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It’s hard to pinpoint exactly when the “California sound” first entered my consciousness, inspiring a 700-plus song playlist that’s been carefully curated over decades. Maybe it was due to growing up in San Jose in the mid-1960s — a hop over Highway 17 into Santa Cruz where my grandfather lived — as the surfing scene exploded and the Beach Boys sound was everywhere.

When Dionne Warwick’s “Do You Know the Way to San Jose” landed in the summer of 1968, I didn’t know we’d be moving from my hometown to Reno later that year. The lyric “I was born and raised in San Jose; I’m going back to find some piece of mind in San Jose,” proved prophetic, as the Golden State longing eventually pulled me back, and I did return to California for good after graduating from college in 1979.

Apple’s iTunes and the iPod debuted in the early 2000s, and I couldn’t believe I could rip my CD collection and put my entire music library on one small device. I began collecting California songs into a playlist that is updated to this day. My rule for a song inclusion is simple: If there was even one mention of California, the song was included, and it became almost a game to find hidden California references in every song I’d hear.

Name a band or artist, and I’ll show you a song about California. There are dozens of songs in there about San Francisco and Los Angeles, but also about Lodi, Monterey, Grass Valley, Santa Rosa, Bakersfield, Santa Monica, San Bernardino, Cayucos, Big Sur, Truckee, Ukiah, Santa Barbara, San Diego, Mendocino, Pasadena and Half Moon Bay.

And yes, there are songs in there about Sacramento — the Apple Music store lists dozens with “Sacramento” in the name, actually. My favorites include Timothy B. Schmit’s “White Boy from Sacramento,” Jackie Greene’s “Freeport Boulevard” and hidden references in Johnny “Guitar” Knox’s “Blues for Katrina.” There’s the strange 1971 “Sacramento (A Wonderful Town)” by the Scottish band Middle of the Road, who reportedly never visited the state capital, and in 1967, legends Gary Usher and Brian Wilson teamed up for the under-two-minute “Sacramento.”

Newer Sacramento songs include Montana folk duo Storyhill’s 2007 “Sacramento” and a couple of unlikely Sacramento-named songs from two indie groups, the 2016 effort from Texas’ Tele Novella and a 2025 release from Massachusetts-based Nikki and the Barn Boys.  

It’s an almost impossible task choosing a Top 10, which easily could have been a Top 100, but here are my picks (sorry, “Hotel California”) that have soothed and sustained me over the years, helping me appreciate even more fully why California is such a wonderful and truly Golden State.

10) “Going to California” (1971), Led Zeppelin – I was in Reno when Robert Plant penned this longing plea after the English band’s first trip to the Golden State in the late 1960s.

9) “California Girls” (1965), The Beach Boys – Virtually every song by the band from Hawthorne epitomized the California sound, but this wraps them all up in one 2:48 package.

8) “Taxi” (1972), Harry Chapin – Among the best “story” songs of all-time, it captures love and loss and unfulfilled dreams during one unforgettable, rainy San Francisco night.

7) “Babylon Sisters” (1980), Steely Dan – My favorite California song from my favorite all time band – take that sweet ride from Sunset to the sea, and beware when those Santa Ana winds come again.

6) “California 1” (1981), Con Funk Shun – Anyone who’s driven along the coast can relate to this whimsical trip described beautifully by Vallejo’s finest – one of the smoothest R&B hitmakers of the 1970s-80s.

5) “The City” (1971), Mark-Almond Band – FM radio circa 1971 regularly played several expansive masterpieces that captured the state’s bluesy/jazz vibes perfectly, including my pick here. For a similar vibe, check out Quicksilver Messenger Service’s “Fresh Air” and John Mayall’s “California.”

4) “I Left My Heart in San Francisco” (1962), Tony Bennett – This reminds me of that occasional trip we’d take on Highway 101 from San Jose into that magical city by the Bay. Is there a more nostalgic song depicting an American city? I think not.

3) “LA Woman” (1971), The Doors – Jim Morrison’s love/hate letter to Los Angeles, released just months before he died in Paris, captures the grungy part of a city he helped define. One of the best driving songs ever.

2) “California Dreamin’” (1965), Mamas and Papas – No list of top California songs can honestly leave this one off, which opened my young eyes to how the universe viewed my state. FYI, don’t miss José Feliciano’s stunning 1968 cover.

1) “Ventura Highway” (1972), America – There was a reason the hilarious Saturday Night Live running sketch “The Californians” copied the distinctive opening two-guitar harmony riff from this as its theme song. With the wind blowing through your hair and the days surrounding your daylight there, “Ventura Highway” captures the Golden State perfectly in three-plus glorious minutes.

What is your favorite California song?

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