mid-20th century. Part of this lore was that many an elderly man who died in Pasadena would leave his widow with a powerful car that she rarely, if ever, drove, such as an old Buick Roadmaster, or a vintage 1950s Cadillac, Ford, Packard, Studebaker, DeSoto, or La Salle. According to the story, used car salesmen would tell prospective buyers that the previous owner of a vehicle was "a little old lady from Pasadena who only drove it to church on Sundays," thus suggesting the car had little wear. Personnel The session musicians who played on this record (who were collectively known as The Wrecking Crew) included Leon Russell on piano; Tommy Tedesco, Bill Pitman and Billy Strange on guitar; Ray Pohlman and Jimmy Bond on bass; and Hal Blaine and Earl Palmer on drums. Chart performance In 1964, the song reached number three on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and number one on Canada's RPM chart. In popular culture During the 1960s, the term became a popular punchline for many comedians, particularly Johnny Carson, who often invoked it when he took The Tonight Show to Los Angeles before permanently moving it there in 1972. In "the Gunslinger", the last episode of The Dick Van Dyke Show to be filmed (though it was not the last aired), Rob dreams he is a sheriff in the Old West, where a gun salesman (Allan Melvin) tries to sell him a pistol, telling him "This gun was only fired once -- to kill a little old lady in Pasadena". The song was one of many California related songs played throughout "Sunshine Plaza" in the original Disney California Adventure. The Dead Kennedys satirized the concept in their own song "Buzzbomb from Pasadena," where an elderly driver likewise terrorizes the city with her driving before getting into a shootout with police at a 7-11. In Animaniacs, Slappy Squirrel once takes over the old lady's role in the song. Slappy's car in this case is not the Super Stock Dodge from the song, but rather a generic red sports car with a slight resemblance to a first generation Dodge Viper. That episode ends with her revealing that she "never took a lesson in her life" and being arrested. References External links Lyrics of this song Jan and Dean songs The Beach Boys songs 1964 singles Songs about California Songs about Los Angeles Songs written by Roger Christian