4 Essential Songs About Southern California From Artists Who Knew the Area Well

It can’t be easy to sum up Southern California in a song. But that hasn’t stopped songwriters from trying to make sense of the West Coast scene in just a few minutes’ time. Naturally, some of the best efforts came from those who knew the area very well.

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Not all the writers of the songs included here grew up in Southern California. But they spent enough time there to evoke the area in undeniably memorable ways.

“Desperados Under The Eaves” by Warren Zevon

Warren Zevon might have done a better job throughout the course of his career of nailing the L.A. vibe with such consistent insight. Many of his songs manage to capture the area in all its splendor and squalor. His 1976 self-titled album included several songs that depicted the SoCal area and those living the dream (or the nightmare) of it, from drug dealers to prostitutes. On the album’s last song, however, you can’t help feeling that the person wasting away in the bar contemplating his descent is none other than Zevon himself. “Desperados Under The Eaves” just might be the quintessential Southern California song, and Zevon’s antihero its most unforgettable character.

“I Love L.A.” by Randy Newman

Randy Newman grew up in Los Angeles amidst a family of Hollywood composers. Interestingly enough, he didn’t write a ton about his hometown early in his career. Instead, he found a rich vein of material while chronicling the American South. But Newman eventually made it back home in song with “I Love L.A.” Like most of Newman’s singer-songwriter material, you have to be careful about taking the song at face value. He clearly wrote the music to emulate California rock legends like The Beach Boys. And most of the song celebrates the glorious parts of the area, from the weather to the scenery. But when you least expect it, Newman slips in a line about a bum “down on his knees” to let you know the other side of the story.

“The Last Resort” by The Eagles

Don Henley hailed from Texas, and Glenn Frey from Michigan. But they were Southern California residents when they formed The Eagles. And, as chief songwriters of that group, they continuously went back to the SoCal well. Their 1976 masterpiece album Hotel California acts as an unofficial concept album about that scene and that time. While the title track would have made for the obvious choice here, we actually believe that “The Last Resort” better fits the category. After all, it manages to cram much of the history of the area into its narrative. The song compares the idyllic past of the area to the overdeveloped present. It ultimately draws the conclusion that modernity and humanity robbed the place of what made it special in the first place.

“Free Fallin’” by Tom Petty

This one might come as a curveball for those who think of Petty as a Southern artist because of his Florida roots. But by the time he put the Full Moon Fever album together, his first without the full force of the Heartbreakers by his side, Petty was ensconced in Southern California. The story goes that he started singing the lyrics of “Free Fallin’” to amuse Jeff Lynne, only to have Lynne insist that he continue. With mentions of Ventura Boulevard and Mulholland Drive, Petty clearly places the song in the LA area. More importantly, the song captures a kind of inner malaise that residents of the area likely understood. His narrator is “free” only for a beat or two before he comes plummeting back down to Earth.

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