<span class="mw-page-title-main">California Dreamin&#039;</span>

California Dreamin'

<p>"<b>California Dreamin</b>'" is a song written by <a href="/en/John_Phillips_(musician)" title="John Phillips (musician)" class="wl">John Phillips</a> and <a href="/en/Michelle_Phillips" title="Michelle Phillips" class="wl">Michelle Phillips</a> and first recorded by <a href="/en/Barry_McGuire" title="Barry McGuire" class="wl">Barry McGuire</a>.<span class="mw-ref reference" id="cite_ref-scpr_3-0"><a href="#cite_note-scpr-3" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 3;"><span class="mw-reflink-text">[3]</span></a></span> The best-known version is by <a href="/en/The_Mamas_&_the_Papas" title="The Mamas &amp; the Papas" class="wl">the Mamas &amp; the Papas</a>, who sang backup on the original version and released it as a single in 1965. The lyrics express the narrator's longing for the warmth of Los Angeles during a cold winter in New York City. It is recorded in the key of <a href="/en/C-sharp_minor" title="C-sharp minor" class="wl">C-sharp minor</a>.<span class="mw-ref reference" id="cite_ref-4"><a href="#cite_note-4" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 4;"><span class="mw-reflink-text">[4]</span></a></span></p>

<div class="shortdescription nomobile noexcerpt noprint searchaux" style="display:none" about="#mwt1">Single by the Mamas &amp; the Papas</div>
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font-size: 125%;">"California Dreamin'"</th></tr><tr><td colspan="2" class="infobox-image"><span class="mw-default-size mw-image-border"><a href="/en/File:Disco_de_vinilo_-_California_dreamin'.jpg" class="mw-file-description image media-thumb" data-hash="File:Disco_de_vinilo_-_California_dreamin'.jpg"><img loading="lazy" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cc/Disco_de_vinilo_-_California_dreamin%27.jpg/220px-Disco_de_vinilo_-_California_dreamin%27.jpg" decoding="async" data-file-width="1459" data-file-height="1463" data-file-type="bitmap" height="221" width="220" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cc/Disco_de_vinilo_-_California_dreamin%27.jpg/330px-Disco_de_vinilo_-_California_dreamin%27.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cc/Disco_de_vinilo_-_California_dreamin%27.jpg/440px-Disco_de_vinilo_-_California_dreamin%27.jpg 2x" alt="Disco_de_vinilo_-_California_dreamin%27.jpg"></a></span></td></tr><tr class="description"><th colspan="2" class="infobox-header description notheme" style="background-color: khaki;"><a href="/en/Single_(music)" title="Single (music)" class="wl">Single</a> by <a href="/en/The_Mamas_&_the_Papas" title="The Mamas &amp; the Papas" class="wl">the Mamas &amp; the Papas</a></th></tr><tr class="description"><th colspan="2" class="infobox-header description notheme" style="background-color: khaki;">from the album <i> <a href="/en/If_You_Can_Believe_Your_Eyes_and_Ears" title="If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears" class="wl">If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears</a> </i></th></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label"><span class="nowrap"><a href="/en/A-side_and_B-side" title="A-side and B-side" class="wl">B-side</a></span></th><td class="infobox-data plainlist">"Somebody Groovy"</td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Released</th><td class="infobox-data plainlist">December 8, 1965</td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Recorded</th><td class="infobox-data plainlist">November 4, 1965</td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label"><a href="/en/Recording_studio" title="Recording studio" class="wl">Studio</a></th><td class="infobox-data plainlist"><a href="/en/United_Western_Recorders" title="United Western Recorders" class="wl">United Western</a>, Hollywood</td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label"><a href="/en/Music_genre" title="Music genre" class="wl">Genre</a></th><td class="infobox-data category hlist"><div class="hlist"><ul><li><a href="/en/Sunshine_pop" title="Sunshine pop" class="wl">Sunshine pop</a><span class="mw-ref reference" id="cite_ref-1"><a href="#cite_note-1" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 1;"><span class="mw-reflink-text">[1]</span></a></span></li><li><a href="/en/Folk_rock" title="Folk rock" class="wl">folk rock</a><span class="mw-ref reference" id="cite_ref-2"><a href="#cite_note-2" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 2;"><span class="mw-reflink-text">[2]</span></a></span></li></ul></div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Length</th><td class="infobox-data plainlist"><span class="duration"><span class="min">2</span>:<span class="s">42</span></span></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label"><a href="/en/Record_label" title="Record label" class="wl">Label</a></th><td class="infobox-data hlist"><a href="/en/Dunhill_Records" title="Dunhill Records" class="wl">Dunhill</a> <span>•</span> <a href="/en/RCA_Victor" title="RCA Victor" class="mw-redirect wl">RCA Victor</a></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label"><span class="nowrap"><a href="/en/Songwriter" title="Songwriter" class="wl">Songwriter(s)</a></span></th><td class="infobox-data hlist"><a href="/en/John_Phillips_(musician)" title="John Phillips (musician)" class="wl">John Phillips</a>, <a href="/en/Michelle_Phillips" title="Michelle Phillips" class="wl">Michelle Phillips</a></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label"><span class="nowrap"><a href="/en/Record_producer" title="Record producer" class="wl">Producer(s)</a></span></th><td class="infobox-data hlist"><a href="/en/Lou_Adler" title="Lou Adler" class="wl">Lou Adler</a></td></tr><tr><th colspan="2" class="infobox-header description notheme" style="background-color: khaki;"><a href="/en/The_Mamas_&_the_Papas" title="The Mamas &amp; the Papas" class="wl">The Mamas &amp; the Papas</a> singles chronology</th></tr><tr><td colspan="2" class="infobox-full-data">
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<td style="width: 33%; text-align: center; vertical-align: top; padding: .2em .1em .2em 0;">"<a href="/en/Go_Where_You_Wanna_Go" title="Go Where You Wanna Go" class="wl">Go Where You Wanna Go</a>" <br>(1965)</td>
<td style="width: 33%; text-align: center; vertical-align: top; padding:.2em .1em;">"<b>California Dreamin'</b>" <br>(1965)</td>
<td style="width: 33%; text-align: center; vertical-align: top; padding: .2em 0 .2em .1em;">"<a href="/en/Monday,_Monday" title="Monday, Monday" class="wl">Monday, Monday</a>" <br>(1966)</td></tr>
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<div class="listen-file-header"><a href="/en/File:California_Dreamin.ogg" title="File:California Dreamin.ogg" class="wl">"California Dreamin'"</a></div>
<div><span class="mw-default-audio-height"><span><div class='audio-player' title='"California Dreamin'"'><audio controls="" preload="none" height="32" width="232" resource="./File:California_Dreamin.ogg"><source src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/a9/California_Dreamin.ogg" type="audio/ogg; codecs=&quot;vorbis&quot;" data-title="Original Ogg file (60 kbps)" data-shorttitle="Ogg source"><source src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/transcoded/a/a9/California_Dreamin.ogg/California_Dreamin.ogg.mp3" type="audio/mpeg" data-title="MP3" data-shorttitle="MP3"><track kind="subtitles" type="text/vtt" src="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/api.php?action=timedtext&amp;title=File%3ACalifornia_Dreamin.ogg&amp;lang=en-gb&amp;trackformat=vtt" srclang="en-GB" label="British English ‪(en-gb)‬" data-mwtitle="" data-dir="ltr"><track kind="subtitles" type="text/vtt" src="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/api.php?action=timedtext&amp;title=File%3ACalifornia_Dreamin.ogg&amp;lang=en&amp;trackformat=vtt" srclang="en" label="English ‪(en)‬" data-mwtitle="" data-dir="ltr"></audio></div></span></span></div>
<div class="description"><a href="/en/The_Mamas_&_the_Papas" title="The Mamas &amp; the Papas" class="wl">The Mamas &amp; the Papas</a>' "California Dreamin'" from their debut album, <i><a href="/en/If_You_Can_Believe_Your_Eyes_and_Ears" title="If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears" class="wl">If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears</a></i>.</div></div></div></div>
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<p>"California Dreamin'" became a signpost of the <a href="/en/California_sound" title="California sound" class="wl">California sound</a>,<span class="mw-ref reference" id="cite_ref-5"><a href="#cite_note-5" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 5;"><span class="mw-reflink-text">[5]</span></a></span> heralding the arrival of the nascent <a href="/en/Counterculture_of_the_1960s" title="Counterculture of the 1960s" class="wl">counterculture</a> era.<span class="mw-ref reference" id="cite_ref-6"><a href="#cite_note-6" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 6;"><span class="mw-reflink-text">[6]</span></a></span><span class="mw-ref reference" id="cite_ref-7"><a href="#cite_note-7" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 7;"><span class="mw-reflink-text">[7]</span></a></span> It was <a href="/en/Certified_Gold" title="Certified Gold" class="mw-redirect wl">certified gold</a> by the <a href="/en/Recording_Industry_Association_of_America" title="Recording Industry Association of America" class="wl">Recording Industry Association of America</a> in June 1966<span class="mw-ref reference" id="cite_ref-8"><a href="#cite_note-8" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 8;"><span class="mw-reflink-text">[8]</span></a></span> and was inducted into the <a href="/en/Grammy_Hall_of_Fame" title="Grammy Hall of Fame" class="wl">Grammy Hall of Fame</a> in 2001.<span class="mw-ref reference" id="cite_ref-9"><a href="#cite_note-9" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 9;"><span class="mw-reflink-text">[9]</span></a></span> In 2021, <i><a href="/en/Rolling_Stone" title="Rolling Stone" class="wl">Rolling Stone</a></i> placed the song at number 420 in its "<a href="/en/Rolling_Stone's_500_Greatest_Songs_of_All_Time" title="Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" class="wl">500 Greatest Songs of All Time</a>" list.<span class="mw-ref reference" id="cite_ref-10"><a href="#cite_note-10" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 10;"><span class="mw-reflink-text">[10]</span></a></span></p>



"California Dreamin'" is a song written by John Phillips and Michelle Phillips and first recorded by Barry McGuire. "California Dreamin'" became a signpost of the California sound, 