Going to California
| "Going to California" | |
|---|---|
| Song by Led Zeppelin | |
| from the album Led Zeppelin IV | |
| Released | 8 November 1971 |
| Recorded | 1971 |
| Studio | Headley Grange, Hampshire, England |
| Genre | |
| Length | 3:32 |
| Label | Atlantic |
| Songwriter(s) | Jimmy Page, Robert Plant |
| Producer(s) | Jimmy Page |
"Going to California" is a ballad recorded by the English rock band Led Zeppelin. It was released on their untitled fourth album in 1971.
In 2012, Rolling Stone ranked "Going to California" number 11 on their list of the 40 greatest Led Zeppelin songs of all time.[4]
Composition
"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 D tuning) for the recording.[5]
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.[6] At this point it was known as "Guide to California".[6]
According to music writer Nick DeRiso,
Performances
At
It was performed on Plant's solo tours during 1988/1989 and at the
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 29 January 1971, with the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio at Headley Grange with engineer Andy Johns.
Personnel
According to Jean-Michel Guesdon and Philippe Margotin:[8]
- Robert Plant – vocals
- Jimmy Page – acoustic guitars (six-string and twelve-string)
- John Paul Jones – mandolin
See also
References
- AllMusic
- ISBN 978-0-385-19797-7.
- ISBN 0-306-80741-6.
- ^ "'Going to California' (1971) - The 40 Greatest Led Zeppelin Songs of All Time". Rolling Stone. Retrieved February 9, 2016.
- ^
Popoff, Martin (2018). Led Zeppelin: All the Albums, All the Songs, Expanded Edition. Voyageur Press. p. 113. ISBN 978-0760363775.
- ^ ISBN 0-7119-3528-9.
- ^ Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved 18 January 2023.
Includes quote from Spin
- ^ Guesdon & Margotin 2018, p. 284.
Bibliography
- Guesdon, Jean-Michel; Margotin, Philippe (2018). Led Zeppelin All the Songs: The Story Behind Every Track. ISBN 978-0-316-448-67-3.
