John Stamos and Richard Marx Sing ‘Love Letter to California’ in New Music Video Featuring Rare ‘Full House’ Pics (Exclusive)

John Stamos and Richard Marx duet on a new song called “Take Care of California.” PEOPLE can exclusively debut the music video for the tune, which features Stamos’ rare family footage and nostalgic ‘Full House’ memories.

John Stamos is opening up his personal archives for a love letter to the place he calls home.

The actor and musician, 63, is teaming up with Grammy winner Richard Marx for “Take Care of California,” a new song celebrating the Golden State — and PEOPLE has the exclusive premiere of its deeply personal music video.

Set against the track’s sun-soaked sound, the video weaves together footage from Stamos and Marx’s personal collections, transforming decades of family vacations, friendships and everyday moments into what looks like one continuous, 1960s-era California home movie.

For Stamos, that means glimpses of wife Caitlin McHugh and their son Billy, 8, throughout the years, among other shots of his beloved extended family. There are also some particularly nostalgic surprises for Full House fans: snapshots of Stamos with his longtime friend Dave Coulier and their late costar, Bob Saget, as well as two childhood captures of Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen with Stamos during a trip to Disneyland.

Marx gets in on the fun too with his own retro snaps. They’re all mixed with new footage of the two musicians as they sing their collaboration in various spots around L.A.

The idea for the song, Stamos tells PEOPLE exclusively, began with a feeling he knew well after spending much of his career on the road.

“‘Take Care of California’ started with something simple: my songwriting partner Michael Gigante and I realized how much we long for California whenever we’re away,” he says. “I’ve spent a good part of my life traveling for work and there’s always that moment when you come back and think, this is home. So we wrote a love letter to the state that has given us so much.”

Written by Stamos, Gigante and producing partner Michael Campion, “Take Care of California” features Waylon Payne on harmonica, whom Stamos included after a chance encounter.

“Willie Nelson recently asked me to play with his band at the Hollywood Bowl, and I borrowed the great Waylon Payne to play harmonica on our track,” Stamos recalls. “But there was still something missing.”

That missing piece turned out to be Marx.

“When my buddy, Richard Marx, asked me to play on his new album, After Hours, I shared a rough mix of ‘Take Care of California’ with him,” Stamos says. “I may have hinted subtly, or not so subtly, that his voice would sound pretty great on it.”

Though the “Right Here Waiting” singer wasn’t born in the state, Stamos says California became just as formative. “His life was changed forever when he moved here,” he says.

“Thankfully, Richard took the bait and the moment we added his vocal, the song became what I’d always heard in my head,” Stamos adds.

Marx, 62, remembers the invitation slightly differently, and with a little more humor.

“He played me a rough mix of this new song he wrote with his buddy, Michael,” Marx says in a release. “I genuinely liked it and couldn’t get it out of my head. John said, ‘Great! I was hoping you’d like it ‘cuz I’d really love you to sing on it!’ ”

“That was an easy yes,” he adds.

In fact, Marx is so enthusiastic about the finished product that he has even bigger ambitions for it: “Now that it’s finished and out in the world, I believe this song should be the new state song for California.”

For Stamos, though, “Take Care of California” isn’t only about looking nostalgically at the state that shaped him. Its title is also a call to protect it.

“California is beautiful, complicated, resilient and fragile — and it needs taking care of,” he tells PEOPLE. “As a kid, I was inspired by The Beach Boys, Disneyland and Hollywood. Now we all call this place our home.”

Stamos has a particularly deep connection to one of those inspirations. The California native has toured, recorded and performed with The Beach Boys for more than three decades.

His relationship with Disney stretches back decades, too — making the vintage snapshots with the Olsen twins especially fitting amid a video built around the places and people that have defined his California life.

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But Stamos says his love for the state now also comes with a sense of responsibility. “My wife Caitlin and I have been fortunate to work with Habitat for Humanity, helping families and communities here at home, and that same spirit is at the heart of this song: love where you live, appreciate what it’s given you, and do your part to take care of it,” he says.

And Stamos isn’t shy about how far he’d like that message to travel.

“I’d love for ‘Take Care of California’ to become a song that represents the state,” he tells PEOPLE. “It’s for people who love California the way we do — and it’s a bonus if the song finds its way into television, commercials or movies that celebrate and honor the state.”

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Ultimately, though, his hope for the song is as uncomplicated as the idea that inspired it.

“It’s our love letter to California,” Stamos says, “and a simple reminder: if you love something, take care of it.”