Mill Valley

"Mill Valley" is a song written and composed by American singer-songwriter and teacher Rita Abrams, and performed by her and the students in the third grade who were attending Strawberry Point Elementary School during the 1969-1970 school year, initially billed under Miss Abrams and the Strawberry Point Third Grade Class. Following the song's success, the label had requested that Abrams record an album with the class, which was named Miss Abrams and the Strawberry Point 4th Grade Class. The song peaked at number 90 on the Billboard Hot 100, as well as number 5 in the adult contemporary chart. Background In early 1970, Rita Abrams, a singer-songwriter who had then been teaching at Strawberry Point Elementary School in the city of Mill Valley, located in the U.S. state of California, had met record producer Erik Jacobsen, who requested and received a tape recording of "Mill Valley" after Abrams informed him of the song she had just written that past Christmas. While recording her kindergarten students singing the song in the school with the assistance of Tommy Heath, Abrams received feedback that the song was "unlistenable," so they later borrowed a third grade class and recorded the vocals professionally in Wally Heider Studios. Jacobsen eventually contacted Reprise Records around May, who put a rush release on the single. Chart performance The song debuted at number 5 on Billboard's Bubbling Under Hot 100 for the week ending July 11, 1970, and spent 3 weeks on that chart before debuting at number 92 on the Billboard Hot 100 for the week of August 1, where it spent another 3 weeks, peaking at number 90. "Mill Valley" also performed well on Billboard's adult contemporary chart, peaking at number 5.