El Cerrito Place
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"El Cerrito Place" is a song written by
Keith Gattis Quenton Keith Gattis (May 26, 1970 – April 23, 2023) was an American country music singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. He released two studio albums and charted one single, "Little Drops of My Heart", on the ''Billboard'' Hot C ...
. Originally recorded by
Charlie Robison Charles Fitzgerald Robison (September 1, 1964 – September 10, 2023) was an American country music singer-songwriter. Career After a knee injury at Southwest Texas State University ended a potential football career, Charlie Robison came to ...
, it was also recorded by
Kenny Chesney Kenneth Arnold Chesney (born March 26, 1968) is an American country singer. With 30 million albums sold worldwide, he released his debut, '' In My Wildest Dreams'', in 1994, and has since released 19 follow-ups. His albums spawned 27 singles tha ...
on his 2012 album '' Welcome to the Fishbowl'', from which it was released as the third single in September 2012 .


History

The song, written by
Keith Gattis Quenton Keith Gattis (May 26, 1970 – April 23, 2023) was an American country music singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. He released two studio albums and charted one single, "Little Drops of My Heart", on the ''Billboard'' Hot C ...
, was originally recorded by Gattis in 2002 for his own album ''Big City Blues''.
Charlie Robison Charles Fitzgerald Robison (September 1, 1964 – September 10, 2023) was an American country music singer-songwriter. Career After a knee injury at Southwest Texas State University ended a potential football career, Charlie Robison came to ...
then recorded it on his 2004 album ''
Good Times ''Good Times'' is an American television sitcom that aired for six seasons on CBS, from February 8, 1974, to August 1, 1979. Created by Eric Monte and Mike Evans (actor), Mike Evans and developed by executive producer Norman Lear, it was televis ...
''. Robison's version was released as both a single and
music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...
, but the single did not chart. The backing vocals on Robison's version were performed by
Natalie Maines Natalie Louise Maines (born October 14, 1974) is an American musician. She is the lead vocalist for the country band the Chicks. In 1995, after leaving Berklee College of Music, Maines was recruited by the Dixie Chicks to replace their lead si ...
of
The Chicks The Chicks (formerly the Dixie Chicks) are an American country music band from Dallas, Texas. The band consists of Natalie Maines (lead vocals, guitar, bass guitar) and sisters Martie Maguire (vocals, fiddle, mandolin, guitar) and Emily Strayer ...
. Chesney's version includes a backing vocal from
Grace Potter Grace Evelyn Potter (born June 20, 1983) is an American singer-songwriter and musician. She has released five solo albums: ''Red Shoe Rebel'' (2002), ''Original Soul'' (2004), ''Midnight'' (2015), ''Daylight'' (2019), and '' Mother Road'' (2023) ...
, with whom he recorded his 2011 single " You and Tequila".


Content

The song is a mid-tempo in which the male narrator longs for a lost lover in
California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
. Chesney said of the song that he enjoyed Robison's version for several years, and that "There is a certain longing in this song that in a lot of ways I really relate to. It's about wanting something that's obviously not there." Robison praised Chesney's version, saying that he "did a good job with it". The song title refers to the El Cerrito Place Apartments at the base of the Hollywood Hills in the Hollywood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, where Gattis lived while writing and recording the song. The song's and apartment's namesake street, off of Franklin Avenue, starts just north of the intersection of La Brea Ave. and Hollywood Blvd., which is consistent with the lyrics of the song.


Critical reception

Chet Flippo, in an article on the song's history for CMT, said that "It's one song that in its different iterations links past and present. It truly shows the power of a single song." Billy Dukes of Taste of Country gave the song 4 ½ stars out of 5, saying that it "might be the most emotional performance of his career. It’s clear he’s falling back on his own experiences as he tells the story of a man looking for his love and maybe his soul."


Chart performance


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


Certifications


References

{{authority control 2012 singles 2003 songs Country ballads 2010s ballads Charlie Robison songs Kenny Chesney songs Song recordings produced by Buddy Cannon Songs written by Keith Gattis Columbia Nashville Records singles Songs about California