The Mamas & The Papas might have personified the sunny, harmony-drenched style of the late 1960s West Coast. But they had a Boston radio station 3,000 miles away to thank for turning a rather unsuccessful release into a signature, career-defining song. In hindsight, the story of “California Dreamin’”, one of the vocal group’s biggest hits, makes sense on a geographical level. After all, there’s no reason to wistfully dream about a “safe and warm” day in Los Angeles when you’re there.
Consequently, “California Dreamin’” didn’t take off in the West Coast market the way the group had initially anticipated. But for listeners on the chilly East Coast, The Mamas & The Papas’ forlorn song about wishing for warmer weather in the middle of a gray, cloudy winter’s day, “California Dreamin’” was perfect. WMEX, a radio station out of Boston, began regularly playing the track following its early December 1965 release. By Christmas Day, several weeks later, the track had broken onto the Billboard charts. (Albeit at a relatively modest No. 116.)
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Nevertheless, the song was songwriter John Phillips’ highest-charting single thus far and a huge success for the Los Angeles pop group. After picking up steam in Boston and the surrounding area, “California Dreamin’” began steadily gaining popularity in the West Coast markets, too. Even with the pop group’s short-lived tenure as a band, “California Dreamin’” remains a beloved staple of the 60s.
“California Dreamin’” Changed the Mamas & the Papas’ (& Others’) Lives Entirely
“California Dreamin’” effectively transformed the ragtag quartet of West Coast hippies into a bona fide Top 10 pop act. But it wasn’t just the musicians’ lives that were changed by the song. In her memoir California Dreamin’: The True Story of the Mamas and the Papas, Michelle Phillips described the ways in which their 1965 hit transformed the lives of countless listeners who were inspired by the song’s wistful attitude. “It was one of those songs. Like, ‘Dammit, I don’t want to be boxed into what my life has to offer. I’m going to change it. The only one who can change it is me.’”
“I can’t tell you just how many people I’ve met since who say, sincerely, that their whole life was changed when they heard “California Dreamin’”!” Phillips wrote. “They say things like: ‘I used to be an accountant in the East. Then I heard ‘California Dreamin’’ and left my job, my wife, and those long winters of greyness in work and all around. And now I’m VP of Elektra.’ It was one of those songs that didn’t just reflect what was going on; it gave impetus to change.”
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