California Dreamin'

"California Dreamin'" is a song written by John Phillips and Michelle Phillips and was first recorded by Barry McGuire. However, the best known version is by The Mamas & the Papas, who sang backup on the original version and released as a single in 1965. The song is #89 in Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. The lyrics of the song express the narrator's longing for the warmth of Los Angeles during a cold winter in New York City.

The song became a signpost of the California Myth and the arrival of the nascent counterculture era.

"California Dreamin' " was certified as a Gold Record (single) by the RIAA in June 1966 and was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2001.

History

The song was written in 1963 while John Phillips and Michelle Phillips were living in New York. He dreamed about the song and woke her up to help him write it. Michelle Phillips enjoyed visiting churches, and she and John Phillips visited St. Patrick's Cathedral, which inspired the second verse of California Dreamin’ ("Stopped into a church..."). John hated the verse, as he was turned off to churches by unpleasant memories of parochial school, but he couldn't think of anything better so he left it in. At the time, John and Michelle Phillips were members of the folk group "The New Journeymen", which evolved into The Mamas & the Papas.

Modern Talking

Modern Talking was a German duo consisting of Thomas Anders and Dieter Bohlen. They have been referred to as Germany's most successful pop duo, and have had a number of hit singles, reaching the top five in many countries. Some of their most popular and widely known singles are "You're My Heart, You're My Soul", "You Can Win If You Want", "Cheri, Cheri Lady", "Brother Louie", "Atlantis Is Calling (S.O.S. for Love)" and "Geronimo's Cadillac".

Modern Talking worked together from 1984 to 1987, when the band split up. In 1998, they reunited and made a successful comeback, recording and releasing music from 1998 to 2003. The duo released singles which again entered the top ten in Germany and abroad. Some of those singles were "You're My Heart, You're My Soul '98", "You Are Not Alone" and "TV Makes the Superstar".

History

The beginning

First formed at the end of 1984, they unexpectedly became immensely popular with "You're My Heart, You're My Soul", with which they occupied top ten positions in thirty-five countries including their homeland where the single perched at the top for six consecutive weeks, the single eventually went on to sell eight million copies worldwide. The track was then followed by another number-one hit, "You Can Win If You Want", which was released in the middle of 1985 from the debut album The 1st Album. The album was certified platinum in Germany for selling over 500,000 units.

Cheri, Cheri Lady

"Cheri, Cheri Lady" is the only single released from Modern Talking's second album Let's Talk About Love, and it was the third single in a row that peaked at number one in the German single chart, after "You're My Heart, You're My Soul" and "You Can Win If You Want". "Cheri, Cheri Lady" was released on 2 September 1985, but peaked at No. 1 in Germany on 14 October 1985. The single spent four weeks at the top and total of 24 weeks within the single chart in Germany and eventually went gold selling well over 250,000 units there.

The single was certified silver in France for certified sales of 250,000 units.

Single releases

Chart positions

"Cheri Cheri Lady '98"

"Cheri, Cheri Lady '98" is Modern Talking's fourth single from their seventh album, Back for Good, and also the extended single after the duo's reunion featuring Eric Singleton. "Cheri, Cheri Lady '98" is the re-packaged version of the original 1985 version of "Cheri, Cheri Lady".

Kent Jones

Thomas Kenton "Kent" Jones (born June 12, 1964) is a writer and performer on MSNBC's The Rachel Maddow Show. He is a comedy writer who also wrote and performed at Air America Radio.

Career

A Missouri native, Kent moved to New York in 1986 and held a variety of journalism jobs working at InStyle and People and contributing freelance humor articles to various publications. In 1996, he discovered the 'far more legitimate field of fake news' at The Daily Show on Comedy Central, where he was a writer for five years. In 2000, Kent and his fellow writers won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy, Variety or Special, as well as the Peabody Award for Excellence in Broadcasting. Kent then moved to Los Angeles and worked as a producer on shows at Oxygen and ABC.

In 2004 Kent moved back to New York to become part of the launch of Air America Radio. He wrote for Unfiltered with Lizz Winstead, Chuck D and Rachel Maddow where he delivered the "Unfiltered News." He also wrote extensively for Morning Sedition where he performed several characters including Foreign Correspondent Angus McFarquhar, Bill from Harlem and, most frequently, Planet Bush Bureau Chief Lawton Smalls. After the cancellation of Morning Sedition in December 2005, Kent continued to write and perform on The Marc Maron Show until its cancellation in July 2006. He appeared on The Rachel Maddow Show, with daily Sports and "Kent Jones Now" segments and additional co-hosting, especially during her "Ask Dr. Maddow" and "Pet Story" segments. The Lawton Smalls character made "calls" to The Sam Seder Show and was on the Nov 7th 2006 live webcam election coverage with Rachel Maddow. Jones left Air America on Friday, December 14, 2007, as a result of a "business decision" by the management.