"California Dreamin'" is a song written by John and Michelle Phillips in 1963 and first recorded by Barry McGuire. The best-known version is by the Mamas & the Papas, who sang backup on the original version and released it as a single in December 1965. The lyrics express the narrator's longing for the warmth of Los Angeles during a cold winter in New York City. It is recorded in the key of C-sharp minor.
Leave Home is the second studio album by the American punk rock band Ramones. It was released on January 10, 1977, through Sire Records, with the expanded CD being released through Rhino Entertainment on June 19, 2001. Songs on the album were written immediately after the band's first album's writing process, which demonstrated the band's progression. The album had a higher production value than their debut Ramones and featured faster tempos. The front photo was taken by Moshe Brakha and the back cover, which would become the band's logo, was designed by Arturo Vega. The album spawned three singles, but only one succeeded in charting. It was also promoted with several tour dates in the United States and Europe.
"Not Fade Away" is a song credited to Buddy Holly and Norman Petty and first recorded by Holly and his band, the Crickets.
Brain Drain is the eleventh studio album by the American punk rock band Ramones, released on May 23, 1989. It is the last Ramones release to feature bassist/songwriter/vocalist Dee Dee Ramone, the first to feature Marky Ramone since his initial firing from the band after 1983's Subterranean Jungle and the band's last studio album on Sire Records. This was also the last Ramones album to be produced by Daniel Rey, until 1995's ¡Adios Amigos!. The album ends with their unlikely seasonal song "Merry Christmas ".
"Roll Over Beethoven" is a 1956 song written by Chuck Berry, originally released on Chess Records, with "Drifting Heart" as the B-side. The lyrics of the song mention rock and roll and the desire for rhythm and blues to be as respected as classical music. The song has been covered by many other artists, including the Beatles and the Electric Light Orchestra. Rolling Stone magazine ranked it number 97 on its 2004 list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time".
We're a Happy Family: A Tribute to Ramones is a 2003 tribute album to the Ramones by various artists. It started when Johnny Ramone was presented with the idea of a tribute album and was asked if he wanted to participate, to which he agreed, as long as he would have full control over the project. He was able to get Rob Zombie as a co-producer, and call upon high profile bands to participate. Rob Zombie also did the cover artwork, and Stephen King, a Ramones fan, wrote the liner notes.
"Needles and Pins" is a rock song credited to American writers Jack Nitzsche and Sonny Bono. Jackie DeShannon recorded it in 1963 and other versions followed. The most successful ones were by the Searchers, whose version reached No. 1 on the UK singles chart in 1964, and Smokie, who had a worldwide hit in 1977. Others who recorded the song include the Ramones, Gene Clark, Petula Clark, and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers with Stevie Nicks.
"Sheena Is a Punk Rocker" is a song by American punk rock band Ramones, released in 1977 through Sire Records. Written by front man and lead vocalist Joey Ramone it appears on the band's third studio album Rocket to Russia (1977). The song is well known for its early 1960s influence of surf rock and bubblegum pop that influenced Joey; it has since remained one of the band's most popular songs.
"The Warmth of the Sun" is a song written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love for the American rock band the Beach Boys. It was released on their 1964 album Shut Down Volume 2 and as the B-side of the "Dance, Dance, Dance" single, which charted at number eight in the United States and number twenty four in the United Kingdom. Brian Wilson produced the song, and the rest of the album.
"California Man" is a song by British rock and roll band The Move. It was written by the band's guitarist/vocalist Roy Wood, who has said he wrote it as a pastiche of Little Richard and Jerry Lee Lewis.
"Leaving Here" is a song written in 1963 by Motown songwriters Holland–Dozier–Holland. Written at the beginning of the partnership, it is notable in several recordings. It was originally released as a single in December 1963 by H-D-H lyricist Eddie Holland and peaked at number 76 on the Billboard Hot 100 and at number 27 on the Billboard R&B chart.
"Poison Ivy" is a popular song by American songwriting duo Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. It was originally recorded by the Coasters in 1959. It went to No.1 on the R&B chart, No.7 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and No.15 in the UK. This was their third top-ten hit of that year following "Charlie Brown" and "Along Came Jones".
The Rivieras were an American rock band that formed in the early 1960s in South Bend, Indiana. They had a hit with the song "California Sun".
"R.A.M.O.N.E.S." is a song first recorded by the British rock band Motörhead on their 1991 album 1916 as a tribute to their friends and contemporaries, the Ramones.
"Chip Away the Stone" is a song performed by American hard rock band Aerosmith. Written by Richie Supa, a friend and sometime collaborator with the band, it was released in 1978 as the only single to support the band's live album Live! Bootleg. It also appeared on the Cal Jam II live album, despite being the same recording from Live! Bootleg at Santa Monica. The lyrics describe the narrator's attempt to seduce a beautiful woman who is "actin' like a prima donna [and] playin' so hard to get", and who is attracting the attention of men who compete for her attention: "while the boys all promenade."
"Big River" is a song written and originally recorded by Johnny Cash. Released as a single by Sun Records in 1958, it went as high as #4 on the Billboard country music charts and stayed on the charts for 14 weeks. The song tells a story of the chase of a lost love along the course of Mississippi River from Saint Paul, Minnesota to New Orleans, Louisiana.
Let's Have a Party is the debut album by the American rock band the Rivieras released in 1964 by USA Records. This album contains the band's biggest hit, "California Sun", which reached number five on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The album continues the band's popular surf style, and contains covers of classic and contemporary rock and roll hits. The album's title track is a cover of Elvis Presley's "Let's Have a Party", written by Jessie Mae Robinson.
Campus Party is the second and final studio album by the American rock band the Rivieras released in 1965 through Riviera Records. This album continued the band's "frat rock" sound, and contains many popular cover songs done in this style. This album, as well as the previous, were compiled on the 2000 greatest hits release, California Sun: The Best of the Rivieras. Previously, tracks from Campus Party were available on the Star-Club Records compilation, also titled Let's Have A Party.
William Dobslaw is an American musician, producer, manager, and businessman from South Bend, Indiana, United States, famed for his association with the 1960s rock band, the Rivieras.
"Farmer John" is a song written by Don "Sugarcane" Harris and Dewey Terry, and first recorded by the two as the American R&B duo Don and Dewey, in 1959. Although the original version of the composition did not receive much attention, it was reinvigorated by the garage rock band the Premiers, whose raving remake of the song was released in 1964. The song's raw and partying atmosphere was immensely popular, reaching number 19 on the Billboard Hot 100. Following the group's national success, several additional interpretations of "Farmer John" were released, making the tune a classic of garage rock.
