Favorite Punk Songs #3 - "California Uber Alles"

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We've spent a lot of time in Southern California for my Favorite Punk Songs series, and rightly so. For #3, however, we'll be up the coast in San Francisco, home of the Dead Kennedys. The legendary Dead Kennedys were formed in 1978 by guitarist East Bay Ray, who recruited, counting himself, 3/4 of the band's classic lineup (vocalist Jello Biafra and bassist Klaus Fluoride. Drummer D.H. Peligro did not sign on until later) right off the bat. 1979's "California Uber Alles" was originally a single-only release (a re-recording appears on the 1980 album Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables) that charted only in England (#5) on the Indie chart. Biafra's humorous, sarcastic lyrics take then (and current) California Governor Jerry Brown to task, and East Bay Ray plays some wicked-cool surf-style guitar. "California Uber Alles" has notably been covered by The Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy, Deceased, and Dramarama. It's a bona fide punk classic. If all you know from the Dead Kennedys is "Holiday in Cambodia," you are, as my grandma used to say, in for a real punk rock treat!