California Girls

"California Girls" is a song written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love for the American rock band the Beach Boys, featured on their 1965 album Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!). Wilson conceived the song during his first acid trip, later arranging and producing the song's recording, and incorporating an orchestral prelude plus contrasting verse-chorus form. Upon its release as a single, "California Girls" reached #3 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was backed with "Let Him Run Wild", another track from Summer Days.

The song is considered emblematic of the 1960s California Sound. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame included it as one of "500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll". In 2004, Rolling Stone magazine ranked it #71 on its list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time". In 2010, the Beach Boys' recording was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

Origins

The music came from Brian Wilson's first psychedelic experience. He's quoted saying in 1986, "[The song was] something I’m very proud of in a sense because it represents the Beach Boys really greatest record production we’ve ever made. It goes back to 1965 when I was sitting in my apartment, wondering how to write a song about girls, because I love girls. I mean, everybody loves girls." He added in 2007, "I was thinking about the music from cowboy movies. And I sat down and started playing it, bum-buhdeeda, bum-buhdeeda. I did that for about an hour. I got these chords going. Then I got this melody, it came pretty fast after that." Inspiration came from the rhythm of "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring". In 2015, he explained: "'California Girls' had that beat — it's called a shuffle beat — and that's definitely a Bach influence."

California

California (ⁱ/ˌkælᵻˈfɔːrnjə/ KAL-ə-FORN-yə, /ˌkælᵻˈfɔːrniə/ KAL-ə-FAWR-nee-ə) is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is the most populous U.S. state, with 39 million people, and the third largest state by area (after Alaska and Texas). California is bordered by Oregon to the north, Nevada to the east, Arizona to the southeast, and the Mexican state of Baja California to the south. It contains the nation's second most populous census statistical area (Greater Los Angeles Area) and the fifth most populous (San Francisco Bay Area), and eight of the nation's 50 most populated cities (Los Angeles, San Diego, San Jose, San Francisco, Fresno, Sacramento, Long Beach, and Oakland). Sacramento has been the state capital since 1854.

What is now California was first settled by various Native American tribes before being explored by a number of European expeditions during the 16th and 17th centuries. It was then claimed by the Spanish Empire as part of Alta California in the larger territory of New Spain. Alta California became a part of Mexico in 1821 following its successful war for independence, but was ceded to the United States in 1848 after the Mexican–American War. The western portion of Alta California was organized as the State of California, which was admitted as the 31st state on September 9, 1850. The California Gold Rush starting in 1848 led to dramatic social and demographic change, with large-scale immigration from the east and abroad with an accompanying economic boom.

Katy Perry

Katheryn Elizabeth "Katy" Hudson (born October 25, 1984), known professionally as Katy Perry, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. After singing in church during her childhood, she pursued a career in gospel music as a teenager. Perry signed with Red Hill Records and released her debut studio album Katy Hudson in 2001, which was commercially unsuccessful. She moved to Los Angeles the following year to venture into secular music after Red Hill ceased operations. After being dropped by The Island Def Jam Music Group and Columbia Records, Perry signed a recording contract with Capitol Records in April 2007.

Perry rose to fame in 2008 with the release of the singles "I Kissed a Girl" – which sparked controversy for its homosexual themes – and "Hot n Cold" from her second album, a pop rock record titled One of the Boys. Her third album, Teenage Dream (2010), ventured into disco, and contained the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart-topping singles "California Gurls", "Teenage Dream", "Firework", "E.T.", and "Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)" as well as the number-three single "The One That Got Away". The album became the first by a female artist to produce five number-one Billboard Hot 100 songs, and the second overall after Michael Jackson's album Bad. In March 2012, she reissued the album as Teenage Dream: The Complete Confection, which produced the songs "Part of Me" and "Wide Awake".

Gretchen Wilson

Gretchen Frances Wilson (born June 26, 1973) is an American country music artist. She made her debut in 2004 with the Grammy Award-winning single "Redneck Woman," a number-one hit on the Billboard country charts. The song served as the lead-off single of her debut album, Here for the Party. Wilson followed this album one year later with All Jacked Up, the title track of which became the highest-debuting single for a female country artist upon its 2005 release. A third album, One of the Boys, was released in 2007.

Overall, Wilson has charted 13 singles on the Billboard country charts, of which five have reached Top Ten: the Number One "Redneck Woman", as well as "Here for the Party" (#3, 2004), "When I Think About Cheatin'" (#4, 2004), "Homewrecker" (#2, 2005), and "All Jacked Up" (#8, 2005). The album Here for the Party was certified 5× Multi-Platinum by the RIAA for sales of five million copies, while All Jacked Up was certified platinum. She has sold over 8 million records worldwide.

California Gurls

"California Gurls" is a song recorded by American singer Katy Perry for her third studio album, Teenage Dream (2010). The song features verses from rapper Snoop Dogg. Both artists co-wrote the song with Bonnie McKee and its co-producers Dr. Luke and Max Martin, with additional production from Benny Blanco. According to Perry, the song is an answer song to "Empire State of Mind" (2009), by Jay-Z and Alicia Keys. "California Gurls" is a midtempo disco-pop, and funk-pop song, with influences of new wave, and electropop. Its lyrics are an ode to the state of California, in which both Perry and Snoop Dogg were born and raised.

"California Gurls" garnered positive reviews from music critics, with the majority of them labeling it a "summer anthem", as well as complimenting its production and chorus. Originally intended to be sent to mainstream and rhythmic airplay on May 25, 2010, the song debuted on May 7, 2010, after clips from the Teenage Dream album were leaked online. It was subsequently released to iTunes on May 11, 2010 as the album's lead single. The song was a worldwide success, peaking at number-one on the Billboard Hot 100 for six consecutive weeks, giving Perry her second US number-one single in and Snoop Dogg his third. The song reached number-one in ten other countries, including Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom.