me, Baby"
(1965)
This single = "California Girls"/"Let Him Run Wild"
(1965)
Next single = "The Little Girl I Once Knew"/"There's No Other (Like My Baby)"
(1965)
Misc =

"California Girls" is a song written by Mike Love and Brian Wilson and recorded by The Beach Boys in 1965. It features contrasting verse-chorus form. The song was released as a single, reaching #3 on the "Billboard" Hot 100. It also appeared on the album "Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!)".

RRHF500|California Girls Rolling Stone ranked it #71 on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

Recording

The music for the song came from Brian Wilson's first LSD experience. [cite news
last = Boucher
first = Geoff
title = ‘California Girls’ The Beach Boys | 1965
pages = F-4
language = English
publisher = Los Angeles Times
date = 2007-08-12
url = http://articles.latimes.com/2007/aug/12/entertainment/ca-socalsong12
accessdate = 2008-08-17] According to Brian Wilson himself, shortly after taking LSD, he ran up to a bedroom and hid under a pillow, shouting "I'm afraid of my mom, I'm afraid of my dad." Randomly, he got up, said "That's enough of that" and went to a piano. He started playing in the bass the B-F#-G# pattern over and over, and then added in the right hand after a few minutes a B chord, moving to an A chord. Within a half hour, he had come up with the "well east-coast girls are hip, I really dig the styles they wear" part of the song.

The next day, he and Mike Love (who had allegedly not consumed illicit substances) supposedly finished off the remainder of the song; interestingly, take 8 announces the song as "You're Grass and I'm a Power Mower," (other takes indicate the title of the song was not yet finalized, and it is referred to by various names).

"California Girls" was the first Beach Boys recording to feature vocals from Bruce Johnston, who had joined the group to substitute for Brian Wilson on concert tours.

References

The song has been prominently referenced by other artists on more than one occasion. Most notably, the Beatles' "Back in the U.S.S.R." is considered an homage to the song.

On her 2005 album, "All Jacked Up", Gretchen Wilson (no relation to the Wilson brothers) performs a song composed with John Rich entitled "California Girls". Her song, a unique composition rather than a cover of the Beach Boys original, is instead a country-styled retort to Beach Boys song, featuring a chorus that asks, "ain't you glad we ain't all California girls?".

In Brian Wilson's 1998 concert "Live at the Roxy" he referred to "California Girls" as the theme song of The Beach Boys. Ricky Martin sang a cover version on "An All-Star Tribute to Brian Wilson (2001)." The song has been also heard in the pre-title sequence of the James Bond movie (Starring Roger Moore) , "A View to a Kill" in 1985.

This song can be heard at the beginning of "Rush Hour 2" where main characters Lee (played by Jackie Chan) and Carter (played by Chris Tucker) sing along to the song as it plays on the radio. In "Rush Hour 3", Lee uses it as his ringtone when Carter calls him at the beginning, and later on in the movie a french performer sings the song on the street where Carter is eating dinner.

The song was sampled by rapper Tyga in his demo song titled 'California Girls' as part of the CitizensFOB mixtape.

Musicians

*Hal Blaine - drums
*Frank Capp - vibraphone
*Roy Caton - trumpet
*Jerry Cole - 12-string guitar
*Al de Lory - organ
*Steve Douglas - tenor saxophone
*Al Jardine - vocals
*Bruce Johnston - vocals
*Carol Kaye - bass guitar
*Mike Love - lead vocals
*Jay Migliori - baritone saxophone
*Jack Nimitz - bass saxophone
*Lyle Ritz - upright bass
*Howard Roberts - guitar
*Leon Russell - piano
*Billy Strange - tambourine
*Brian Wilson - vocals
*Carl Wilson - 12-string guitar, vocals
*Dennis Wilson - vocals

David Lee Roth cover

Infobox Single
Name = California Girls


Artist = David Lee Roth
Album = Crazy from the Heat
A-side =
B-side =
Released = 1985
Format = CD single
Recorded = 1985
Genre = Pop music
Length = 2:50
Label = Warner Bros.
Certification =
Last single =
This single = "California Girls" (1985)
Next single = "Just a Gigolo"/"I Ain't Got Nobody" (!985)
Misc = "California Girls" was covered by Van Halen lead singer David Lee Roth on his 1985 EP "Crazy from the Heat" (with background vocals contributed by Beach Boy Carl Wilson along with Christopher Cross), and like the original it topped at #3 on the "Billboard" Hot 100.

Music video

The iconic music video for the cover, directed by Pete Angelus and David Lee Roth, was released in February, 1985. [http://www.mvdbase.com/video.php?id=24052] Roth stars as a tour guide, showing tourists the beach and the obligatory swimsuit models. The scenes follow the lyrics with bikini-clad women from all regions of the United States. An often imitated scene has Roth dancing down a sidewalk bordered by models frozen in mannequin poses. It was nominated for several 1985 MTV Video Music Awards.

See also

*List of songs by The Beach Boys

References