Cover Me: California Sun

“California Sun” cracked the Billboard Hot 100 twice, but neither time was by a west coast band.

New Orleans-based Joe Jones was the first to record it, and he took it to #89 in 1961.

More famously, The Rivieras covered it in 1964 and commanded the #5 spot on the chart for a solid ten weeks.

So if a New Orleans R&B singer and an Indiana-based rock band can lay claim to the last great American rock hit before the British Invasion swept the country, why not a New Jersey rock icon?

Bruce Springsteen flirted with “California Sun” a few times over the years, quoting it upon occasion (the occasions being California concerts) in “Detroit Medley” or “Light of Day.”

But he’s only played it properly in concert once: with the E Street Band at the late L.A. Sports Arena on the evening of April 26, 2012.

Here’s that one-time-only performance, clearly influenced more by The Rivieras’ version rather than Joe Jones’ original (with a hat tip to The Surfaris at the end).

California Sun
First performed: November 9, 2007 (New York City, NY)
Last performed: April 26, 2012 (Los Angeles, CA)