100 Classic, Chill, and Fabulous Songs About California
Here are some of the best songs about California.
Best California Songs: Top Songs With "California" in the Title and More!
So many songs have been written about California over the years, and many more are sure to come in the future. Even with 100 entries, this list is far from exhaustive, so please feel free to leave a comment noting any overlooked favorites.
Top 10 Best Songs About California
- "Hotel California" by the Eagles
- "All I Wanna Do" by Sheryl Crow
- "San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair)" by Scott McKenzie
- "California Dreamin'" by the Mamas and the Papas
- "Beverly Hills" by Weezer
- "Summer '79" by the Ataris
- "California" by Phantom Planet
- "California Love" by 2Pac and Dr. Dre
- "Dani California" by the Red Hot Chili Peppers
- "Folsom Prison Blues" by Johnny Cash
1. "Hotel California" by the Eagles
Album: Hotel California
Release Date: December 8, 1976
"Hotel California" is an iconic track from one of the best-selling albums of all time. Its long build-up to the sweet, two-minute guitar solo at the end was a far cry from the three-minute-long typical hit song of the '70s, but nonetheless, it went on to become one of the all-time best songs about California.
Iconic Lyrics
Welcome to the Hotel California
Such a lovely place (Such a lovely place)
Such a lovely face
Plenty of room at the Hotel California
Any time of year (Any time of year)
You can find it here
2. "All I Wanna Do" by Sheryl Crow
Album: Tuesday Night Music Club
Release Date: April 4, 1994
Sheryl Crow's breakthrough hit "All I Wanna Do" is a sweet and friendly Grammy-winning track about having a good time in L.A. The song lyrics are based on the 1987 poem "Fun," written by American poet Wyn Cooper.
Iconic Lyrics
'Cause all I wanna do is have some fun
I got a feeling I'm not the only one
All I wanna do is have some fun
I got a feeling I'm not the only one
All I wanna do is have some fun
Until the sun comes up over
Santa Monica Boulevard
Recommended
3. "San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair)" by Scott McKenzie
Album: The Voice of Scott McKenzie
Release Date: May 13, 1967
"San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair)" was a top-selling single of the '60s that was referred to as "the unofficial anthem of the counterculture movement of the 1960s." The song peaked on charts worldwide and has been featured in several movies and covered numerous times.
Iconic Lyrics
If you're going to San Francisco
Be sure to wear some flowers in your hair
If you're going to San Francisco
You're gonna meet some gentle people there
For those who come to San Francisco
Summertime will be a love-in there
In the streets of San Francisco
Gentle people with flowers in their hair
4. "California Deamin'" by the Mamas and the Papas
Album: If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears
Release Date: December 8, 1965
"California Dreamin'" was written by John and Michelle Phillips of the Mamas and the Papas as they dreamt of the warmth of California during a bitterly cold New York winter. This hit track is referred to as a "counterculture anthem" of the '60s that has been covered by many artists, including the Beach Boys.
Iconic Lyrics
All the leaves are brown (all the leaves are brown)
And the sky is gray (and the sky is gray)
I've been for a walk (I've been for a walk)
On a winter's day (on a winter's day)
I'd be safe and warm (I'd be safe and warm)
If I was in L.A. (if I was in L.A.)
California dreamin' (California dreamin')
On such a winter's day
5. "Beverly Hills" by Weezer
Album: Make Believe
Release Date: March 28, 2005
"Beverly Hills" is by far Weezer's most popular and recognizable song and is known for its music video, which was filmed at the Playboy Mansion. The song is about being an outsider in the fast-paced world of celebrities in L.A.
Iconic Lyrics
Look at all those movie stars
They're all so beautiful and clean
When the housemaids scrub the floors
They get the spaces in between
I wanna live a life like that
I wanna be just like a king
Take my picture by the pool
'Cause I'm the next big thing
Beverly Hills
That's where I want to be
(Gimme gimme, gimme gimme)
Livin' in Beverly Hills
Beverly Hills
Rollin' like a celebrity
(Gimme gimme, gimme gimme)
Livin' in Beverly Hills
6. "Summer '79" by the Ataris
Album: So Long, Astoria
Release Date: 2003
"Summer '79" references the Pacific Coast Highway, also known as California State Route 1, which runs the length of the California coastline, passing through major coastal cities, including San Francisco and Los Angeles. This pop-punk track is the perfect California anthem for reminiscing about the long days and even longer nights of the summers of your youth.
Iconic Lyrics
We are the champions playing loud on the radio station
Everyone sing along with these anthems of our generation
Cruising down Pacific Coast Highway
Put the top down, crawl into the back seat
Let's create anthems of our own tonight
7. "California" by Phantom Planet
Album: The Guest
Release Date: February 2002
"California" is perhaps best known as the theme song to the 2000s show The O.C. The band released a mellower version of the song, known as "California 2005," three years later. Like many others on this list, "California" has references to the sun and driving down the coastal state's highways.
Iconic Lyrics
We've been on the run
Driving in the sun
Looking out for number one
California here we come
Right back where we started from
Hustlers grab your guns
Your shadow weighs a ton
Driving down the 101
California here we come
Right back where we started from
8. "California Love" by 2Pac and Dr. Dre
Album: All Eyez on Me
Release Date: December 3, 1995
Grammy-nominated "California Love" was one of 2Pac's biggest hits. It's a funky hip-hop track that refers to California as the "Wild Wild West" and the state that "knows how to party." The concept for the original music video was designed by 2Pac's longtime friend, Jada Pinkett Smith.
Iconic Lyrics
California knows how to party
California knows how to party (Yes, they do)
In the city of L.A
In the city of good ol' Watts
In the city, the city of Compton
We keep it rockin', we keep it rockin'
9. "Dani California" by the Red Hot Chili Peppers
Album: Stadium Arcadium
Release Date: April 28, 2006
The Red Hot Chili Peppers is one of the quintessential "California rock" groups, and "Dani California" is one of the band's most successful songs. "Dani California" is a narrative tale about a girl named Dani who comes from the South to live in California, and the ending features a minute-long guitar solo based on the intro to Jimi Hendrix's "Purple Haze."
Iconic Lyrics
California, rest in peace
Simultaneous release
California, show your teeth
She's my priestess
I'm your priest
Yeah, yeah, yeah
10. "Folsom Prison Blues" by Johnny Cash
Album: Johnny Cash with His Hot and Blue Guitar!
Release Date: December 15, 1955
Johnny Cash was inspired to write this Grammy-winning country and rockabilly track after watching the film Inside the Walls of Folsom Prison while serving in the U.S. Air Force. He played the song live at Folsom Prison in 1968, and the recording of that performance also became a hit single. The song was pulled from the radio for a time after John F. Kennedy's assassination in 1963 due to the lyrics, "I shot a man in Reno just to watch him die."
Iconic Lyrics
Well, if they freed me from this prison
If that railroad train was mine
I bet I'd move it on a little farther down the line
Far from Folsom Prison, that's where I want to stay
And I'd let that lonesome whistle blow my blues away
The Ultimate California Playlist: Songs About California, From Classic to Quirky
11. "Heads Carolina, Tails California" by Jo Dee Messina
12. "Catalina" by Seven Foot Wave
13. "California Nights" by Lesley Gore