Song · David Lee Roth
“California Girls” by David Lee Roth
From the EP Crazy From the Heat (1985)
“California Girls” by David Lee Roth appears on 11 radio countdowns from 8 stations between 1990 and 2025. It was first released in 1985 on the EP Crazy From the Heat. Its best result is #14 on the WMMR Top 50 Songs of Summer (2012). In the combined RockLists rankings it is #1,348 classic rock song of all time.
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David Lee Roth took the Beach Boys' "California Girls" out for a joyride on Crazy From the Heat, his 1985 solo EP, and played it as pure sun-baked showbiz. Brian Wilson and Mike Love wrote the original as a sunny salute to American women; Roth keeps the grin and turns up the ham.
Ted Templeman produced it with a stacked band behind the singer: Eddie Martinez and Sid McGinnis on guitar, Willie Weeks on bass, John "JR" Robinson on drums, Brian Mann on synthesizer and Sammy Figueroa on percussion. Edgar Winter plays keyboards and saxophone and joins the backing chorus alongside Christopher Cross and Carl Wilson. The cover climbed all the way to No. 3, matching the peak of the original.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Classic Rock
Hard Rock & Metal
All Rock Formats
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 167 | Z-Rock | Z-Rock Top 1001 Songs of All-Time (1990) | 1000 |
| 2012 | 14 | 93.3 WMMR | WMMR Top 50 Songs of Summer (2012) | 49 |
| 2016 | 472 | 100.7 WZLX | 100.7 WZLX Top 1007 Countdown for 2016 | 1007 |
| 2019 | 634 | 102.5 KZOK | KZOK Top 1025 of 2019 | 1025 |
| 2021 | 913 | Q104.3 | Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2021) | 1043 |
| 2021 | 118 | 97 Rock | 97 Rock N Roll 500 (2021) | 500 |
| 2021 | 425 | 99.1 PLR | 99.1 PLR Big 500 (2021) | 500 |
| 2022 | 391 | 99.1 PLR | 99.1 PLR Big 500 (2022) | 500 |
| 2022 | 333 | 97 Rock | 97 Rock N Roll 500 (2022) | 500 |
| 2024 | 461 | KQRS | KQRS KQ 500 (2024) | 499 |
| 2025 | 148 | 99.1 PLR | 99.1 PLR Top 400 of the Last 40 Years (2025) | 400 |
Also listed as: CaliforniaGirls.
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