Singer Katy Perry, of “I kissed a girl, and I liked it” fame, has been threatened with a lawsuit over her use of the Beach Boys’ timeless line, “I wish they all could be California Girls,” in her hit song “California Gurls.” Rapper Snoop Dogg recites the Beach Boys’ classic lyric at the end of Perry’s summer anthem, which has sold more than 3 million copies to date.
Rondor Music, who owns the rights to the Beach Boys’ “California Girls,” has sent a letter to Capitol Records, Perry’s record label, demanding that Mike Love and Brian Wilson – the two Beach Boys who actually scribed the 1965 Billboard hit – be given a writing credit and a portion of the royalties for Perry’s chart topper.
In a recent E! News interview, a spokesperson for Rondor Music chastised Katy Perry, as well as the writers and publishers of “California Gurls,” saying, “Using the words or melody in a new song taken from an original work is not appropriate under any circumstances, particularly one as well-known and iconic as ‘California Girls.’” The spokesperson elaborated, stating that “Rondor Music…is committed to protecting the rights of its artists and songwriters, and with the support of the writers, that is exactly what we are doing.”
The Beach Boys, however, are singing a decidedly different tune. When asked for his thoughts on “California Gurls,” Mike Love insisted that “[t]he Beach Boys are definitely not suing Katy Perry, in fact we are flattered that her fantastically successful song is bringing to mind to millions of people our 1965 recording of the Beach Boys’ ‘California Girls.’” In harmony with his co-writer and band mate, Brian Wilson similarly stated, “We think her song is great and wish her all the success in the world.”
As with any copyright infringement case, the legal issues that would need to be addressed if this case were to proceed include whether the lyrics “I wish they all could be California Girls” are sufficiently original to be entitled to copyright protection.
Jeopardy Facts about the Beach Boys’
“California Girls”“California Girls” is part of the The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s list of the “500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll.”
In 2004, “California Girls” was ranked #71 on Rolling Stone’s list of “The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.”
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