| "California Man" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by The Move | ||||
| from the album Message From the Country | ||||
| B-side | "Do Ya", "Ella James" | |||
| Released | April 1972 | |||
| Format | 7" | |||
| Recorded | 1971 Philips Studios | |||
| Genre | Rock and roll | |||
| Length | 3:37 | |||
| Label | UK Harvest Records US United Artists |
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| Writer(s) | Roy Wood | |||
| Producer | Roy Wood, Jeff Lynne | |||
| The Move singles chronology | ||||
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California Man is a song by The Move.
Released in 1972 as a maxi single with "Do Ya" and "Ella James" as a double B-side, this was The Move's last official single release. The Electric Light Orchestra, originally conceived as a side-project to The Move, issued its first single,10538 Overture, a month after this track. A pastiche of Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard and Larry Williams, the composition is recorded in a high energy rock 'n' roll style, with lead vocals by both Jeff Lynne and Roy Wood, then jointly leaders of both ELO and The Move. California Man reached No. 7 on the UK Singles Chart in May 1972.
In the U.S. the single was issued on the United Artists record label. It was flipped after release, when Lynne's "Do Ya" b-side proved more popular. It became The Move's only US charting single, peaking at 93 on the Billboard Hot 100 in November 1972.
Only Wood, Lynne and drummer Bev Bevan appear on the recording. The picture sleeve opposite has an older picture of The Move, including bassist Rick Price, who was no longer a member of the group by then.
The Move's version of the song never originally appeared on one of their studio albums, however it does appear as a bonus track on the reissue of Message From the Country.
The song was later covered by Cheap Trick and Jim Davidson. Cheap Trick included it on their 1978 album Heaven Tonight and also released it as a single that year as a follow up to "Surrender". It has also been included on several Cheap Trick compilation albums.[1] Cliff Richard has performed it live on occasion.
Ella James was a song taken from the band's final album Message From the Country written by Roy Wood.
It was released as a single in the UK in 1971 with No Time from the same album on the flip side, but was quickly withdrawn in favour of Tonight, and later ended up being a double B-side of California Man along with "Do Ya" on the aforementioned single.
The song was covered by The Nashville Teens.
TV Performance 1972 You tube
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