"Going to California" is a ballad recorded by the English rock band

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ci ...

. It was released on their untitled fourth album in 1971. In 2012, ''

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'' ranked "Going to California" number 11 on their list of the 40 greatest Led Zeppelin songs of all time.

Composition

"Going to California" is a

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fo ...

-style song, with Robert Plant on vocal, acoustic guitar by Jimmy Page and mandolin by

John Paul Jones John Paul Jones (born John Paul; July 6, 1747 July 18, 1792) was a Scottish-American naval captain who was the United States' first well-known naval commander in the American Revolutionary War. He made many friends among U.S political elites ( ...

. Page uses an alternative guitar tuning (D–A–D–G–B–D or double drop D tuning) for the recording. The song started out as a song about Californian

earthquake An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, fr ...

s and when Jimmy Page, audio engineer

Andy Johns Jeremy Andrew "Andy" Johns (20 May 1950 – 7 April 2013) was a British sound engineer and record producer who worked on several well-known rock albums, including the Rolling Stones' '' Exile on Main St.'' (1972), Television's '' Marquee Moon'' ...

and band manager Peter Grant travelled to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

to mix ''Led Zeppelin IV'', they coincidentally experienced a minor earthquake.Dave Lewis (1994), ''The Complete Guide to the Music of Led Zeppelin'', Omnibus Press, . At this point it was known as "Guide to California". According to music writer Nick DeRiso, Joni Mitchell also inspired the song: "Plant makes a clear reference to 'I Had a King', the opening song from Mitchell's debut album, 1968's ''

Song to a Seagull ''Song to a Seagull'' (also known as ''Joni Mitchell'') is the debut studio album by Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell. Produced by David Crosby, the album was recorded in 1967 at Sunset Sound and released on March 23, 1968 by Reprise R ...

'': 'To find a queen without a king', he quietly offers in the final verse. 'They say she plays guitar, cries and sings. In an interview for '' Spin'' magazine, Plant admitted that it "might be a bit embarrassing at times lyrically, but it did sum up a period of my life when I was 22."

Performances

Led Zeppelin concerts From September 1968 until the summer of 1980, English rock band Led Zeppelin were the world's most popular live music attraction, performing hundreds of sold-out concerts around the world. History Throughout the late 1960s and 1970s, Led Zeppeli ...

the band performed this song during their acoustic sets, first playing it on their Spring 1971 tour of the United Kingdom. One live version, from Led Zeppelin's performance at Earls Court in 1975, is featured on disc 2 of the ''

Led Zeppelin DVD ''Led Zeppelin DVD'' is a double DVD set by the English rock band Led Zeppelin, released in the United Kingdom on 26 May 2003, and the United States on 27 May 2003. It contains live concert footage of the band spanning the years 1969 to 1979. The D ...

'' and again on the ''

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'' 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 Knebworth is a village and civil parish in the north of Hertfordshire, England, immediately south of Stevenage. The civil parish covers an area between the villages of Datchworth, Woolmer Green, Codicote, Kimpton, Whitwell, St Paul's Walden ...

Silver Clef show in 1990. He played it again on his ''

Mighty ReArranger ''Mighty ReArranger'' is English rock singer Robert Plant's eighth solo album and the second with his band " Strange Sensation". It was released internationally on 25 April 2005, on 9 May in the United Kingdom and 10 May in the United States. ...

'' tour, with additions of a

double bass The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox additions such as the octobass). Similar i ...

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 29 January 1971, with the

Rolling Stones Mobile Studio The Rolling Stones Mobile Studio (also known as the RSM) is a mobile recording studio inside a DAF F1600 Turbo truck, once owned by the English rock band the Rolling Stones. Numerous bands and artists have recorded music using the RSM, including ...

at Headley Grange with engineer Andy Johns.

References

External links

"Going to California" at ledzeppelin.com
{{authority control 1971 songs Led Zeppelin songs Songs about California Songs written by Jimmy Page Songs written by Robert Plant Song recordings produced by Jimmy Page British folk songs

Composition

Performances

Other versions

See also

References

External links