California Soul

About California Soul

"California Soul" is a funk-soul tune written by Ashford & Simpson, issued originally as the B-side of the Messengers' single "Window Shopping" in 1967 under the Motown group of labels. Nick Ashford then released his own version in June 1968 on Verve 10599. It was then issued as a single by American pop quintet the 5th Dimension in late 1968, and also covered by Motown vocal duo Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell, and by Marlena Shaw the following year. It was Gaye's and Terrell's last single together when released in early 1970. Both the 5th Dimension's version and the Gaye-Terrell version were modest charted hits. The 5th Dimension's performed better, reaching number twenty-five on the pop singles chart. Marvin and Tammi's cover was the B-side of "The Onion Song". The duo's version of "California Soul" reached number fifty pop but never charted on the US R&B chart. The duet was released after Terrell's death from a brain tumor in March 1970. In 1969, Marlena Shaw covered the song on the album The Spice of Life. This version has appeared in commercials for Dockers, KFC and Dodge Ram trucks. A Diplo remix appears on Volume 4 of the Verve Remixed compilation series; this version was used in a late summer 2011 commercial for Target and was featured in the 2011 video game Driver: San Francisco. The original version of Shaw's cover also appears in the 2013 video game Grand Theft Auto V, played by the in-game radio station The Lowdown 91.1. The song also appears on the 1970 LP War & Peace by Edwin Starr. The following year, the experimental vocal band the Undisputed Truth released this song on their debut album The Undisputed Truth, produced and arranged by Norman Whitfield. more »

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Like a sound you hear that lingers in your ear
But you can't forget from sundown to sunset, no, no

It's all in the air, you hear it everywhere
No matter what you do, it's gonna grab a hold on you

California soul
California soul

They say the sun comes up every morning, aah
And if you listen oh so carefully
The winds that ride on the high tide
Whistles a melody
So the people started to sing
And that's how the surf gave birth I'm told
To California soul 
California soul (feels good)

When you hear the beat, you wanna pat your feet
And you've got to move 'cause it's really such a groove, nah, aha

Puts a brand new kind of thinkin' in your mind
And you can't go wrong 'cause you're groovin' all day long, aha

California soul
California soul, (soul)

They had the melody and the beat, yo
But it still didn't seem complete, yes
Until they saw two lovers kissin', oh yeah
They knew just what was missin'
So happy they were rockin' and reelin
Because they had added that lovin' feeling
To California soul
California soul (but get with it)

Like a sound you hear that lingers in your ear, oh
You just can not forget it
From early in the morning 'til the sun goes down
It's in the air, it's in the air
Oh, it's our friend

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Marlena Shaw

Marlena Shaw (born Marlina Burgess, September 22, 1942, New Rochelle, New York, United States) is an American singer. Shaw began her singing career in the 1960s and is still singing today. Her music has often been sampled in hip hop music, and used in television commercials. more »

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