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.

Mac DeMarco

McBriare Samuel Lanyon "Mac" DeMarco (born Vernor Winfield McBriare Smith IV, April 30, 1990) is a Canadian singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer. He is best known for his solo career, during which he has released four studio albums, Rock and Roll Night Club (2012), 2 (2012), Salad Days (2014), and Another One (2015). His style of music has been creatively described as "blue wave", "slacker rock", or self-described by DeMarco as the non-sequitur "jizz jazz".

Life and career

Mac DeMarco was born in Duncan, British Columbia, Canada, and raised in Edmonton, Alberta. During high school he was in several bands, including The Meat Cleavers, The Sound of Love and Outdoor Miners (named after a song by English rock band Wire). His great-grandfather is Vernor Smith, Alberta's former Minister of Railways and Telephones, for whom DeMarco was named. His mother later changed his name to McBriare Samuel Lanyon DeMarco.

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.

Johnny Burnette

John Joseph "Johnny" Burnette (March 25, 1934 – August 14, 1964) was an American singer-songwriter rockabilly musician. Along with his older brother Dorsey Burnette and friend Paul Burlison, Burnette was a founding member of the Rock and Roll Trio. He was the father of 1980s rockabilly singer Rocky Burnette.

Early life

Johnny Burnette was born to Willie May and Dorsey Burnett Sr. in Memphis, Tennessee. (The 'e’ at the end of the name was added later.) Johnny grew up with his parents and Dorsey Jr. in a public housing project in the Lauderdale Courts area of Memphis, which from 1948 until 1954 was also the home of Gladys and Vernon Presley and their son Elvis.

Early press reports, dating back to 1956, claimed that Johnny attended Humes High School with Elvis Presley, which was not true. Johnny went initially to the Blessed Sacrament Parochial School and after graduating from the eighth grade he moved on to the Catholic High School in Memphis. Here he showed an aptitude for sports, being on the school baseball team and playing as linebacker on the school's football team. Both he and Dorsey were also keen amateur boxers and were to become Golden Gloves Champions. After leaving high school, Burnette tried his hand at becoming a professional boxer, but after one fight with a sixty dollar purse and a broken nose or an encounter with Norris Ray, a top paycheck of $150, he decided to quit the ring. He went to work on the barges traversing the Mississippi River, where Dorsey Burnette also worked. Johnny worked mainly as a deck hand while Dorsey worked as an oiler. After work they would go back to Memphis, where they would perform those and other songs at local bars, with a varying array of sidemen, including another former Golden Gloves champion named Paul Burlison, whom Dorsey had met at an amateur boxing tournament in Memphis in 1949.