Quoting:
Great harmony. California Dreamin and Never Rains In Southern California! FAR OUT!
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I don't remember them doing "It Never Rains in Southern California." I love California Dreamin' though. I once heard a high school group do that song and they were really amazing. They sounded A LOT like the Mama & the Papas.



Cat

Quoting:



I don't remember them doing "It Never Rains in Southern California." I love California Dreamin' though. I once heard a high school group do that song and they were really amazing. They sounded A LOT like the Mama & the Papas.



Cat
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Indeed Cat, Albert Hammond sang "It Never Rains In Southern California" in 1973....

Quoting:
Starts out..."Got on board a west bound 747,
                 didn't think before deciding what to do"

Maybe I have the title wrong. Its one of their biggest hits

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Artist is Albert Hammond...1972-73...here is the story and the lyrics.....:

(Albert Hammond, Mike Hazlewood)

recorded by:

Albert Hammond (It never rains in Southern California, 1972)
background information:

US #5 for Albert Hammond in 1972

Albert Hammond (writer, recording artist): It never rains... was written in London, before we came to Los Angeles, and we knew we were coming, and I've been telling Mike the story of me in Spain when I started and how I was asking for money outside of the train stations because I had no money to eat and I didn't want to tell my parents. My cousin was on honeymoon then, and he came out of the train station and saw me, and I didn't even know it was him... I just asked him for some money, too. And he said "you should be ashamed, I'm gonna tell your father", and I said "please, don't tell him, he'll go crazy and and stop me doing this!" And then he took me back into the hotel, I had a bath, he gave me some clean clothes and some money. I moved on, but he did tell my father, you know. All these things like "will you tell the folks back home I nearly made it" and all that stuff came from that era of my life when I was struggling, trying to make it, trying to get from Morocco to Spain, from Spain to England, from England to America... That struggle you go through, that's It never rains in Southern California, the story of my life. (Albert on the telephone with Reto, Copyright ©2002 by Reto)

Albert Hammond (writer, recording artist): not just started my solo career, but also established it. For me, it's one of my most important songs not only because I think it's a great song and I love it and I think it tells the story of my life in a way, but also because I was the artist, the producer, the writer - I mean, everything was right, it was just like the right thing. If I hadn't had that, I might have got slowly downhill, you know. (Albert on the telephone with Reto, Copyright ©2002 by Reto)



In fond memory of lyricist Michael "Mike" Hazlewood

song lyrics as performed by Albert Hammond:


Got on board a westbound seven-forty-seven
Didn't think before deciding what to do
All that talk of opportunities
TV breaks and movies
Rang true, sure rang true

Seems it never rains in Southern California
Seems I've often heard that kind of talk before
It never rains in California
But, girl, don't they warn ya
It pours, man, it pours

Out of work, I'm out of my head
Out of self-respect, I'm out of bread
I'm underloved, I'm underfed
I wanna go home

It never rains in California
But, girl, don't they warn ya
It pours, man, it pours

Will you tell the folks back home I nearly made it
Had offers but don't know which one to take
Please, don't tell them how you found me
Don't tell them how you found me
Gimme a break, gimme a break

Seems it never rains in Southern California
Seems I've often heard that kind of talk before
It never rains in California
But, girl, don't they warn ya
It pours, man, it pours

Quoting:
My bad I guess. It's listed at Ka-Zaa several diff places as Mamas and Papas. Did Neil Diamond do this song?

ROCK ON
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Hey FolcRoc !

Believing what you see on KaZaa is worse than believing what you read in the paper !

I was keeping a list of incorrect artists versus song titles at one stage becuase I was just so amazed at the assumptions people had made regarding who was singing.

Now to see if I can find it anywhere.....

I agree with the above - definitely Albert Hammond - definitely NOT Mamas & Papas - and I severley doubt Neil Diamond either....

FB  :)

Quoting:
Just seeing this thead,it really brings me back. One of the favorite songs of mine is,"California Dreamin". 8)

I have their album still someplace around here,and have it also on tape as I always would tape the album,then put the album away ;)
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I still listen to my LP copy of it as well....also love the video for it on VH-1 Classic ;)