"I Love L.A." is a song by

Randy Newman Randall Stuart Newman (born November 28, 1943) is an American singer-songwriter, arranger, composer, and pianist known for his Southern-accented singing style, early Americana-influenced songs (often with mordant or satirical lyrics), and vari ...

. It was originally released on his 1983 album ''

Trouble in Paradise Trouble in Paradise is an idiom used to describe problems in supposedly positive situations. Trouble in Paradise may also refer to: Books * ''Trouble in Paradise'' (Parker novel), a 1998 crime novel by Robert B. Parker * ''Trouble in Paradise' ...

''. The song is about

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wo ...

, and its

hook A hook is a tool consisting of a length of material, typically metal, that contains a portion that is curved or indented, such that it can be used to grab onto, connect, or otherwise attach itself onto another object. In a number of uses, one e ...

is its title, repeated, each time followed by an enthusiastic crowd cheering, "We love it!"

Writing and recording

Following the release of his sixth album '' Born Again'' (1979), Newman heavily procrastinated writing songs for a follow-up album, and spent a good portion of the next four years relaxing at home with his family. Newman jokingly noted that because he often lounged by the pool, the gardener had to water around him. To counter this lackadaisical lifestyle, Newman rented a recording studio in Los Angeles in 1983, which did not have any telephones to distract him. In this studio Newman recorded a song called "Something to Sing About", in which the narrator arrogantly boasts about the suburban opulence around him. Album producer

Lenny Waronker Lenny Waronker (born October 3, 1941) is an American record producer and music industry executive. As the president of Warner Bros. Records, and later, as the co-chair of DreamWorks Records, Waronker was noted for his commitment to artists and hi ...

disliked "Something to Sing About" and opted not to include it on the singer's upcoming album. Although "Something to Sing About" was not used, the song's message of delusion and arrogance served as an inspiration for "I Love L.A." Another source of inspiration came from a conversation Newman had with

Eagles Eagle is the common name for many large Bird of prey, birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of Genus, genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Ou ...

drummer

Don Henley Donald Hugh Henley (born July 22, 1947) is an American musician and a founding member of the rock band Eagles. He is the drummer and one of the lead singers for the Eagles. Henley sang the lead vocals on Eagles hits such as " Witchy Woman", " D ...

while on an airplane. Henley told him that he could no longer afford to charter Learjets, to which Newman sarcastically responded: "Jesus that's tough...you can't live on a million a year anymore". During the same flight, Henley suggested Newman should write a song about Los Angeles, as he was a native of the city. This conversation, as well as "Something to Sing About", not only served as the inspiration for "I Love L.A.", but also the themes of hedonism and disillusion found in the song's parent album ''Trouble in Paradise''. "I Love L.A." and the rest of the songs from ''Trouble in Paradise'' were recorded at Warner Bros. Recording Studios in

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywoo ...

, with producers Waronker and

Russ Titelman Russ Titelman (born August 16, 1944, Los Angeles, California) is an American record producer and songwriter. He has to date won three Grammy Awards. He earned his first producing the Steve Winwood song " Higher Love", and his second and third f ...

Mark Linett Mark may refer to: Currency * Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark, the currency of Bosnia and Herzegovina * East German mark, the currency of the German Democratic Republic * Estonian mark, the currency of Estonia between 1918 and 1927 * Fin ...

served as the

audio Audio most commonly refers to sound, as it is transmitted in signal form. It may also refer to: Sound *Audio signal, an electrical representation of sound *Audio frequency, a frequency in the audio spectrum * Digital audio, representation of soun ...

and

mixing engineer A mixing engineer (or simply mix engineer) is responsible for combining ("mixing") different sonic elements of an auditory piece into a complete rendition (also known as "final mix" or "mixdown"), whether in music, film, or any other content of a ...

, while Bobby Hata was the audio master. Several members of the rock band

Toto Toto may refer to: Arts and entertainment Fictional characters Pets * Toto (Oz), Toto (''Oz''), a dog in the novel and film ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' * Toto, in Japanese ''The Cat Returns#Plot, The Cat Returns'' Characters of agency * a ...

provided

groove Groove or Grooves may refer to: Music * Groove (music) * Groove (drumming) * The Groove (band), an Australian rock/pop band of the 1960s * The Groove (Sirius XM), a US radio station * Groove 101.7FM, a former Perth, Australia, radio station * ...

instrumentation, and

Waddy Wachtel Robert "Waddy" Wachtel (born May 24, 1947) is an American musician, composer and record producer, most notable for his guitar work. Wachtel has worked as session musician for other artists such as Linda Ronstadt, Stevie Nicks, Kim Carnes, Randy ...

played the

rhythm guitar In music performances, rhythm guitar is a technique and role that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with other instruments from the rhythm section (e.g., drum kit, bass guita ...

Composition

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the dat ...

's Matthew Greenwald believes "I Love L.A." is Newman's only attempt at writing an "anthem", as the song features an energetic and buoyant melody not commonly found in the singer's previous music. "I Love L.A." begins with a soft opening verse, which features electric piano and saxophone instrumentation. The opening verse borrows the melody of

Rodgers and Hart Rodgers and Hart were an American songwriting partnership between composer Richard Rodgers (1902–1979) and the lyricist Lorenz Hart (1895–1943). They worked together on 28 stage musicals and more than 500 songs from 1919 until Hart's ...

's 1937 song " The Lady Is a Tramp". Newman begins this verse by deriding New York City as a place where "people dressed like monkeys", and saying Chicago should be left to the "

Eskimo Eskimo () is an exonym used to refer to two closely related Indigenous peoples: the Inuit (including the Alaska Native Iñupiat, the Greenlandic Inuit, and the Canadian Inuit) and the Yupik (or Yuit) of eastern Siberia and Alaska. A related thi ...

s". The soft verse then transitions to a more upbeat,

pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre with an emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than rock music. Originating in the late 1950s as an alternative to normal rock and roll, ear ...

driven melody, influenced by the sound of

the Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American Rock music, rock band that formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian Wilson, Brian, Dennis Wilson, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and frie ...

. This influence is evidenced when Newman name-drops the band in the lyrics, as well as alluding to their 1963 song "

Surfin' U.S.A. "Surfin' U.S.A." is a song by the American rock band the Beach Boys, credited to Chuck Berry and Brian Wilson. It is a rewritten version of Berry's "Sweet Little Sixteen" set to new lyrics penned by Wilson and an uncredited Mike Love. The song ...

" Following the musical shift, the lyrics now depict Newman driving down

Imperial Highway The Imperial Highway is a west-east thoroughfare in the counties of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Diego, and Imperial in California. The main portion of the existing route begins at Vista Del Mar in Los Angeles near the Los Angeles Intern ...

in Los Angeles with a "big nasty redhead" at his side. Newman sings about rolling down the windows and pulling back the top of his

convertible A convertible or cabriolet () is a passenger car that can be driven with or without a roof in place. The methods of retracting and storing the roof vary among eras and manufacturers. A convertible car's design allows an open-air driving ex ...

as he feels the

Santa Ana winds The Santa Ana winds (sometimes devil winds) "Scholars who have looked into the name's origins generally agree that it derives from Santa Ana Canyon, the portal where the Santa Ana River -- as well as a congested Riverside (CA-91) Freeway -- leav ...

brush against him. He proceeds to name-drop several regions in Los Angeles such as South Bay, the Valley, and the Westside, and how everyone in these regions are happy because the sun is shining. The

chorus Chorus may refer to: Music * Chorus (song) or refrain, line or lines that are repeated in music or in verse * Chorus effect, the perception of similar sounds from multiple sources as a single, richer sound * Chorus form, song in which all verse ...

features Newman singing the phrase "I love L.A." several times, while

Christine McVie Christine Anne McVie (; née Perfect; 12 July 1943 – 30 November 2022) was an English musician and songwriter. She was best known as keyboardist and one of the vocalists of the band Fleetwood Mac. McVie was a member of several bands, nota ...

and

Lindsey Buckingham Lindsey Adams Buckingham (born October 3, 1949) is an American musician and record producer, best known as the lead guitarist and male lead vocalist of the band Fleetwood Mac from 1975 to 1987 and 1997 to 2018. In addition to his tenure with Fl ...

of the band

Fleetwood Mac Fleetwood Mac are a British-American rock band, formed in London in 1967. Fleetwood Mac were founded by guitarist Peter Green (musician), Peter Green, drummer Mick Fleetwood and guitarist Jeremy Spencer, before bassist John McVie joined the li ...

respond each time with "We love it". After the first chorus, the music temporarily shifts to a new

section Section, Sectioning or Sectioned may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Section (music), a complete, but not independent, musical idea * Section (typography), a subdivision, especially of a chapter, in books and documents ** Section sign ...

that removes the guitar and heavily emphasizes the synthesizer, before returning to its original melody. Newman proceeds to point out various objects and people, such as

Matterhorn Bobsleds Matterhorn Bobsleds are a pair of intertwined steel roller coasters at Disneyland in Anaheim, California. It is modeled after the Matterhorn, a mountain in the Alps on the border between Switzerland and Italy. It is the first known tubular steel ...

palm trees Palm most commonly refers to: * Palm of the hand, the central region of the front of the hand * Palm plants, of family Arecaceae ** List of Arecaceae genera * Several other plants known as "palm" Palm or Palms may also refer to: Music * Palm (b ...

, homeless people, and beautiful California women. Newman then name-drops several famous streets in Los Angeles:

Century Boulevard Century Boulevard is a major east–west thoroughfare in the southern portion of Los Angeles, California. Century Boulevard acts as a continuation of Tweedy Boulevard at Alameda Street in South Gate in its east end (Tweedy Boulevard in its eas ...

, Victory Boulevard,

Santa Monica Boulevard Santa Monica Boulevard is a major west–east thoroughfare in Los Angeles County. It runs from Ocean Avenue in Santa Monica near the Pacific Ocean to Sunset Boulevard at Sunset Junction in Los Angeles. It passes through Beverly Hills and Wes ...

, and the

Sixth Street Viaduct The Sixth Street Viaduct, also known as the Sixth Street Bridge, is a viaduct bridge that connects the Arts District in Downtown Los Angeles with the Boyle Heights neighborhood. The Sixth Street Viaduct spans the Los Angeles River, the San ...

. Each time he says the name of a road, McVie and Buckingham respond with the phrase "We love it". A

guitar solo A guitar solo is a melodic passage, instrumental section, or entire piece of music, pre-written (or improvised) to be played on a classical guitar, electric guitar or an acoustic guitar. In 20th and 21st century traditional music and popular ...

follows, before the song ends with the chorus.

Lyrical analysis

Newman is well known for his sardonic lyrics, as he would often write a song from a character's perspective, and mock the first-person character and others like them. This style of songwriting can be seen in some of Newman's other songs, such as the slaver perspective in " Sail Away" (1972), and the

redneck ''Redneck'' is a derogatory term chiefly, but not exclusively, applied to white Americans perceived to be crass and unsophisticated, closely associated with rural whites of the Southern United States.Harold Wentworth, and Stuart Berg Flexner, '' ...

perspective in "

Rednecks ''Redneck'' is a derogatory term chiefly, but not exclusively, applied to white Americans perceived to be crass and unsophisticated, closely associated with rural whites of the Southern United States.Harold Wentworth, and Stuart Berg Flexner, '' ...

" (1974). Despite its lively sound, "I Love L.A." also includes these sardonic lyrics, specifically about the shallow and dark aspects of Los Angeles. When Newman is listing off various sites in Los Angeles, Newman is discussing how residents will talk about the lavish excess of the city (palm trees, beautiful women) in an attempt to hide the squalor (a homeless man begging for money). Nicholas Pell of ''

LA Weekly ''LA Weekly'' is a free weekly alternative newspaper in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1978 by Jay Levin, who served as president and editor until 1991. Voice Media Group sold the paper in late 2017 to Semanal Media LLC, whose pare ...

'' noted how there were other parts of the song that serve as subtle insults to the city. He noted the Santa Ana winds in reality are very unpleasant, as the strong winds blow palm leaves and furniture around, and often bring hot dry weather. Pell believes the four streets listed at the end of the song were the four "must avoid" streets of 1983, due to gang violence and urban neglect. Pell ultimately described "I Love L.A." as a "paean to the moral weakness and intellectual vapidity" of Los Angeles. When journalist Timothy White asked whether or not "I Love L.A." was written as an insult to Los Angeles, Newman responded by saying he felt the lyrics were ambiguous. In a separate interview, Newman confessed an affection for his native city despite its imperfections: "There's some kind of ignorance L.A. has that I'm proud of. The open car and the redhead, the Beach Boys... that sounds really good to me."

Release and reception

"I Love L.A." was released in 1983 as the

lead single A lead single (also known as a debut single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. Release ...

from ''Trouble in Paradise''. At first, the single was considered a flop, as it failed to make the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, and was not distributed to retailers outside of the

West Coast of the United States The West Coast of the United States, also known as the Pacific Coast, Pacific states, and the western seaboard, is the coastline along which the Western United States meets the North Pacific Ocean. The term typically refers to the contiguous ...

. The song did, however, reach #110 on ''Billboard''

Bubbling Under Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles (also known as Bubbling Under the Hot 100) is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. The chart lists the top songs that have not yet charted on the main ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Chart ...

chart during April 1983. The following year, Los Angeles hosted the

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The ina ...

, and the company

Nike Nike often refers to: * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine given ...

ran an

ambush marketing Ambush marketing or ambush advertising is a marketing strategy in which an advertiser " ambushes" an event to compete for exposure against other advertisers. The term was coined by marketing strategist Jerry Welsh, while he was working as the m ...

campaign during the event. The campaign included a commercial featuring Newman singing "I Love L.A." while Olympic athletes

Mary Decker Mary Teresa Slaney (formerly Tabb, née Decker, born August 4, 1958) is a retired American middle-distance runner. During her career, she won gold medals in the 1500 meters and 3000 meters at the 1983 World Championships, and was the world re ...

and

Carl Lewis Frederick Carlton Lewis (born July 1, 1961) is an American former track and field athlete who won nine Olympic gold medals, one Olympic silver medal, and 10 World Championships medals, including eight gold. His career spanned from 1979 to 19 ...

ran and jumped wearing Nike gear. The commercial played throughout the Olympics, and as a result, "I Love L.A." received worldwide exposure. It became one of the best selling songs in Los Angeles, as citizens of Los Angeles saw the song as a celebration of their city.

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the

liner notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the record sleeve, sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for cassettes. Origin Liner n ...

of ''Trouble in Paradise''.

Musicians

– vocals, piano, synthesizer, arranger, conductor *

Steve Lukather Steven Lee Lukather (born October 21, 1957) is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, arranger and record producer, best known as the sole continuous founding member of the rock band Toto. His reputation as a skilled guitarist led to a stead ...

– lead guitar *

Larry Williams Larry Williams (born Lawrence Eugene Williams, a.k.a. Lawrence Edward Williams; May 10, 1935 – January 7, 1980) was an American rhythm and blues and rock and roll singer, songwriter, producer, and pianist from New Orleans, Louisiana. Willia ...

– saxophone *

David Paich David Frank Paich (born June 25, 1954) is an American musician, best known as the co-founder, principal songwriter, keyboardist and singer of the rock band Toto since 1977. He wrote or co-wrote much of Toto's original material, including the ban ...

–

Fender Rhodes The Rhodes piano (also known as the Fender Rhodes piano) is an electric piano invented by Harold Rhodes, which became popular in the 1970s. Like a conventional piano, the Rhodes generates sound with keys and hammers, but instead of strings, th ...

Farfisa organ Farfisa (Fabbriche Riunite di Fisarmoniche) 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, Professiona ...

Michael Boddicker Michael Lehmann Boddicker (born January 19, 1953) is an American film composer and session musician, specializing in electronic music. He is a three times National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (N.A.R.A.S.) Most Valuable Player "Synthes ...

–

synthesizer A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis ...

Nathan East Nathan Harrell East (born December 8, 1955) is an American jazz, R&B, and rock bass player and vocalist. With more than 2,000 recordings, East is one of the most recorded bass players in the history of music. East holds a Bachelor of Arts deg ...

– bass *

Jeff Porcaro Jeffrey Thomas Porcaro (; April 1, 1954 – August 5, 1992) was an American drummer, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known for his work with the rock band Toto but is one of the most recorded session musicians in history, working on ...

– drums *

– background vocals *

– rhythm guitar

Production

– producers *

– audio engineering * Mark Linett – mixing * Bobby Hata – mastering

Covers and parodies

Alvin and the Chipmunks Alvin and the Chipmunks, originally David Seville and the Chipmunks or simply The Chipmunks, are an American animated virtual band and media franchise first created by Ross Bagdasarian for novelty records in 1958. The group consists of three ...

covered the song for their TV series episode, "I Love L.A." * In 1998, the rock group Jake Trout and the Flounders – consisting of professional golfers

Payne Stewart William Payne Stewart (January 30, 1957 – October 25, 1999) was an American professional golfer who won eleven PGA Tour events, including three Men's major golf championships, major championships, the last of which came just a few months before ...

Peter Jacobsen Peter Erling Jacobsen (born March 4, 1954) is an American professional golfer and commentator on Golf Channel and NBC. He has played on the PGA Tour and the Champions Tour. He has won seven events on the PGA Tour and two events on the Champions ...

and Larry Rinker – recorded a golf-themed parody of the song titled "I Love to Play", for their album of the same name. * In 1985, Kris Kardashian (now

Kris Jenner Kristen Mary Jenner ( Houghton , formerly Kardashian; born November 5, 1955) is an American media personality, socialite, and businesswoman. She rose to fame starring in the reality television series ''Keeping Up with the Kardashians'' (2007� ...

) covered the song with her own spin titled "I Love My Friends". Her daughters recreated the video for her 60th birthday in 2015. * The song is sampled in "We Run L.A." by

Dr. Hollywood ''Dr. 90210'' is an American reality television series focusing on plastic surgery in the wealthy suburb of Beverly Hills, California. The series ran for six seasons from 2004 to 2008 on E!. ''Dr. 90210'' gets its name from the zip code o ...

. *

La Habra, California La Habra (archaic spelling of ''La Abra'', ) is a city in the northwestern corner of Orange County, California, United States. In the 2010 census, the city had a population of 60,239. A related city, La Habra Heights, is located to the north of ...

mayor Jim Gomez did a parody video to the tune of "I love L.H." The video featured

Octomom Natalie Denise Suleman (born Nadya Denise Doud-Suleman; July 11, 1975), known as Octomom in the media, is an American media personality who came to international attention when she gave birth to the first surviving octuplets in January 2009.

, and the video was quickly removed from the Internet after negative comments from many community leaders. * The song was covered by

Matthew Morrison Matthew James Morrison (born October 30, 1978) is an American actor, dancer and singer-songwriter, best known for his role as Will Schuester on the Fox television show ''Glee'' (2009–2015). He has starred in multiple Broadway and Off-Broadw ...

, Kevin McHale,

Darren Criss Darren Everett Criss (born February 5, 1987) is an American actor, singer, and songwriter. He rose to fame starring on the television series ''Glee'' (2010–2015) and received Emmy and Golden Globe acting awards for his leading role as spree ...

Jacob Artist Jacob Artist (born October 17, 1992) is an American actor, singer, and dancer. He is best known for his roles as Jake Puckerman on the Fox musical comedy-drama series ''Glee'' and as Brandon Fletcher on the ABC drama-thriller series '' Quantico' ...

, and

Chord Overstreet Chord Paul Overstreet (born February 17, 1989) is an American actor and musician. He is best known for his role as Sam Evans on the Fox television series ''Glee'' (2009–2015). He has starred in the Apple TV+ comedy series ''Acapulco'' since 2 ...

(as their characters

Will Schuester William Michael Schuester, often referred to as Mr. Schue, is a fictional teacher character and one of the two main protagonists from the Fox musical comedy-drama series ''Glee'', alongside his student Rachel Berry. He has appeared in ''Glee'' ...

Artie Abrams Arthur "Artie" Abrams is a fictional character from the Fox musical comedy-drama series ''Glee'' portrayed as the "glue" of the glee club. The character is portrayed by actor Kevin McHale, and appeared in ''Glee'' since its pilot episode, firs ...

Blaine Anderson Blaine Devon Anderson is a fictional character from the American musical comedy-drama television series ''Glee''. Played by Darren Criss, Blaine was introduced in the sixth episode of the second season as the openly gay lead singer of the Dalt ...

, Jake Puckerman, and

Sam Evans Sam Evans is a fictional character from the Fox musical comedy-drama series ''Glee''. The character is portrayed by actor Chord Overstreet, and appeared on ''Glee'' starting with the second season premiere episode entitled "Audition", first br ...

, respectively) on the

FOX Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous ma