Actually, I can’t really stand Los Angeles….but I do like this tune…
I’m not the biggest Randy Newman fan in the world but I really love this video for “I Love L.A.“. I think it was one of the better videos of the MTV Generation.
This song appeared on his 1983 “Trouble in Paradise” album and the single never even came close to cracking the Billboard Top-40, peaking at #110, despite heavy airplay of the video on MTV.
Newman was asked to write a song about Los Angeles for the upcoming 1984 Summer Olympics, and the result was this tongue-in-cheek look at the city. The Olympic organizers chose not to use the song so Newman put it on the “Trouble in Paradise” album.
Nike did use the song as part of an ad campaign during the 1984 Olympics.
For awhile after it’s release, it was adopted as the theme song for the LA Lakers basketball team.
It has been featured on many television shows and movies over the years, including a hilarious baseball scene in the film “The Naked Gun“.
Thank goodness Randy Newman was not real fond of Newark. I think “I Love Newark!” would have not had the same effect on video….
