The Mamas & The Papas’ classic 1965 version of “California Dreamin’” has joined Spotify’s Billions Club. It’s the seminal California band’s first time achieving the milestone.
The group, fronted by Mama Cass, originally sang backup on the song, first released in 1963 by Barry McGuire. But their version would go on to endure as one of the most popular hits of the era.
Although “California Dreamin’” was released as a single in late 1965, it wouldn’t break through on the charts until 1966, after gaining some traction off Boston radio play. At the opening of the song, some of McGuire’s vocals are even still slightly audible.
The Billions Club certification is the latest in a long list of accolades achieved by the song since its release. The track has been certified three-times Platinum by the RIAA, and was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2001. In Rolling Stone’s 2021 ranking of the “500 Greatest Songs of All Time,” “California Dreamin’” came in at number 420.
Beyond the numbers, “California Dreamin’” has also left a notable cultural footprint. The song features as a prominent plot point in Hong Kong director Wong Kar-wai’s 1994 film Chungking Express. A popular Beach Boys cover of the track also appears, more recently, in the Netflix series Stranger Things, the streaming platforms most-watched original series of all time. In addition to The Beach Boys, the song has also been covered by the band America, the German DJ Freischwimmer, and the Puerto Rican singer José Feliciano.
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