LA Songs

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183 L.A. Songs

From the upbeat sounds of “I Love L.A.” to the classic strains of “L.A.’s My Lady,” Los Angeles has been the focus of countless musical tributes. Rock, country, blues and ballad artists have all taken their turn with an L.A. tune and the result is a songbook full of city anthems.

The recording capital of the world, Los Angeles is home to countless singer and songwriters. Some are home-grown artists like the Beach Boys, who imortalized Southern California beach culture, while others–even international icons like the Beatles–have been inspired by time spent in L.A.

As a result the airwaves are filled with songs that

celebrate Southern California. Some artists take a lighthearted look at the city with songs like “Valley Girl” and “Walking in L.A.,” while others capture “Hollywood Nights” and “Life in the Fast Lane.”

Here are just some of the songs to hum as you cruise

around L.A.:

26 Miles (Santa Catalina) The Four Preps

All I Wanna Do Sheryl Crow

Avalon Roxy Music

Blue Jay Way Beatles

Born in East L.A. Cheech & Chong

California Dreamin’ The Mamas and The

Papas

California Girls Beach Boys

California Here I Come Paul Martin

Celluloid Heroes Kinks

Coldwater Canyon Dory Previn

Coming into Los Angeles Arlo Guthrie

Creeque Alley Mamas and Papas

Dead Man’s Curve Jan & Dean

Do You Know the Way to San Jose Dionne Warwick

Free Falling Tom Petty

Heart of Gold Neil Young

Hey Hey L.A. Beverly Craveiro

Hollywood Dreams Thunderclap Newman

Hollywood Nights Bob Seger

Hollywood Swinging Kool & the Gang

Hooray for Hollywood Doris Day

I Love L.A. Randy Newman

In Hollywood (Everybody is a Star) Village People

It Never Rains in Southern California Albert Hammond

King of Hollywood The Eagles

L.A.’s My Lady Frank Sinatra

L.A. Freeway Jerry Jeff Walker

L.A. Woman Doors

La Bamba Richie Valens

Ladies of the Canyon Joni Mitchell

Life in the Fast Lane The Eagles

Little Old Lady From Pasadena Jan & Dean

Los Angeles X

MacArthur Park Richard Harris

Midnight Train to Georgia Gladys Knight & the

Pips

Postcards from L.A. Joshua Kadison

Route 66 Nat “King” Cole ( & others) Santa Monica Everclear

Sunset Blvd. (from musical) Andrew Lloyd Webber

Sunset People Donna Summer

Surfin’ U.S.A. Beach Boys

That’s Entertainment Judy Garland

Trouble Every Day Mothers of Invention

Under the Bridge Red Hot Chili Peppers

Valley Girl Frank & Moon Unit Zappa

Ventura Highway America

Walking in L.A. Missing Persons

Los Angeles on Film

As the world’s motion picture capital, Los Angeles

often serves as a giant movie set. Because so many productions film in L.A., local scenery has stood in for locations from Chicago to Korea.

Sometimes, however, Los Angeles gets to play itself. Movies set in Los Angeles take us behind the scenes in Hollywood, (Sunset Boulevard, Singin’ in the Rain, A Star is Born), to the beach, (Beach Blanket Bingo, Gidget), to school, (Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Clueless), or on a fast ride all over the city (Speed).

The wide variety of L.A. films is as diverse as the

city itself. Neighborhoods as different as South Central (Boyz N the Hood), East L.A. (Mi Familia) and Beverly Hills (Down and Out in Beverly Hills, Beverly Hills Cop) appear in films that give us a brief glimpse inside the many sides of life in L.A.

The following are just some of the films in which Los

Angeles stars as itself:

Once in a Lifetime 1932

Hollywood Hotel 1937

A Star is Born 1937, 1954, 1976

Boy Meets Girl 1938

Hellzapoppin 1941

Hollywood Canteen 1944

Abbott & Costello in Hollywood 1945

The Big Sleep 1946

Sunset Boulevard 1950

Singin’ in the Rain 1952

The Bad & the Beautiful 1953

Them 1954

The Big Knife 1955

Rebel Without A Cause 1955

Kiss Me Deadly 1955

No Down Payment 1957

The Goddess 1958

Gidget 1959

The Savage Eye 1960

The Errand Boy 1961

The Carpetbaggers 1964

Harlow 1965

Inside Daisy Clover 1965

The Loved One 1965

Beach Blanket Bingo 1965

The Oscar 1966

Divorce American Style 1967

Marlowe 1969

The Omega Man 1971

Cisco Pike 1972

The Long Goodbye 1973

Save the Tiger 1973

Chinatown 1974

Earthquake 1974

Shampoo 1975

California Suite 1978

1941 1979

True Confessions 1981

Fast Times at Ridgemont High 1982

E.T. The Extra Terrestrial 1982

Blade Runner 1982

Frances 1982

Valley Girl 1983

Beverly Hills Cop 1984, 1987, 1994

The Terminator and Terminator 2 1984, 1991

To Live and Die in L.A. 1985

Down and Out in Beverly Hills 1986

The Morning After 1986

Stand and Deliver 1987

Lethal Weapon 1987, 1989, 1992

Die Hard 1988

Miracle Mile 1989

The Big Picture 1989

Pretty Woman 1990

Boyz N the Hood 1991

L.A. Story 1991

Grand Canyon 1991

Scenes From a Mall 1991

The Player 1992

White Men Can’t Jump 1992

Falling Down 1993

Short Cuts 1993

In the Line of Fire 1993

Speed 1994

Pulp Fiction 1994

Mi Familia (My Family) 1995

Clueless 1995

Heat 1995

Strange Days 1995

Nick of Time 1995

Devil in a Blue Dress 1995

Mulholland Falls 1996

L.A. on TV

This is the city…where our favorite characters

cruised the freeways, biked at the beach, or took a glamorous turn in Beverly Hills.

Los Angeles images seem familiar to people who have never set foot in Southern California thanks to its continuous television exposure. From the beaches of “Baywatch” to the dramatic skyline of “L.A. Law,” Los Angeles finds its way into homes all over the world.

Here are just a few of the countless television shows

that have been set in L.A.:

77 Sunset Strip Moonlighting

Baywatch Mr. Ed

Baywatch Nights My Mother the Car

Beverly Hills 90210 Perry Mason

The Beverly Hillbillies Police Story

The Burns and Allen Show Police Woman

Cannon The Real McCoys

Charlie’s Angels The Rockford Files

CHIPs The Rookies

The Courtship of Eddie’s Sanford & Son

Father Three’s Company

Cybill

Dragnet

Emergency

The Fresh Price of Bel Air

Gidget

Here’s Lucy

I Married Joan

L.A. Law

Malibu 2000

Mannix

Marcus Welby M.D.

Markham

Medical Center

Melrose Place

The Mod Squad

Moesha

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