"California, Here I Come" is a song interpolated in the Broadway musical Bombo, starring Al Jolson. The song was written by Bud DeSylva, Joseph Meyer, and Jolson.[1] Jolson recorded the song on January 17, 1924, with Isham Jones' Orchestra, in Brunswick Records' Chicago studio.[2] It is often called the unofficial state song of California. In 2020, it entered the public domain.
Several attempts were made to designate "California, Here I Come" as the official state song of California, especially after a resolution passed by the California State Legislature in 1951 designated "I Love You, California" as the state song. However, those attempts proved unsuccessful, and "I Love You, California" was officially declared the state song in 1988.[4][5]
Covers
In 1924, Cliff Edwards ("Ukulele Ike") released a very upbeat single of the song, which included some scat vocals and a brief sung intro: "Goodbye forever, goodbye forever, I'm going away for a long, long time."[6]
"Casa Loma Stomp," recorded by Fletcher Henderson, is a set of jazz variations on the song, the tune of which is clearly audible in the first few verses and gradually disappears under the increasing complexity of the variations.
The four future members of ABBA performed a Wild West-themed version of the song for their first joint television appearance in 1970, on the SVT program Five Minute Saloon.
In 1977, Tom Waits released Foreign Affairs, featuring a tribute to the song in a medley titled "Jack & Neal/California, Here I Come".
In 2010, Huell Howser teamed up musicians at the Musicians Institute and produced a cover and music video of "California, Here I Come."
Other songs
The Dutch rock group Shocking Blue also had a song called "California Here I Come" on their first album At Home and on the North American version of that album, simply titled The Shocking Blue. The same version of this song was later released as "Hear My Song" on the B-side of the "Never Marry A Railroad Man" single on the Colossus label. Their song, despite having the same title, should not be confused with the song co-written by Al Jolson. While the song titles are exactly the same, they are completely different songs and neither is based on or references the other.
A well-known rendition of the song appears in a season 4 episode of the television series I Love Lucy. The episode, titled "California, Here We Come!" (1955), features the four principal cast members beginning a cross-country road trip from New York City to California, where Ricky Ricardo (Desi Arnaz) plans to make a movie. Ricky, who is shown behind the wheel driving across the George Washington Bridge from New York into New Jersey (and westward), begins singing the song's chorus and he is soon joined by Fred (William Frawley) and Ethel (Vivian Vance), and then, finally, by a badly off-key but highly spirited Lucy (Lucille Ball). At one point, Fred sings part of the chorus as a short solo in a manner that is highly suggestive of the syncopated style often associated with Al Jolson, and Ricky joins in briefly with a similar apparent nod to the song's originator.[7] Still images of the famous scene, which have been popularized in posters and greeting cards, are often used to typify the I Love Lucy series (all four principal cast members are shown together and facing the camera) and the scene offers a nostalgic view of America's love affair with the automobile in the 1950s.
The song appears in the final episode of Martin, entitled "California, Here We Come," on May 1, 1997, in which Martin and Gina say good-bye to the Motor City for jobs in Los Angeles.
Phantom Planet credits Al Jolson and the writers of "California, Here I Come" for Phantom Planet's song "California", which was used as the theme song to the television series The O.C.. The 2002 song, although not a complete cover, alludes to Jolson's song in its lines "California, here we come / Right back where we started from".
The song is used as the theme song for the California historical travelogue series on PBS, California's Gold, hosted by Huell Howser. On November 9, 2010, Howser released a music video of his performance of "California, Here I Come" on Los Angeles public-television station KCET.
In film
In the 1934 W. C. Fields film It's a Gift, a record of the song is shown on-screen and the Victrola needle is put down to play it. The recording then plays over the next scene, showing the Bissonette family packing for their trip to the West Coast.
The song is featured as the main title theme of the 1945 motion picture Back to Bataan, starring John Wayne and Anthony Quinn. It was the Victory March of the US Sixth Army, which played a major role in the liberation of the Philippine Islands. The Sixth Army, formerly the Army of the Pacific, was based in California with its headquarters at the Presidio near San Francisco.
In the 1980 movie The Shining, while freezing and losing his verbal coherency in the hedge maze, some believe Jack Nicholson recites part of the song at one point.
The song was played by the ship's band of the aircraft carrierUSS Yorktown (CV-5) as the ship steamed from Pearl Harbor to participate in the Battle of Midway. The song may have been intended as a deception, as the severely outnumbered American forces depended on surprise to gain an advantage in the battle. Japanese agents seeing the Yorktown departing would hopefully conclude that it was steaming for the mainland rather than to Midway.[9]
The song is played in the classic Sierra game Gold Rush! as the ship carrying fortune seekers comes to port in Sacramento.
Richard Nixon, in a set of instructions he left in case he were to die in office, directed that "California, Here I Come" should be played "softly and slowly" at his funeral.[citation needed] When President and Mrs. Ronald Reagan left Washington, D.C. in 1989 to return to Los Angeles, "California, Here I Come" was played as they boarded Air Force One.
The song was one of many California related songs played throughout "Sunshine Plaza" in the original Disney California Adventure.[10]
The song was sung during the Pageant of the Masters' recreation of Maxine Albro's "California." The Pageant of the Masters makes "living recreations" of art in Laguna Beach every year.
I Love Lucy is an American television sitcom that originally aired on CBS from October 15, 1951, to May 6, 1957, with a total of 180 half-hour episodes spanning six seasons. The series starred Lucille Ball and her husband Desi Arnaz, along with Vivian Vance and William Frawley, and follows the life of Lucy Ricardo (Ball), a young, middle-class housewife living in New York City, who often concocts plans with her best friends and landlords, Ethel and Fred Mertz, to appear alongside her bandleader husband, Ricky Ricardo (Arnaz), in his nightclub. Lucy is depicted trying numerous schemes to mingle with and be a part of show business. After the series ended in 1957, a modified version of the show continued for three more seasons, with 13 one-hour specials, which ran from 1957 to 1960. It was first known as The Lucille Ball–Desi Arnaz Show, and later, in reruns, as The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour.
California's Gold is a public television human interest program that explores the natural, cultural, and historical features of California. The series ran for 24 seasons beginning in 1991, and was produced and hosted by Huell Howser in collaboration with KCET, Los Angeles. The series ceased production when Howser retired in November 2012, shortly before his death on January 7, 2013, although episodes continue to be shown on KCET and are featured on the page at the station's website about his shows.
Isham Edgar Jones was an American bandleader, saxophonist, bassist and songwriter.
"I Love You, California" is the state song and regional anthem of the U.S. state of California, originally published in 1913. It was adopted in 1951 and reconfirmed in 1987 as the official state song.
"Carolina in the Morning" is a popular song with words by Gus Kahn and music by Walter Donaldson, first published in 1922 by Jerome H. Remick & Co.
"Shine On, Harvest Moon" is a popular early-1900s song credited to the married vaudeville team Nora Bayes and Jack Norworth. It was one of a series of moon-related Tin Pan Alley songs of the era. The song was debuted by Bayes and Norworth in the Ziegfeld Follies of 1908 to great acclaim. It became a pop standard, and continues to be performed and recorded in the 21st century.
"Pretty Baby" is a song written by Tony Jackson during the Ragtime era. The song was remembered as being prominent in Jackson's repertory before he left New Orleans in 1912, but was not published until 1916.
"It Had to Be You" is a popular song composed by Isham Jones, with lyrics by Gus Kahn. It was published on May 9, 1924 by Jerome H. Remick & Co. of New York. The Isham Jones Orchestra recorded an instrumental version of it on April 24, 1924 at Brunswick Studios, 799 Seventh Avenue, New York City, and it was released in July.
"By the Light of the Silvery Moon" or "By the Light of the Silv'ry Moon" is a popular love song. The music was written by Gus Edwards, and the lyrics by Edward Madden. The song was published in 1909 and first performed on stage by Lillian Lorraine in the Ziegfeld Follies of 1909. It was one of a series of moon-related Tin Pan Alley songs of the era. The song was also used in the short-lived Broadway show Miss Innocence when it was sung by Frances Farr.
"I'll See You in My Dreams" is a popular song and jazz standard, composed by Isham Jones, with lyrics by Gus Kahn, and published in 1924. It was recorded on December 4 that year, by Isham Jones conducting Ray Miller's Orchestra. Released on Brunswick Records, it charted for 16 weeks during 1925, spending seven weeks at number 1 in the United States. Other popular versions in 1925 were by Marion Harris; Paul Whiteman; Ford & Glenn; and Lewis James; with three of these four reaching the Top 10.
"The One I Love (Belongs to Somebody Else)" is a popular song composed by Isham Jones with lyrics by Gus Kahn. The song was recorded by Isham Jones' Orchestra on December 21, 1923, at Brunswick Studios in New York City, and published on January 7, 1924. On January 17 in Chicago, Jones recorded another version, with Al Jolson on lead vocals. Both versions made the charts that Spring, with Jolson's peaking at number 2, and Jones' at number 5. Sophie Tucker recorded her version February 1924, released on Okeh 40054.
"You Made Me Love You (I Didn't Want to Do It)" is a popular song from 1913 composed by James V. Monaco with lyrics by Joseph McCarthy. It was introduced by Al Jolson in the Broadway revue The Honeymoon Express (1913), and used in the 1973 revival of the musical Irene.
"My Melancholy Baby" is a popular song published in 1912 and first sung publicly by William Frawley. The music was written by Ernie Burnett (1884–1959), the lyrics by George A. Norton.
"April Showers" is a 1921 popular song composed by Louis Silvers with lyrics by B. G. De Sylva.
Rose of Washington Square is a 1939 American musical drama film, featuring the already well-known popular song with the same title. Set in 1920s New York City, the film focuses on singer Rose Sargent and her turbulent relationship with con artist Barton DeWitt Clinton, whose criminal activities threaten her professional success in the Ziegfeld Follies.
"My Mammy" is an American popular song with music by Walter Donaldson and lyrics by Joe Young and Sam M. Lewis.
"Avalon" is a 1920 popular song written by Al Jolson, Buddy DeSylva and Vincent Rose referencing Avalon, California. It was introduced by Jolson and interpolated in the musicals Sinbad and Bombo. Jolson's recording rose to number two on the charts in 1921. The song was possibly written by Rose, but Jolson's popularity as a performer allowed him to claim composer co-credit. Originally, only Rose and Jolson were credited, and DeSylva's name was added later.
Liza (All the Clouds'll Roll Away)" is a song composed by George Gershwin with lyrics by Ira Gershwin and Gus Kahn. It was introduced in 1929 by Ruby Keeler (as Dixie Dugan) in Florenz Ziegfeld's musical Show Girl. The stage performances were accompanied by the Duke Ellington Orchestra. On the show's opening night in Boston on June 25, 1929, Keeler's husband and popular singer Al Jolson suddenly stood up from his seat in the third row and sang a chorus of the song, much to the surprise of the audience and Gershwin himself. Jolson recorded the song a few days later on July 6, 1929, and his rendition rose to number nine on the charts of the day.
"When the Red, Red Robin " is a popular song written, both words and music, by Harry Woods in 1926. The song became the signature song for singer and actress Lillian Roth, who performed it often during the height of her musical career from the late 1920s to the late 1930s.
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