"Cruisin'", also known as "Lucy and Ramona and Sunset Sam", is the last single to be released by

Michael Nesmith Robert Michael Nesmith (December 30, 1942 – December 10, 2021) was an American musician, songwriter, and actor. He was best known as a member of the Monkees and co-star of their The Monkees (TV series), TV series of the same name (1966–1968) ...

as a solo artist. The song was released in 1979 under Pacific Arts (PAC 108) from the album '' Infinite Rider on the Big Dogma''. The B-side of the single was "Carioca". "Cruisin'" tells the story of three individuals who live on the streets of Los Angeles, California and are related by their lifestyle.

Background

A promotional video was made for ''Cruisin and was released on Nesmith's ''

Elephant Parts ''Elephant Parts'' is a collection of comedy sketches and music videos made in 1981 by Michael Nesmith, formerly of the Monkees. Nesmith produced the video through his company Pacific Arts. ''Elephant Parts'' is one-hour-long with parody comme ...

''. Contrary to popular belief, the video did not debut

Hulk Hogan Terry Gene Bollea (; born August 11, 1953), better known by his ring name Hulk Hogan, is an American retired Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE as a brand ambassador. Known for his flamboyance and massive physiq ...

, but rather, featured wrestler Steve Strong who resembles a young Hulk Hogan. Nesmith mistakenly stated in 1989 that Hogan played the role, but he corrected his statement in 2003. The song received considerable airplay on AOR rock stations during the summer of 1979. Cleveland AOR station

WMMS WMMS (100.7 FM broadcasting, FM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Cleveland, Ohio, serving Greater Cleveland and much of surrounding Northeast Ohio, commonly identified as "The Buzzard". Widely regarded as one of the most influen ...

music director Denny Sanders had the song in "high rotation" during the months of July and August. Although it did not chart in the US, it peaked at No. 6 on the New Zealand singles chart. The

Original Spanish Kitchen The Original Spanish Kitchen was a restaurant on Beverly Boulevard in the Fairfax District (Los Angeles, California), Fairfax District of Los Angeles, California, US, that became the subject of an urban legend starting in the early 1960s. The res ...

appears briefly in the background of the video for the song. It is in a five-second vignette which accompanies the words, "passing up the treats from a Kid named Cisco", in the second verse of the song.

Charts

Personnel

– guitar, producer, vocals * Lenny Castro – percussion * Joe Chemay – arranger, background vocals * John Hobbs – keyboards, background vocals *

Paul Leim Paul William Leim (born December 29, 1950) is an American drummer and recording session musician based in Nashville. Biography Leim was born in Port Huron, Michigan and raised in Troup, Texas. He was inspired to take up drumming as a child a ...

– drums * David MacKay – bass guitar * Al Perkins – guitar * Tom Saviano – saxophone

References

{{authority control 1979 singles Songs written by Michael Nesmith Songs about Los Angeles 1979 songs