Rate-O-Rama: California Girls

Welcome to Rate-O-Rama!

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Rate-O-Rama is a reader participation game.

Every Thursday evening I will publish a Rate-O-Rama article which will feature three versions of a popular song.

The object is to listen to each of the music videos provided within the post.

After listening to each video you can rate each song in the comments section below.

(You must be a member to comment. If you are not a member you can join Vocal Media for FREE. You don’t ever have to pay for membership unless you choose to upgrade your membership)

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The rating method is easy. Simply give each song a rating of 1 to 100.

(The more you like the song the higher the rating).

If possible, please provide a brief comment to let us now what you think of each song.

After a week (Thursday evening) I will tally the ratings and in the next Rate-O-Rama post, I will announce the average rating each song received.

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Last time we featured the Folk Rock classic: “Hazy Shade of Winter" as recorded by Simon & Garfunkel (1966), The Bangles (1987), and Gerard Way & Ray Toro (2019).

The following are the average ratings for each song as result of the votes:

🥇 The Bangles: 90.1

🥈 Simon & Garfunkel: 87.1

🥉 Gerard Way & Ray Toro: 81.9

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The Twenty-Second Edition of Rate-O-Rama features three renditions of the Pop-Rock Sur-Rock classic: “California Girls."

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The Beach Boys (1965)

“California Girls” was written by Beach Boys founding members Brian Wilson and Mike Love. The song was produced by Brian Wilson. Wilson was especially proud of “California Girls” because of its complex production. He said the intro to the song was the greatest piece of music he's ever written.

The song was a major hit worldwide reaching #1 in South Africa, #2 in Canada, and #3 in the US. It also made the Top Ten in New Zealand and Sweden and the Top 40 in Germany, the Netherlands, and the UK. “California Girls” was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2011. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame included it as one of the "500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll".

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Leif Garrett (1977)

A cover of “California Girls” was included on Leif Garrett's self-titled debut album. Garrett was 15 when he recorded and released the album. “California Girls” had been considered for single release but was ultimately passed on due to the fact that Garrett already had a hit with a Beach Boys song, “Surfer Girl.”

Despite not being released as a single the song was a popular album cut for Garrett and garnered some radio airplay.

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David Lee Roth (1984)

Roth recorded “California Girls” for his EP Crazy Like the Heat, a four-song collection of covers. Roth released the song as his first solo single shortly before leaving the multi-platinum-selling hard rock band Van Halen.

Carl Wilson, a founding member of the Beach Boys, sang backup vocals on Roth's version as did singer/songwriter Christopher Cross, you might remember him for his early 1980s hits “Sailing” and “Ride Like the Wind.”

Roth took the song to #3 in the US, the same position as did the Beach Boys. He also made it to the Top Ten in Australia, Canada, and New Zealand.

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My Thoughts

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The Beach Boys:

The vocals alone make this song, and any Beach Boys song, stand above the others. It's hard to top the Beach Boys' vocal harmonies. Brian Wilson’s and Mike Love's double-tracked lead vocals are superbly executed. I'm especially drawn to Mike Love's confident singing style.

I love Brian Wilson's orchestral opening, he is a musical genius. Putting Carl Wilson's lead guitar upfront gives it an extra resonance and depth.

This is one of my favorite Beach Boys songs. It has that feel-good feel that the Beach Boys did so well. I give this one a 100.

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Leif Garrett:

I am compromised on this one. While I'm glad Garrett's producers kept the orchestral opening in the song, they did little to build on the Beach Boys' arrangement. Garrett's opening is almost anti-climatic.

At first I wasn't too hip on the sped-up pace but it grew on me. I suspect they sped it up to give it dance floor appeal. Garrett's lead vocal at best is passable. He cuts short on some of the notes. Despite this, I like the youthful energy that comes through in his voice. The best part of the song is the backing vocals which are performed by the Ron Hicklin Singers. They are mostly known as the real singers doing the background vocals on The Partridge Family recordings. They can also be heard on albums by Gary Lewis and the Playboys, The Monkees, Gary Puckett and the Union Gap, and others. I give Leif Garrett's rendition a 74.

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David Lee Roth:

Straight up I'm not much of a fan of DLR's singing style. The shouts, grunts, and groans he adds to his singing really do not appeal to me. However, Roth is a well trained rock singer and he does know what he's doing in terms of vocal production. Musically, I like his harder edged rendition. I give Roth 78 points.

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I will be back next week with the results of this Rate-O-Rama Edition.

Last Week's Rate-O-Rama:

With Love, RHC ❤️