‘California Dreamin’ by The Mamas & the Papas is easily one of the most iconic songs ever recorded. The nostalgic tune was written by John and Michelle Phillips and is often seen as one of the greatest songs to emerge out of the 1960s. In this article, I will delve into the story, meaning, and legacy behind the song.
The Story Behind the Song
‘California Dreamin’ was written during the cold winter of 1963. At the time, newlyweds John and Michelle Phillips were living in New York City. The two initially met each other in San Francisco, where Michelle worked as a model and John passed by whilst touring with his band The Journeyman. After falling in love, the two moved to New York City and began writing songs together.
It wouldn’t take long before the cold New York winter made Californian Michelle long for the warm climate of her home state. Inspired by Michelle’s homesickness, John began writing the song. After a late-night songwriting session – which John was known for – he woke up Michelle to show her ‘California Dreamin’.
“He plays me the first verse of ‘California Dreamin,’ and I said, ‘That’s really beautiful, John.’ Michelle Phillips reflected. “He says, ‘Get up and help me write it… You’ll thank me for this someday’ [laughs]. So, I got up and wrote the second verse. Then I said, ‘Just go back to that first verse that you read, and that’s it. It sounds great.’ He said, ‘Thanks, honey.’ And I went back to sleep. I had no idea how that was going to change my life.”
More than a year after writing the song, in early 1965, John and Michelle Phillips formed The Mamas & the Papas together with Denny Doherty and Cass Elliot. A few months later, musician and friend Barry McGuire arranged an audition for the quartet with Dunhill Records owner and producer Lou Adler. The audition granted The Mamas & the Papas a five-year record deal.
To thank Barry McGuire, John and Michelle Phillips allowed him to record ‘California Dreamin’ with The Mamas & the Papas providing (their iconic) backing vocals. Producer Lou Adler was impressed with the talent of the quartet and encouraged The Mamas & the Papas to release the song themselves. Using the same instrumental track as Barry McGuire’s version, papa Denny Doherty re-recorded the lead vocal of the song.
2 years after John and Michelle Phillips wrote the song, on December 8, 1965, The Mamas & the Papas released ‘California Dreamin’ as a single. The song reached the Billboard Hot 100 in January 1966 and eventually peaked at number 4. ‘California Dreamin’ was also chosen as the top single at Billboard’s end-of-the-year survey in 1966.
The Meaning of the Song
‘California Dreamin’ is a song about Michelle Phillips’ desire to escape the cold winter of New York City and return to her sunny home state California. Phillips later funnily reflected: “I didn’t have any gloves. I didn’t have a hat. I was like, ‘Who would live here?”
John Phillips wrote the chorus of the song and Michelle Phillips wrote the song’s only verse. The verse concerns Michelle’s visit to the St. Patrick Cathedral in Manhattan a few weeks before writing the song. The verse’s lyrics ‘And I pretend to pray’ were originally ‘And I began to pray’, but the other members of the group misheard the lyric.
“We were on the road after the song was a hit and I was doing a sound check with Cass [Elliot], and I sang the lyric,” Phillips told the LA Times. “She looked at me and said, ‘Wait, what did you say? I thought the lyric was ‘I pretend to pray.’ That’s how she had been singing it all along!”
The Legacy of California Dreamin’
Over the years, ‘California Dreamin’ grew out to be one of the most iconic songs to emerge out of the ’60s. The nostalgic song is the embodiment of the California Sound and is seen as a counterculture anthem.
‘California Dreamin’ is covered by many artists, including The Beach Boys, Bobby Womack, Sia, and Jose Feliciano. But none come close to the iconic version of The Mamas & the Papas.
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