‘Once Upon a Time in California,’ Belinda Carlisle fell in love with classic tunes she sings on new album

Belinda Carlisle of the Go-Go‘s covers some of her favorite songs from her youth in her new album, Once Upon a Time in California, out Friday. The album features her takes on hits by artists ranging from Jim Croce, The Youngbloods and The Carpenters to The Hollies, Three Dog Night and The Association. Belinda tells ABC Audio the project has been a long time coming.

“I started thinking about it [in 2017],” she says. “I had a list of about 100 songs. And then of course the pandemic happened, and that ate up about two or three years. And then I was living in Thailand at the time, so I was commuting. And so it was hard to be consistent with the work.” All told, she says, the album took eight years.

Despite its title, not all the artists she covered on the album are from California. The title leans more into the Golden State as a concept. “I have … European friends that have this idea of California, this romance about it,” she says. “And it probably never really even existed, really.”

When it came to narrowing down the songs for the project, Belinda explains, “It had to work with my voice first. … And then of course, taking the song and keeping the integrity of a song, but changing it a little bit and making it my own.” 

She notes that all the songs were ones that she would “hear quite a bit” on the radio while growing up in California.

“Music was a big part of the culture and radio was a part of the culture,” she says. “So it was every day laying in front of the speakers and singing along. And they were the songs that inspired me to want to be a singer.” 

Here’s the track list, along with the artist who originally recorded the song:
“Anyone Who Had a Heart” (Dionne Warwick)
“If You Could Read My Mind” (Gordon Lightfoot)
“One” (Three Dog Night)
“Never My Love” (The Association)
“The Air That I Breathe” (The Hollies)
“Time In a Bottle” (Jim Croce)
“Superstar” (The Carpenters)
“Everybody’s Talkin'” (Harry Nilsson)
“Get Together” (The Youngbloods)
“Reflections of My Life” (Marmalade)