None of these artists were born between the coast of California and the shores of the Delaware Bay – but at some point all were glad to be Living in the USA.
NEIL YOUNG: Out On The Weekend (From the 1972 album ‘Harvest‘): Neil gives his most accessible (and successful) album a lovely, lolloping start. In this mood you would want to be sat beside him in that pick-up driving to LA.
ELTON JOHN: Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters (From the 1972 album ‘Honky Chateau‘): Combining sharply honed lyrics and a wonderfully understated tune, Bernie Taupin observes the vagaries of New York. Their finest song.
ROLLING STONES: Faraway Eyes (From the album 1978 album ‘Some Girls‘): Under the cynical eye of the Stones falls country music stations, religious radio shows and the whole ‘Take It Easy‘ notion of LA Rock. Great lyrics from the lead singer – Jagger taking the mick so to speak.
THE BAND: The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down (From the 1969 album ‘The Band‘): As much history lesson as rock song, this astonishing take on the American Civil War led many to believe it was a traditional folk ode written at the time, rather than a hundred years later.
Composed by a Canadian genius (guitarist Robbie Robertson) and sung by drummer Levon Helm, the only American member of the group – and a Southerner at that.
LED ZEPPELIN: Going To California (From the 1971 album ‘Led Zeppelin IV‘): The best recorded rock group in history perform a crystalline marvel, that sounds astonishing even by their standards.
An evocative ballad reflecting their folk influences, Zep head for a land of mystery in search of an illusive songstress.
JONI MITCHELL: California (From the 1971 album ‘Blue‘): Talking of the illusive songstress, from a park in Paris Joni writes a love letter to her adopted state – confessing that if it was a rock band she’d be its biggest fan.
Concise, witty, impossibly perfect in the way only Joni can be.
THE KINKS: Celluloid Heroes (From the 1972 album ‘Everybody’s In Show-Biz‘): Mid-period Kinks epic from brother Ray who walks along Hollywood Boulevard noting the names of stars written in concrete, reflecting on those who succeeded and those who failed.
He succeeded in writing a masterpiece – the song failed to chart.
ROD STEWART: Mandolin Wind (From the 1971 album ‘Every Picture Tells A Story‘): Despite being born much closer to Arsenal than Arkansas, Rod weaves a tender love story through the falling snow and frozen plains, setting it against the gorgeous sound of a ringing mandolin – played by Ray Jackson of Lindisfarne, his name not slipping my mind (see album back cover).
Stunning in every respect.
PETE TOWNSHEND: Sheraton Gibson (From the 1972 album ‘Who Came First‘): Recorded in a Sheraton hotel on a Gibson guitar during an early 70s Who tour, Pete looks out at Cleveland longing for home and a family barbeque.
So atmospheric you can almost hear Moonie and his guests partying in the room next door.
THE CLASH: I’m So Bored With The USA (From the 1977 album ‘The Clash‘): Strange to think that five years after penning this anti-American diatribe they were playing Shea Stadium.
From Watergate to the American detective shows UK 70s television was festooned with, the late, much-missed Joe Strummer aims his ire at the Stars n’ Stripes.
With typical Clash panache it was the very first song they ever performed before a U.S. audience.
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NEIL SAMBROOK is the author of MONTY’S DOUBLE – an acclaimed thriller now available in paperback and as an Amazon Kindle book.