California Saga: California
"California Saga: California" is a song written by Al Jardine for American rock band the Beach Boys. It was released on their 1973 album Holland. The version released as a single is a different mix than the album track and contains additional vocals from Brian Wilson not heard on the album version, as well as other differences, including an alternate title, "California Saga (On My Way to Sunny Californ-i-a)".
| "California Saga (On My Way to Sunny Californ-i-a)" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by The Beach Boys | ||||
| from the album Holland | ||||
| B-side | "Funky Pretty" | |||
| Released | April 16, 1973 | |||
| Recorded | 1972 | |||
| Genre | Rock | |||
| Length | 3:21 | |||
| Label | Brother | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Al Jardine | |||
| The Beach Boys singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Alternative cover | ||||
.jpg) Portuguese artwork | ||||
Performed in a loping country-shuffle beat, it is musically reminiscent of their earlier hit "California Girls"; the songs have nearly identical basslines, though "California Saga" is a country song and "California Girls" is a rocker featuring the Wrecking Crew. The song was inspired by and makes mention of the Big Sur Folk Festival in which the band played in 1970.
Reception
The song reached No. 84 in Billboard, but performed better in the UK (No. 29 in Melody Maker, No. 37 in Record Retailer) and New Zealand (No. 15 in the official NZ Listener top 20).
Other versions
- Jan & Dean included "California Saga: California" on their album Live In Concert: Surf City and retitled the song "Cool Clear Water".
Personnel
- The Beach Boys
- Mike Love – lead vocals
- Brian Wilson – introductory vocals
- Carl Wilson – backup vocals, guitar, piano, Moog bass
- Dennis Wilson – drums, backup vocals
- Al Jardine – backup vocals, guitar, banjo
- Blondie Chaplin – backup vocals, bass guitar
- Ricky Fataar – steel guitar, percussion
- Additional musicians
- Bruce Johnston – backup vocals
- unknown horns
