Pasadena, California

Everything Pasadena is known for

24 songs mention this city 91 artists from here

Pasadena, California, located northeast of downtown Los Angeles, is widely known for the annual Tournament of Roses Parade and the Rose Bowl football game. This vibrant city also has a notable connection to music. Twenty five songs mention Pasadena, and 91 artists call it home.

Among the artists from Pasadena are rock legend David Lee Roth and indie artist Phoebe Bridgers. The city is also referenced in songs like "California Love - Original Version" by 2Pac and "Sam's Place" by Buck Owens.

Music in Pasadena

Songs About Pasadena

Hold You Down
Kaitlin Butts
96%
"It's a rose parade on a small-town dead-end street"
Online
Brad Paisley
92%
"To play tuba in the Rose Parade"
Sam’s Place
Buck Owens & His Buckaroos
70%
"She hails from Pasadena"
Adios to California
John Hiatt
55%
"Pasadena in the rain"
Sam’s Place
Buck Owens
54%
"She hails from Pasadena"
California Love - Original Version
2Pac
52%
"Pasadena, where you at?"
Pretty Ugly
Teague Brothers Band
51%
"It's hell on a Pasadena night"
Someone Else’s Now
Wade Bowen
50%
"The wildest flower out of Pasadena"
Marley Purt Drive
Bee Gees
49%
"Headed to the freeway Tried to find the Pasadena sign"
someone else's now
wade bowen
45%
Freeway Blues
Tim Buckley
45%
"I've got the rose bowl low tide lawn mower blues"
The Man in Black
Vegas Bill
16%
"But the radios playing Panama"
I've Been Everywhere
Johnny Cash
10%
"I've been to Pasadena"
Mamas PrimeTime
Westside Gunn
7%
"Crossin' over Pasadena, high times, Fear of God"
I’ve Been Everywhere
Johnny Cash
7%
"Pasadena, Catalina, see what I mean-a?"
Honkytonk U
Toby Keith
7%
"I've played every beer joint tavern from New York City out to Pasadena"
Young Country
Hank Williams Jr.
6%
"hey, we know Van Halen"
High Everyday
South Park Mexican
6%
"Peace to my boys up in Pasadene"
Beaumont
Hayes Carll
6%
"I'd of stopped in Pasadena"
Rare
Nas
5%
"It's up, Hit-Boy you on some other shit"

Showing top 20 of 24 songs

Artists From Pasadena

P
Phoebe Bridgers
indie Pop: 77
G
Gerardo Ortíz
latin Pop: 75
G
Gerardo Ortiz
latin Pop: 74
D
David Lee Roth
rock Pop: 72
J
Jerry Goldsmith
classical Pop: 51
C
Colton Ford
electronic Pop: 51
D
DāM‐FunK
hip-hop Pop: 49
A
Area 51
electronic Pop: 46
T
Troop
r-n-b Pop: 45
S
Steve Albini
rock Pop: 45
D
DāM-FunK
soul Pop: 45
A
Autograph
rock Pop: 44
T
Tyrant
metal Pop: 40
H
Holy Grail
metal Pop: 40
C
Chris Wood
jazz Pop: 40
A
Abandoned Pools
rock Pop: 36
S
Sudden Death
rock Pop: 35
K
K$upreme
hip-hop Pop: 34
P
Paul Romero
classical Pop: 33
O
Ozma
indie Pop: 33

Showing top 20 of 91 artists

Rivers & Roads in Song near Pasadena

Songs written about the waterways and highways that run near Pasadena.

U.S. Route 66 11 songs Interstate 10 23 songs Interstate 5 13 songs U.S. Route 101 7 songs Interstate 405 4 songs

Musical Heritage

The Capitol Records Tower RoadyGoat

1956

The Capitol Records Building rises at 1750 North Vine Street in Hollywood, a 13-story cylinder of curved white floors that's often likened to a stack of records on a turntable, though architect Louis Naidorf has said that resemblance wasn't actually his intent. Completed in 1956, it was among the first round office towers built. Atop its 90-foot spire, a red beacon has blinked 'Hollywood' in Morse code since opening night, when Samuel Morse's granddaughter Leila threw the switch; in 1992 it briefly spelled 'Capitol 50' for the label's anniversary. Inside, Capitol's basement echo chambers, designed by guitarist Les Paul, gave records by Nat King Cole, Frank Sinatra, and the Beach Boys their signature warmth. The tower is a registered Los Angeles landmark and a Hollywood skyline icon.

10.8 mi away

History of Pasadena

South Pasadena, CA RoadyGoat

South Pasadena seems like any other quiet, affluent suburb nestled against the San Gabriel Mountains. But beneath the manicured lawns and Craftsman bungalows lies a surprising history, one intertwined with figures who shaped American culture. It's easy to imagine a young Sally Field, years before *Norma Rae*, walking to South Pasadena High, dreaming of the stage and screen.

San Marin, CA RoadyGoat

Imagine bootleggers in the 1920s, ducking into a hidden speakeasy not far from what's now San Marin Plaza. They were just the first to seek refuge in this quiet corner of Marin County. The landscape changed dramatically after World War II. Before the 1960s, much of the area was open land. But as Highway 101 expanded, connecting Marin more easily to San Francisco, residential development exploded. Suddenly, this area, safely above the Novato Creek floodplain, became prime real estate. In 1964, it officially became "San Marin," a name that cleverly honored its location nestled between San Rafael and the wider Marin County. The transformation continued. Even a galaxy far, far away found a temporary home here. While some residents might remember the thrill of the San Francisco Giants' World Series victory in 2010, or the perennial triumphs of Marin Catholic's football team, the deeper story is one of constant motion. Today, many residents leave San Marin each morning, commuting to San Francisco or working in Marin's service sector. But when they return, they come back to a place deliberately designed as an escape. The quiet streets and manicured lawns aren't just a backdrop, they are the result of decades of choices, a constant striving to balance accessibility with serenity. San Marin is a reminder that even seemingly placid places are built on layers of history, ambition, and the enduring human desire for a place to call home.

San Marin, CA RoadyGoat

This wasn't accidental. The very qualities that attracted him – the quiet, the space, the proximity to San Francisco – were the same forces shaping San Marin itself. After Highway 101 snaked its way north, connecting Marin County more directly to the city, the landscape began to change. Dairy farms and open fields gave way to residential developments. The name, carefully crafted from 'San Rafael' and 'Marin,' reflected this new identity: a blend of established history and burgeoning suburbia. San Marin became a place for those seeking refuge from the urban rush, a place where families could spread out, where the only sounds at night were the crickets and the distant hum of traffic. The local economy shifted, too. While some residents continued to work in agriculture or crafts, many commuted south, drawn by opportunities in finance, tech, and the service sector. The success of Marin Catholic's football program became a point of local pride, a shared identity in a community still defining itself. Even the legend of a hidden speakeasy near San Marin Plaza, whispered from neighbor to neighbor, speaks to this tension: a yearning for the past alongside an embrace of the present. San Marin isn't defined by one industry, one craft, or one crop. It's defined by the space it provides – space to live, space to breathe, space to create. And perhaps, that's why a young filmmaker could find the space he needed to dream up a universe.

Griffith Observatory

1935

Free public observatory born from a mining magnate's transformative experience looking through a telescope.

9.1 mi away

Hollywood Sign

1923

Originally an ad for a real estate development, became the global symbol of the entertainment industry.

10.2 mi away

Watts Towers

1921

Italian immigrant spent 33 years building monumental folk art towers from found materials.

15.5 mi away

Watts Towers: One Man's Thirty-Three-Year Obsession

1921

Italian immigrant Simon Rodia single-handedly built seventeen interconnected sculptural towers over thirty-three years in his backyard in Watts, creating one of the greatest works of outsider art ever produced.

15.5 mi away

Things to Do in Pasadena

food 8.1 mi away
Philippe The Original

Inventor of the French dip sandwich in 1908 in downtown LA. Sawdust floors. Nine-cent coffee. Some things shouldn't change.
food 11.6 mi away
Musso & Frank Grill

Hollywood's oldest restaurant since 1919. Faulkner and Fitzgerald drank here. Bukowski had a booth. The martinis are perfect.
historical 9.1 mi away
Griffith Observatory

Free admission observatory with the best view of LA and the Hollywood sign. Rebel Without a Cause filmed here.
quirky 10.2 mi away
Hollywood Sign

45-foot-tall white letters on Mount Lee. Originally said Hollywoodland and was an ad for real estate.
food 12.3 mi away
Pink's Hot Dogs

Hollywood's legendary hot dog stand since 1939. Started as a cart. The celebrity wall of fame is absurd. Open til 2am.
food 13.0 mi away
Roscoe's House of Chicken and Waffles

LA's iconic soul food mashup since 1975. Obama ordered the country boy. Snoop Dogg is a regular. Chicken and waffles shouldn't work but it does.
food 17.6 mi away
Randy's Donuts

The giant donut on the roof in Inglewood has been an LA landmark since 1953. Iron Man stopped here. So should you.
food 23.8 mi away
In-N-Out Burger (Original)

California's cult burger chain. Animal style fries are the secret menu essential.

Everything Near Pasadena

236 stories, landmarks & places within ~20 miles — the same local lore RoadyGoat plays as you drive through.

Explore Pasadena on the Map
All music from California → · Browse more cities