California Sun
Encyclopedia
"California Sun", is a song credited to Henry Glover
and Morris Levy
. Originally recorded by 35-year-old New Orleans-born singer-songwriter Joe Jones
, and released by EMI
in the winter of 1961, it peaked at #89 on the charts.
in 1964, which reached #5 in the U.S. Billboard Hot 100
chart. The Crickets
would record their version for their LP of the same name in 1964 (Liberty LRP 3351 / LST 7351). New York City rock band The Dictators
included their own cover of the song on their 1975 Go Girl Crazy! debut album. The song was later performed by The Ramones on their 1977 Leave Home
album, and also features in the 1979 Rock 'n' Roll High School
motion picture. This song is on various compilations
, including All the Stuff (And More!) Volume 1
, and Hey Ho! Let's Go: The Anthology
. The Ramones' cover was also featured in Jackass: The Movie
, while The Rivieras version was used in Oliver Stone's The Doors
film, when Jim Morrison (played by Val Kilmer
) arrives in Venice Beach.
The song was also featured in the 1987 movie Good Morning Vietnam.
Bobby Fuller
recorded a cover of the song that can be found on El Paso Rock: Early Recordings Volume 3.
Tommy James & The Shondells
recorded a cover of the song for their 1967 I Think We're Alone Now album.
The song has been often covered live by Chris Isaak
and his band Silvertone
, with drummer Kenney Dale Johnson assuming lead vocals and Isaak taking a turn on the drums.
With lyrics
in Swedish
by Per Gessle
, Swedish
pop
group Gyllene Tider
covered
the song as "Tylö Sun" and released as a one-track promo single on August 14 1981. A 2006 lyrics version, "Vitt & blått", was written by Svante Karlsson for Swedish soccer
club Halmstads BK
.
Los Straitjackets
recorded a cover for their album "Sing Along with Los Straitjackets
", and later featured in the film "Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room
" (2005).
The song was covered on the influential proto-punk album Go Girl Crazy! by The Dictators
in 1975.
In 1994, surf music
pioneer Dick Dale
covered the song on his album Unknown Territory.
The song was also covered by Frankie Avalon
in the 1987 movie, Back to the Beach
.
The song was used as a theme for advertising the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk
. It has also recently been covered and used by K-Swiss in televised adverts in both the USA and United Kingdom.
Brian Wilson
’s version is included in the "Curious George 2" soundtrack released in 2010. This version follows The Rivieras'.
The song was also covered on the 1994 album "Grunt!" by Australian ska band The Porkers
The Saw Doctors
recorded a version which is featured on their compliation album 'That Takes The Biscuit'
Henry Glover
Henry Glover was an American songwriter, arranger, record producer and trumpet player. In the music industry of the time, Glover was one of the more successful, and influential, black executives. He gained eminence in the late 1940s, primarily working for the independent King label...
and Morris Levy
Morris Levy
Morris Levy was an American music industry executive, best known as the founder and owner of Roulette Records...
. Originally recorded by 35-year-old New Orleans-born singer-songwriter Joe Jones
Joe Jones (singer)
Joe Jones was an American R&B singer, songwriter and arranger...
, and released by EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
in the winter of 1961, it peaked at #89 on the charts.
Cover versions
The most successful version, The RivierasThe Rivieras
# California Sun# Danny Boy# Twist & Shout# Little Donna# Church Key# Killer Joe# Lets Have A Party# Rockin' Robin# H.B. Goose Step# Keep A Knockin'# Oh, Boy# When The Saints- Personnel :* Marty "Bo" Fortson: vocals, rhythm guitar...
in 1964, which reached #5 in the U.S. Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
chart. The Crickets
The Crickets
The Crickets are a rock & roll band from Lubbock, Texas, formed by singer/songwriter Buddy Holly in the 1950s. Their first hit record was "That'll Be the Day", released in 1957....
would record their version for their LP of the same name in 1964 (Liberty LRP 3351 / LST 7351). New York City rock band The Dictators
The Dictators
The Dictators are an American punk rock band formed in New York City in 1973. Critic John Dougan said that they were "one of the finest and most influential proto-punk bands to walk the earth." The Dictators are represented in the "Punk Wing" of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, in Cleveland, Ohio...
included their own cover of the song on their 1975 Go Girl Crazy! debut album. The song was later performed by The Ramones on their 1977 Leave Home
Leave Home
Leave Home is the second studio album by American punk rock band The Ramones. It was released on January 10, 1977 through Sire Records. The album features the classic Ramones songs "Pinhead" and "Gimme Gimme Shock Treatment"...
album, and also features in the 1979 Rock 'n' Roll High School
Rock 'n' Roll High School
Rock 'n' Roll High School is a 1979 musical comedy film produced by Roger Corman, directed by Allan Arkush, and featuring the Ramones.The film starred P. J. Soles, Vince Van Patten, and Clint Howard...
motion picture. This song is on various compilations
Compilation album
A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...
, including All the Stuff (And More!) Volume 1
All the Stuff (And More!) Volume 1
All the Stuff Volume One is a compilation album by the Ramones. It includes their first two albums, Ramones and Leave Home, in their entirety, with the exception of "Carbona Not Glue", a song that was on the original release of Leave Home but was later removed from the album under pressure from...
, and Hey Ho! Let's Go: The Anthology
Hey Ho! Let's Go: The Anthology
Hey! Ho! Let's Go: The Anthology is a two–disc compilation that attempts to summarize the Ramones' career in its entirety. It features two previously unissued song versions; "Rock 'n' Roll High School" and "I Want You Around" are the Ed Stasium mixes from the Rock 'n' Roll High School original...
. The Ramones' cover was also featured in Jackass: The Movie
Jackass: The Movie
Jackass: The Movie is a 2002 American reality film directed by Jeff Tremaine with the tagline "Do not attempt this at home." It is a riskier and uncensored continuation of the stunts and pranks by the various characters of the MTV television series Jackass, which had completed its unique series...
, while The Rivieras version was used in Oliver Stone's The Doors
The Doors (film)
The Doors is a 1991 biopic about the 1960s-1970s rock band of the same name which emphasizes the life of its lead singer, Jim Morrison. It was directed by Oliver Stone, and stars Val Kilmer as Morrison, Meg Ryan as Pamela Courson , Kyle MacLachlan as Ray Manzarek, Frank Whaley as Robby Krieger,...
film, when Jim Morrison (played by Val Kilmer
Val Kilmer
Val Edward Kilmer is an American actor. Originally a stage actor, Kilmer became popular in the mid-1980s after a string of appearances in comedy films, starting with Top Secret! , then the cult classic Real Genius , as well as blockbuster action films, including a supporting role in Top Gun and a...
) arrives in Venice Beach.
The song was also featured in the 1987 movie Good Morning Vietnam.
Bobby Fuller
Bobby Fuller
Robert Gaston "Bobby" Fuller was an American rock singer, songwriter, and guitar player best known for his singles "I Fought the Law" and "Love's Made a Fool of You," recorded with his mid-1960s group, the Bobby Fuller Four....
recorded a cover of the song that can be found on El Paso Rock: Early Recordings Volume 3.
Tommy James & The Shondells
Tommy James & the Shondells
Tommy James and the Shondells are an American rock and roll group whose period of greatest success came in the late 1960s. They had two No. 1 singles in the U.S. — "Hanky Panky" and "Crimson and Clover" — and also charted 12 other Top 40 hits, including five in the top ten: "Crystal...
recorded a cover of the song for their 1967 I Think We're Alone Now album.
The song has been often covered live by Chris Isaak
Chris Isaak
Christopher Joseph "Chris" Isaak is an American rock musician and occasional actor.-Early life:Isaak was born in Stockton, California, the son of Dorothy , a potato chip factory worker, and Joe Isaak, a forklift driver. Isaak's mother is Italian American, originating from Genoa...
and his band Silvertone
Silvertone
Silvertone may mean:* silver * Silvertone is the name of the debut album by Chris Isaak, and the name of his longtime backing group* Silvertone Records was the name of three different record labels, including one sold at Sears...
, with drummer Kenney Dale Johnson assuming lead vocals and Isaak taking a turn on the drums.
With lyrics
Lyrics
Lyrics are a set of words that make up a song. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist or lyrist. The meaning of lyrics can either be explicit or implicit. Some lyrics are abstract, almost unintelligible, and, in such cases, their explication emphasizes form, articulation, meter, and symmetry of...
in Swedish
Swedish language
Swedish is a North Germanic language, spoken by approximately 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along its coast and on the Åland islands. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish...
by Per Gessle
Per Gessle
Per Håkan Gessle is a Swedish pop singer-songwriter, guitarist, and harmonicist. He is the lead singer of the Swedish pop group Gyllene Tider and formed Roxette with Marie Fredriksson...
, Swedish
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
group Gyllene Tider
Gyllene Tider
Gyllene Tider is a Swedish pop group. The name Gyllene Tider translates as "Golden ages" or "Golden times". Few Scandinavians would not recognize the band's most famous song "Sommartider", often played on the radio during late spring and early summer...
covered
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
the song as "Tylö Sun" and released as a one-track promo single on August 14 1981. A 2006 lyrics version, "Vitt & blått", was written by Svante Karlsson for Swedish soccer
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
club Halmstads BK
Halmstads BK
Halmstads Bollklubb, also called HBK or just Halmstad, is a Swedish football club located in Halmstad in the southwest of Sweden. The club, formed 6 March 1914, competes in the highest Swedish league, Allsvenskan, and has won 4 national championship titles and 1 national cup title...
.
Los Straitjackets
Los Straitjackets
Los Straitjackets is an American instrumental rock band that formed in Nashville, Tennessee in 1988. Originally comprising guitarists Danny Amis and Eddie Angel and drummer L. J. "Jimmy" Lester under the name The Straitjackets, the band split up soon after forming and reunited as Los Straitjackets...
recorded a cover for their album "Sing Along with Los Straitjackets
Sing Along with Los Straitjackets
-Personnel:Los Straitjackets*Danny Amis – guitar, production*Eddie Angel – guitar, production*Pete Curry – bass, production*Jimmy Lester – drums, percussion, productionGuest musicians*Nick Lowe – bass on "Shake That Rat"...
", and later featured in the film "Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room
Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room
Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room is a 2005 documentary film based on the best-selling 2003 book of the same name by Fortune reporters Bethany McLean and Peter Elkind, a study of one of the largest business scandals in American history...
" (2005).
The song was covered on the influential proto-punk album Go Girl Crazy! by The Dictators
The Dictators
The Dictators are an American punk rock band formed in New York City in 1973. Critic John Dougan said that they were "one of the finest and most influential proto-punk bands to walk the earth." The Dictators are represented in the "Punk Wing" of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, in Cleveland, Ohio...
in 1975.
In 1994, surf music
Surf music
Surf music is a genre of popular music associated with surf culture, particularly as found in Orange County and other areas of Southern California. It was particularly popular between 1961 and 1965, has subsequently been revived and was highly influential on subsequent rock music...
pioneer Dick Dale
Dick Dale
Dick Dale is an American surf rock guitarist, known as The King of the Surf Guitar. He experimented with reverberation and made use of custom made Fender amplifiers, including the first-ever 100-watt guitar amplifier.-Early life:Dale was born in South Boston, Massachusetts and lived in nearby...
covered the song on his album Unknown Territory.
The song was also covered by Frankie Avalon
Frankie Avalon
Frankie Avalon is an American actor, singer, playwright, and former teen idol.-Career:By the time he was 12, Avalon was on U.S. television playing his trumpet. As a teenager he played with Bobby Rydell in Rocco and the Saints...
in the 1987 movie, Back to the Beach
Back to the Beach
Back to the Beach is a 1987 comedy film starring Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello, directed by Lyndall Hobbs. The original music score is composed by Steve Dorff. The film generated a total domestic gross of $13,110,903...
.
The song was used as a theme for advertising the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk
Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk
The Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk is an oceanfront amusement park in Santa Cruz, California. Founded in 1907, it is California's oldest surviving amusement park and one of the few seaside parks on the West Coast of the United States.- Overview :...
. It has also recently been covered and used by K-Swiss in televised adverts in both the USA and United Kingdom.
Brian Wilson
Brian Wilson
Brian Douglas Wilson is an American musician, best known as the leader and chief songwriter of the group The Beach Boys. Within the band, Wilson played bass and keyboards, also providing part-time lead vocals and, more often, backing vocals, harmonizing in falsetto with the group...
’s version is included in the "Curious George 2" soundtrack released in 2010. This version follows The Rivieras'.
The song was also covered on the 1994 album "Grunt!" by Australian ska band The Porkers
The Porkers
The Porkers are a ska punk band from Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia.Formed in 1987 as The Pork Hunts, the band was eventually forced to change its name to the less offensive-sounding Porkers in 1990 after their regular Newcastle venue refused to present them with their old name...
The Saw Doctors
The Saw Doctors
The Saw Doctors are an Irish rock band. Formed in 1986 in Tuam, County Galway, they have achieved eighteen Top 30 singles in Ireland, including three number ones. Their first number one, "I Useta Lover," topped the Irish charts for nine consecutive weeks in 1990, and still holds the record for the...
recorded a version which is featured on their compliation album 'That Takes The Biscuit'