Born in East L.A. (song)
{{Infobox song
| name = Born in East L.A.
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| type = Single
| artist = Cheech & Chong
| album = Get Out of My Room
| released = September 1985
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| genre = Comedy
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| writer = Bruce Springsteen, Cheech Marin{{Cite book |author=Chong, T. |date=2008 |title=Cheech & Chong: The Unauthorized Autobiography |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XJ692DJCGfUC |publisher=Gallery Books |isbn=9781416959465}}
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"Born in East L.A." is a single by Cheech & Chong, released in September 1985.{{Cite magazine |title=The Hot 100 Chart |url=https://www.billboard.com/charts/hot-100/1985-10-11|magazine=Billboard |date=11 October 1985}} It is a parody of Bruce Springsteen's "Born in the U.S.A.", with references to the song "I Love L.A." by Randy Newman. The song reached {{Abbr|No.|Number}} 48 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Written by Cheech Marin, the song's lyrics deal with a Mexican American from East Los Angeles who is mistaken for an undocumented immigrant and deported. The song served as the basis for the film of the same name, directed by Marin.
Background
Cheech Marin wrote the song without his comedy partner Tommy Chong, although Chong was credited for the song's writing on the album and single. Chong was subsequently insulted when Marin asked him to perform backup vocals on the song, and it was recorded without Chong. It is one of only two Cheech & Chong songs written solely by one member of the duo and not in collaboration, the other being Tommy Chong's "Up in Smoke".
Music video
A music video for the song was produced and appeared in the home video release Get Out of My Room.{{cite book|title=Billboard|date=2002-10-05|publisher=Nielsen Business Media |issn=0006-2510|url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_Cw0EAAAAMBAJ}} The video featured appearances from Cassandra Peterson as Elvira, Mistress of the Dark, Jan-Michael Vincent, Ángel Ramírez and Sal Lopez.
Reception
The song was released as Springsteen's "Born in the U.S.A." tour was ending, missing the top 40 on the US pop chart.{{cite book|title=Bruce Springsteen: Two Hearts, the Story|author=Marsh, D.|date=2003|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=9781135880484|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lK2SAgAAQBAJ}} The subsequently released music video became popular.{{cite book|title=Latino American Cinema: An Encyclopedia of Movies, Stars, Concepts, and Trends|author=Baugh, S.L.|date=2012|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=9780313380372|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IW6-HM6FSH4C}}
Charts
| class="wikitable sortable"
!Chart (1985) !Peak position |
| US Billboard Hot 100
|48 |
| Australian (Kent Music Report) |
Film
The song served as the basis for the film Born in East L.A., directed by Marin, which also starred the role alongside Paul Rodriguez, Daniel Stern, Kamala Lopez-Dawson, Jan-Michael Vincent and Lupe Ontiveros. The film debuted well in its first week but dropped by 40% in its second week at the box office.{{cite news|title= Weekend Box Office|work= Los Angeles Times|url= https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-09-01-ca-5289-story.html|access-date=August 16, 2013}}
See also
- Death Valley Days, a show which featured then actor Ronald Reagan, who the protagonist of the song confuses for John Wayne when asked who the President is.
References
{{reflist}}
{{Cheech & Chong}}
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Category:Cheech and Chong songs