Better late than never is what I always say....
My introduction to this week's tune wasn't this version--it was the Ramones cover version (though truth be told, our featured song is actually a cover version, too). After years of hearing the Ramones cover, I finally got around to listening to the original and found it to be...amazing. While the Ramones rendition has its charms (three chord thrashing guitar, furious drumming, Joey's fevered vocals), the 1964 version is a nice slice of sixties pop pie....
The Rivieras (they eventually named themselves after the General Motors luxury car the Buick Riviera) formed while its original members were still in high school in 1962, in that hot bed of rock and roll, South Bend, Indiana. They recorded a single, managed to get it distributed, and had a hit. Before they could even record their first LP, two of its original members joined the Marines. The band would change members frequently (the draft and parental desires for them to attend college), before disbanding in 1966. In their short career, they released two studio albums, and eleven singles. Some band members would reunite under the name Wildcat from 2000-2010 but the band is now officially defunct.
"California Sun" was originally released as a single only in 1964, but after its success was the lead cut on their debut album, Let's Have a Party. The single would peak at #5 (with a bullet!) on the Billboard Hot 100, and I was unable to discern if the album ever charted.
Fun Fact: Some people consider "California Sun" to be the last American rock and roll hit before the British Invasion. When it peaked at number five, the #1 song on the charts was a little ditty you might have heard of: "I Want to Hold Your Hand" by the Beatles....
As you listen to "California Sun," keep in mind that the young men recording it were still in fucking high school! It's not like George Martin was in the studio to produce it for them--they did it themselves. Just a killer rat-a-tat guitar, pulsating drums, a rambunctious organ (and its mid-song solo), and devil-may-care vocals that capture all the hope and joy that is our west coast. All I know is the more I hear it, the more I'm all in for heading out to that warm California sun. An absolute triumph of youth.
Lyric Sheet: "And they walk, and I'll walk/They twist and I'll twist/They shimmy and I'll shimmy/They fly and I'll fly/Well, they're out there a-havin' fun/In that warm California sun..."
Enjoy:
Republicans = Nazis
Peace,
emaycee
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