''California'' is the third studio album and the first covers album by American female group

Wilson Phillips Wilson Phillips is an American pop vocal group formed in Los Angeles in 1989. The group consists of sisters Carnie and Wendy Wilson, the daughters of Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys, and Chynna Phillips, the daughter of John and Michelle Phi ...

. The group reunited in 2003 to record their first studio album in twelve years released by

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

. The album peaked at #35 on the ''Billboard'' 200, and sold 31,000 copies during the first week of its release.

Track listing

A "limited edition" was also released that featured a

hidden track In the field of recorded music, a hidden track (sometimes called a ghost track, secret track or unlisted track) is a song or a piece of audio that has been placed on a CD, audio cassette, LP record, or other recorded medium, in such a way as t ...

that is only listed on a sticker affixed to the CD case.

Personnel

Wilson Phillips *

Chynna Phillips Chynna Gilliam Phillips (born February 12, 1968) is an American singer and actress. She is a member of the pop vocal trio Wilson Phillips and is the daughter of the Mamas & the Papas band members John and Michelle Phillips and half-sister of ...

– lead vocals (1, 4-7, 10, 11), backing vocals, vocal arrangements *

Carnie Wilson Carnie Wilson (born April 29, 1968) is an American singer and television personality. She is the daughter of Brian Wilson and in 1989 co-founded the pop music trio Wilson Phillips with her younger sister Wendy. From 1995 onwards, she has also b ...

– lead vocals (2, 4-6, 8, 10, 11), backing vocals, additional keyboards (6), vocal arrangements *

Wendy Wilson Wendy Wilson (born October 16, 1969) is an American singer and television personality who is a member of the pop trio Wilson Phillips. She co-founded Wilson Phillips with her older sister, Carnie, and childhood friend Chynna Phillips in 1989 ...

– lead vocals (3-6, 9-11), backing vocals, vocal arrangements Musicians * Jon Gilutin –

Hammond B3 organ The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert, first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding #Drawbars, drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, sound was created ...

(1, 4, 9) * Roger Manning –

Mellotron The Mellotron is an electro-mechanical musical instrument developed in Birmingham, England, in 1963. It is played by pressing its keys, each of which causes a length of magnetic tape to contact a Capstan (tape recorder), capstan, which pulls i ...

(1), acoustic piano (2, 7),

Wurlitzer electric piano The Wurlitzer electronic piano is an electric piano manufactured and marketed by Wurlitzer from 1954 to 1983. Sound is generated by striking a metal reed with a hammer, which induces an electric current in a pickup. It is conceptually similar to ...

(9),

Farfisa organ Farfisa () is a manufacturer of electronics based in Osimo, Italy, founded in 1946. The company manufactured a series of compact electronic organs in the 1960s and 1970s, including the Compact, FAST, Professional and VIP ranges, and later, a s ...

(10) *

Brian Wilson Brian Douglas Wilson (June 20, 1942 – June 11, 2025) was an American musician, songwriter, singer and record producer who co-founded the Beach Boys. Often Brian Wilson is a genius, called a genius for his novel approaches to pop compositio ...

– acoustic piano (11), special guest vocals (11) *

Dean Parks Weldon Dean Parks (born December 6, 1946) is an American session guitarist and record producer from Fort Worth, Texas. Parks has one Grammy nomination. Albums Parks was member of the North Texas State One O'clock Lab Band before moving to Los A ...

– electric guitars (1, 3-5, 7-9), acoustic guitars (4, 6),

mandolin A mandolin (, ; literally "small mandola") is a Chordophone, stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally Plucked string instrument, plucked with a plectrum, pick. It most commonly has four Course (music), courses of doubled St ...

(5), lead electric guitar (10) * David Rolfe – fuzz bass (1), acoustic guitars (2, 3, 5, 8, 10), electric guitars (2, 7, 9), percussion programming (2, 10), acoustic hi-strung guitar (4) *

Dan Dugmore Dan Dugmore is an American session musician known primarily for playing the pedal steel guitar Born in 1949, Dugmore was raised in Pasadena, California. Influenced by the Flying Burrito Brothers, he learned to play steel guitar after Flying Bur ...

–

pedal steel guitar The pedal steel guitar is a console steel guitar with pedals and knee levers that change the pitch of certain strings, enabling more varied and complex music to be played than with other steel guitar designs. Like all steel guitars, it can play ...

(2, 3) * Rob Bonfiglio – lead electric guitar (4), 12-string acoustic guitar (6, 10),

baritone guitar The baritone guitar is a guitar with a longer scale length, typically a larger body, and heavier internal bracing, so it can be tuned to a lower pitch. Gretsch, Fender, Gibson, Ibanez, ESP Guitars, PRS Guitars, Music Man, Danelectro, Sche ...

(6), electric guitars (9) *

Larry Klein Larry Klein is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer. He is based in Los Angeles. He began his career as a bassist, playing with jazz artists Willie Bobo, Freddie Hubbard, Carmen McRae, Joe Henderson, Bobby Hutcherson, Way ...

– bass (1-3, 5, 6) *

Leland Sklar Leland Bruce Sklar (born May 28, 1947) is an American bassist and session musician. He rose to prominence as a member of James Taylor's backing band, which coalesced into a group in its own right, The Section, which supported so many of Asylu ...

– bass (4, 7-10) *

Russ Kunkel Russell Kunkel (born September 27, 1948) is an American drummer who has worked as a session musician with many popular artists, including Jackson Browne, Jimmy Buffett, Harry Chapin, Rita Coolidge, Neil Diamond, Bob Dylan, Cass Elliot, Dan Fo ...

– drums (2-10),

tambourine The tambourine is a musical instrument in the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zills". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, thoug ...

(4, 10),

maracas A maraca ( , , ), sometimes called shaker or chac-chac, is a rattle which appears in many genres of Caribbean and Latin music. It is shaken by a handle and usually played as part of a pair. Maracas, also known as tamaracas, were rattles of d ...

(7),

conga The conga, also known as tumbadora, is a tall, narrow, single-headed drum from Cuba. Congas are staved like barrels and classified into three types: quinto (lead drum, highest), tres dos or tres golpes (middle), and tumba or salidor (lowest ...

s (9) *

Peter Asher Peter Asher (born 22 June 1944) is an English guitarist, singer, manager and record producer. He came to prominence in the 1960s as a member of the pop music vocal duo Peter and Gordon before going on to a successful career as a manager and re ...

– percussion programming (6, 10), additional percussion (9), sleigh bells (10) * Jay Ruston – percussion programming (6) * David Campbell – orchestral arrangements and conductor (3, 5, 7, 9, 10) * Larry Corbett, Joel Derouin, Michele Richards and Evan Wilson – string quartet (2, 6, 8) *

Linda Ronstadt Linda Maria Ronstadt (born July 15, 1946) is an American singer who has performed and recorded in diverse genres including rock, country, light opera, the Great American Songbook, and Latin music. Ronstadt has earned 11 Grammy Awards, three A ...

– special guest vocal sample (1) * Owen Elliot – additional backing vocals (7) * Dance Party Chorus on "Dance Dance Dance" – Peter Asher, Jameson Baldwin, Vance Baldwin,

William Baldwin William Joseph Baldwin (born February 21, 1963) Note: While birthplace is routinely listed as Massapequa, that town has no hospital, and brother Alec Baldwin was born in nearby Amityville, which does. is an American actor and the second-younge ...

, Rob Bonfilogo, Maria Carcamo, Tiffany Miller, Chynna Phillips,

Michelle Phillips Holly Michelle Phillips ( Gilliam; born June 4, 1944) is an American singer, songwriter and actress. Described by ''Time (magazine), Time'' magazine as the "purest soprano in pop music", she rose to fame in the mid-1960s with the folk rock vocal ...

, Jay Ruston, René Succa, Dave Way, Aron Wilson, Carnie Wilson and Wendy Wilson

Production

* Executive Producers – Tiffany Miller and Sherratt Reicher * Producer – Peter Asher * Co-Producer – David Rolfe * Additional Vocal Production – Wilson Phillips * Tracks recorded by Nathaniel Kunkel, assisted by John Morrical. * Vocals and Overdubs recorded by Jay Ruston, assisted by Tony Rambo. * Pedal steel guitar recorded by George Massenburg, assisted by Leslie Richter. * Strings recorded by Steve Churchyard, assisted by Jason Gossman. * Mixing – Dave Way (Tracks 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 9 & 10); Jay Ruston (Tracks 3, 5, 8 & 11). * Recorded and Overdubbed at Conway Studios (Hollywood, California) and The Park Studios (Studio City, California). * Mastered by

Doug Sax Doug Sax (April 26, 1936 – April 2, 2015) was an American mastering engineer from Los Angeles, California. He mastered three The Doors' albums, including their 1967 debut; six Pink Floyd's albums, including '' The Wall''; Ray Charles' multiple ...

and Robert Hadley at The Mastering Lab (Ojai, CA). * A&R – Mitchell Cohen * Liner Notes – Mitchell Cohen * Production Coordinator – Brandi Whitmore * Additional Coordination – Veronica Bekov and Mary Hogan * Art Direction – Nancy Donald and Mary Maurer * Design – Mary Maurer * Photography – Sheryl Nields * Illustration – Kevo Sassouni * Music Contractor – Susie Katayama * Music Copyist – Betty Ross-Blumer * Management – Adam Epstein, Maggie Reinhart, David Simone and Winston Simone.

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Certifications

References

2004 albums Wilson Phillips albums Columbia Records albums 2000s covers albums Albums arranged by David Campbell (composer) Albums produced by Peter Asher {{2000s-pop-rock-album-stub