Going to California

"Going to California" is a ballad recorded by the English rock band Led Zeppelin. It was released on their untitled fourth album in 1971.

This article is about the song. For other uses, see Going to California (disambiguation).
"Going to California"
Song by Led Zeppelin
from the album Led Zeppelin IV
Released8 November 1971 (1971-11-08)
Recorded1971
StudioHeadley Grange, Hampshire, England
GenreFolk[1][2]
Length3:32
LabelAtlantic
Songwriter(s)Jimmy Page, Robert Plant
Producer(s)Jimmy Page

In 2012, Rolling Stone ranked "Going to California" number 11 on their list of the 40 greatest Led Zeppelin songs of all time.[3]

Overview

"Going to California" is a folk-style song, with Robert Plant on vocal, acoustic guitar by Jimmy Page and mandolin by John Paul Jones. Page uses an alternative guitar tuning (D–A–D–G–B–D or double drop tuning) for the recording.[4]

The song started out as a song about Californian earthquakes and when Jimmy Page, audio engineer Andy Johns and band manager Peter Grant travelled to Los Angeles to mix Led Zeppelin IV, they coincidentally experienced a minor earthquake.[5] At this point it was known as "Guide to California".[5] In an interview he gave to Spin magazine in 2002, Plant stated that the song "might be a bit embarrassing at times lyrically, but it did sum up a period of my life when I was 22."[6]

At Led Zeppelin concerts the band performed this song during their acoustic sets, first playing it on their Spring 1971 tour of the United Kingdom.[5] One live version, from Led Zeppelin's performance at Earls Court in 1975, is featured on disc 2 of the Led Zeppelin DVD and again on the Mothership DVD. The song was also performed at all shows on Led Zeppelin's mammoth 1977 US tour.

It was performed on Plant's solo tours during 1988/1989 and at the Knebworth Silver Clef show in 1990. He played it again on his Mighty ReArranger tour, with additions of a double bass and a synthesizer.

Other versions

A different version of this song is featured on the second disc of the remastered 2CD deluxe edition of Led Zeppelin IV. Known as "Going to California (Mandolin/Guitar Mix)", it is an instrumental recorded on January 29, 1971, with the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio at Headley Grange with engineer Andy Johns. The running time is 3:34, while the original version is 3:32.

See also

References
  1. "Going to California" at AllMusic
  2. Philip Bashe (1 January 1985). Heavy Metal Thunder: The Music, Its History, Its Heroes. Doubleday. p. 20. ISBN 978-0-385-19797-7.
  3. "'Going to California' (1971) - The 40 Greatest Led Zeppelin Songs of All Time". Rolling Stone. Retrieved February 9, 2016.
  4. Popoff, Martin (2018). Led Zeppelin: All the Albums, All the Songs, Expanded Edition. Voyageur Press. p. 113. ISBN 978-0760363775.
  5. Dave Lewis (1994), The Complete Guide to the Music of Led Zeppelin, Omnibus Press, ISBN 0-7119-3528-9.
  6. Chuck Klosterman, "Not a Whole Lotta Love", Spin, September 2002.
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