The original version.

[George K]

Link to video

""California Dreamin'" is a song written by John Phillips and Michelle Phillips and first recorded by Barry McGuire. The best-known version is by the Mamas and the Papas, who sang backup on the original version and released it as a single in 1965. The lyrics express the narrator's longing for the warmth of Los Angeles during a cold winter in New York City. It is recorded in the key of C-sharp minor."

[Mik]

Sounds a bit overwrought. But then he also sang Eve of Destruction, so....

[Horace]

Safe in LA as compared to NYC. They weren't counting on the following decades of progressive politics.