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Written by: John and Michelle Phillips
Produced by: Lou Adler
Released: Dec. '65 on Dunhill
Charts: 17 weeks
Top spot: No. 4

Written by John Phillips on a frigid winter night in Manhattan when his young wife, Michelle, was homesick for Southern California, "California Dreamin' " is one of the all-time sunniest songs of longing. It was first done by Phillips' folk group the New Journeymen and later given to Barry McGuire as a thank-you after McGuire, riding high with "Eve of Destruction," introduced the group to producer Lou Adler, who convinced the Mamas and the Papas to cut it themselves.

Appears on: If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears (MCA)

Next: In the Still of the Nite

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