Enlarge iStockphoto The rising sun sheds light on the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.
iStockphoto The rising sun sheds light on the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.
The California Dream, as both a myth and a reality, has inspired generations of songwriters. Everyone from Dust Bowl folksinger Woody Guthrie to pop star Katy Perry has written songs about the Golden State. But if you're expecting a sunny soundtrack full of California girls, surf and sun, you'll be surprised by the melancholy clouds that enshroud some of these songs.
They represent just about as many views of California as there are people who live here. The state with a "City of Angels" also boasts a Mount Diablo. So, while you're taking in the state's majestic beauty with The Decemberists' "California One/Youth and Beauty Brigade," don't be shocked if you next hear Death Cab for Cutie asking "Why You'd Want to Live Here."
There are so many songs written about California that it was hard to decide what to include. We asked listeners and staff to submit some of their favorites, and then dug deeper for songs that might reside under the radar — please feel free to suggest your own in the comments section below.
If there really is a "California State of Mind," maybe you'll find it somewhere in these songs. For some first-person stories from the musicians behind these songs, visit the KQED's California Report.
- Alejandro Escovedo, "California Blues"
- Albert Hammond Jr., "101"
- American Music Club, "Highway 5"
- American Music Club, "All the Lost Souls Welcome You to San Francisco"
- The Baseball Project, "Sometimes I Dream of Willie Mays"
- The Beach Boys, "California Girls"
- The Beach Boys, "California Saga-California"
- Billy Bragg & Wilco, "California Stars"
- Brian Wilson & Van Dyke Parks, "Orange Crate Art"
- Buck Owens & Dwight Yoakam, "Streets of Bakersfield"
- Call and Response, "California Floating in Space"
- Cheap Trick, "California Man"
- Chris Hillman & Herb Pedersen, "Bakersfield Bound"
- Chris Isaak, "San Francisco Days"
- Dave Alvin & The Guilty Men, "Highway 99"
- Dave Alvin & The Guilty Women, "California's Burning"
- The Dead Kennedys, "California Uber Alles"
- Death Cab for Cutie, "Why You'd Want to Live Here"
- The Decemberists, "California One/Youth and Beauty Brigade"
- Deke Dickerson & The Ecco-fonics, "CA Boogie"
- Dionne Warwick, "Do You Know the Way to San Jose"
- Dressy Bessy, "California"
- The Eagles, "Hotel California"
- Elliott Smith, "L.A."
- Frank Black, "L.A."
- Gene Clark, "Los Angeles"
- Grateful Dead, "Estimated Prophet"
- Jay Farrar & Ben Gibbard, "Big Sur"
- Jenny & Johnny, "Big Wave"
- Jimmie Rodgers, "Blue Yodel Number 4 (California Blues)"
- Joanna Newsom, "In California"
- John Doe, "Golden State"
- John Phillips, "Topanga Canyon"
- Jolie Holland, "Goodbye California"
- Joni Mitchell, "California"
- Kate and Anna McGarrigle, "Talk to Me of Mendocino"
- Kate Wolf, "Here in California"
- Kate Wolf, "Red Tailed Hawk"
- Keb' Mo', "House in California"
- The Knitters, "Dry River"
- Ladybug Transistor, "California Stopover"
- Lalo Guerrero & Sus Cinco Lobos, "Chica Patas Boogie"
- Led Zeppelin, "Going to California"
- LL Cool J, "Going Back to Cali"
- Loudon Wainwright III, "Grey in L.A."
- Low, "California"
- Luna, "California (All the Way)"
- Lyrics Born, "The Bay"
- Mac Dre, "California Livin'"
- The Magnetic Fields, "California Girls"
- The Mamas and Papas, "California Dreamin'"
- Marlena Shaw, "California Soul"
- Mason Jennings, "California Pt. 2"
- Matthew Sweet, "Come to California"
- Merle Haggard, "Kern River"
- Michelle Shocked, "Come a Long Way"
- The Mountain Goats, "San Bernardino"
- Nancy Wilson, "I'm Always Drunk in San Francisco"
- The New Amsterdams, "From California"
- The Orange Peels, "California Blue"
- Ozomatli, "City of Angels"
- Otis Redding, "Sittin' on the Dock of the Bay"
- Pavement, "Unfair"
- Phantom Planet, "California"
- Phil Ochs, "Tape from California"
- PJ Harvey & John Parish, "Leaving California"
- R.E.M., "I Remember California"
- The Ramones, "California Sun"
- The Raveonettes, "Ode to L.A."
- Ray Charles, "California Here I Come"
- Red Hot Chili Peppers, "Californication"
- Robert Bradley's Blackwater Surprise, "California"
- Robyn Hitchcock, "A Man's Gotta Know His Limitations, Briggs"
- Rogue Wave, "California"
- Rufus Wainwright, "California"
- The Runaways, "California Paradise"
- Sean Hayes, "Dolores Guerrero"
- She & Him, "Home"
- The Thrills, "Santa Cruz (You're Not That Far)"
- Tony Bennett, "I Left My Heart in San Francisco"
- Van Dyke Parks, "Come to the Sunshine"
- Vienna Teng, "City Hall"
- Woody Guthrie, "Do-Re-Mi"
- X, "Los Angeles"
- Zion I, "The Bay"
- 2pac, Roger Troutman & Dr. Dre, "California Love"
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