Curated playlist

Songwriters from California

Michael JacksonMichael Jackson bought a music catalog with most of the Beatles's material in 1985. He paid 47.5 million dollars.
Travis BarkerTravis Barker learned a 20-song setlist in 45 minutes. It was early 1998, he had no time to rehearse with the band, and he played every song flawlessly at the first show. The band was Blink-182, and he was only meant to be a stand-in.…
Slash (musician)Slash, the guitarist born Saul Hudson in Hampstead, London, on the 23rd of July 1965, owes his famous name to a restless child. The actor Seymour Cassel gave him the nickname because the boy was "always in a hurry, zipping around from one…
Josh GrobanJosh Groban is an American singer, songwriter and actor, and in 2007 he was charted as the best-selling artist in the United States. That year his records had passed 22.3 million in sales. By 2022 his worldwide total had climbed beyond 25…
Herb AlpertHerb Alpert is the only musician to top the Hot 100 as both a singer and an instrumentalist.
Donald GloverDonald Glover was voted most likely to write for The Simpsons. At 23 he landed a writing job on 30 Rock instead.
Ice CubeIce Cube, born O'Shea Jackson, started writing raps in ninth grade because a friend challenged him in typewriting class. The friend, nicknamed Kiddo, lost the contest. The class was at George Washington Preparatory High School in Los…
Carlos SantanaCarlos Santana has won 10 Grammy Awards and three Latin Grammy Awards, yet no single genre has ever held him. He is a Mexican and American guitarist, and Rolling Stone placed him at No. 20 among the 100 greatest guitarists in 2015. By 2023…
Ice-TIce-T got his stage name when friends heard him recite novels by Iceberg Slim.
Quincy JonesQuincy Jones taped a sign to the entrance of a recording studio in 1985, and it read "Check Your Ego at the Door." Behind that door waited most of the major American recording artists of the day. Jones needed every one of them to work as…
Adam LevineAdam Levine was twelve years old when he played his first professional gig at The Troubadour. He was so nervous that he played with his back to the audience. Today he is the lead singer, rhythm guitarist and only continuous member of the…