Post by erik on Jun 18, 2022 12:30:48 GMT -5
A one-hit wonder from the home of Notre Dame University is in this week's Pop Music Hits Spotlight with a 1964 hit that helped to personify California.
CALIFORNIA SUN (The Rivieras; Riviera; 1964)—One of the most popular singles that celebrated the surfing culture of Southern California was both the product of an R&B songwriter and a band from South Bend, Indiana. The R&B songwriter of what would become “California Sun” was Henry Glover, although Morris Levy, the owner of Roulette Records and a notorious figure in the “payola” scandals of the late 1950’s and early 1960’s, fraudulently appears as well. The song was first recorded in 1961 by R&B singer Joe Jones, but could only muster a #89 showing on the Hot 100 that year. Two years later came the Rivieras version. The group, consisting of Marty Fortson (vocals/rhythm guitar), Joe Pennell (lead guitar), Doug Gean (bass guitar), Otto Nuss (organ) and Paul Dennert (drums), was recorded at Chicago’s Columbia Recording Studios in November 1963, and the group’s manager Bill Dobslaw wanted to make sure it would be a sizeable hit for the group, as by that time there were already rumblings about the oncoming British Invasion. Art Roberts, a DJ at Chicago’s WLS radio station, made it an important part of his own playlists; and in January 1964, “California Sun” was released as a single. Because the British Invasion, being led by the heretofore-unknown Beatles was happening by that time, it was feared that the song would be severely swamped by “I Want To Hold Your Hand” and all the myriad songs that the Fab Four were unleashing on the American public, but that wasn’t quite the case. While it was the Rivieras’ only hit, “California Sun” managed to peak at #5 on the Hot 100 in March 1964, thanks to airplay not only in Chicago but also in surf-crazy Southern California. The song would be featured on the soundtrack of the 1987 Barry Levinson-directed movie Good Morning Vietnam, and director Oliver Stone would also use it for his 1991 biopic The Doors. “California Sun” would also be heard as one of the California-themed songs at Disney’s “California Adventure” in Anaheim, as well as a promotional song for the 2010 Major League Baseball All-Star Game at nearby Angels Stadium, the home of the Los Angeles Angels.
CALIFORNIA SUN (The Rivieras; Riviera; 1964)—One of the most popular singles that celebrated the surfing culture of Southern California was both the product of an R&B songwriter and a band from South Bend, Indiana. The R&B songwriter of what would become “California Sun” was Henry Glover, although Morris Levy, the owner of Roulette Records and a notorious figure in the “payola” scandals of the late 1950’s and early 1960’s, fraudulently appears as well. The song was first recorded in 1961 by R&B singer Joe Jones, but could only muster a #89 showing on the Hot 100 that year. Two years later came the Rivieras version. The group, consisting of Marty Fortson (vocals/rhythm guitar), Joe Pennell (lead guitar), Doug Gean (bass guitar), Otto Nuss (organ) and Paul Dennert (drums), was recorded at Chicago’s Columbia Recording Studios in November 1963, and the group’s manager Bill Dobslaw wanted to make sure it would be a sizeable hit for the group, as by that time there were already rumblings about the oncoming British Invasion. Art Roberts, a DJ at Chicago’s WLS radio station, made it an important part of his own playlists; and in January 1964, “California Sun” was released as a single. Because the British Invasion, being led by the heretofore-unknown Beatles was happening by that time, it was feared that the song would be severely swamped by “I Want To Hold Your Hand” and all the myriad songs that the Fab Four were unleashing on the American public, but that wasn’t quite the case. While it was the Rivieras’ only hit, “California Sun” managed to peak at #5 on the Hot 100 in March 1964, thanks to airplay not only in Chicago but also in surf-crazy Southern California. The song would be featured on the soundtrack of the 1987 Barry Levinson-directed movie Good Morning Vietnam, and director Oliver Stone would also use it for his 1991 biopic The Doors. “California Sun” would also be heard as one of the California-themed songs at Disney’s “California Adventure” in Anaheim, as well as a promotional song for the 2010 Major League Baseball All-Star Game at nearby Angels Stadium, the home of the Los Angeles Angels.