Tony Bennett and Jeanette MacDonald made sure San Francisco was enshrined in popular music, but Oakland has always struggled in the shadow of its shinier, richer neighbor across the Bay.
Forty years ago, Bay Area DJ Jim Lange challenged listeners to give Oakland a song that paid tribute to its beauty and quirk. The winning entry by The Goodtime Washboard 3 became an uplifting, unofficial anthem that some locals still cherish.
The California Report's Kate Hunts spoke with the group's washtub bass player Bruce Bratton about their song, "Oakland."