View source for Going to California

{{about|the song|other uses|Going to California (disambiguation)}}
{{Infobox song
| name       = Going to California
| artist     = [[Led Zeppelin]]
| album      = [[Led Zeppelin IV]]
| released   = {{Start date|1971|11|8|df=y}}
| recorded   = 1971
| studio     = [[Headley Grange]], Hampshire, England
| genre      = 
* [[Contemporary folk music|Folk]]<ref>{{Allmusic | song | going-to-california-mt0030306583 | "Going to California"}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Philip Bashe|title=Heavy Metal Thunder: The Music, Its History, Its Heroes|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cHRLAAAAYAAJ|date=1 January 1985|publisher=Doubleday|isbn=978-0-385-19797-7|page=20}}</ref>
* [[art rock]]<ref name= "Eddy 1997">{{cite book|first=Chuck|last=Eddy|title=The Accidental Evolution of Rock 'n' Roll: A Misguided Tour Through Popular Music|chapter= The Power Ballad Revolution|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=N0488R7-hYUC|date=22 March 1997|publisher=[[Da Capo Press]]|isbn=0-306-80741-6|page=52}}</ref>
| length     = 3:32
| label      = [[Atlantic Records|Atlantic]]
| writer     = [[Jimmy Page]], [[Robert Plant]]
| producer   = Jimmy Page
}}

"'''Going to California'''" is a ballad recorded by the English rock band [[Led Zeppelin]]. It was released on their [[Led Zeppelin IV|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.<ref>{{Cite magazine|title = 'Going to California' (1971) - The 40 Greatest Led Zeppelin Songs of All Time|url = https://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/the-40-greatest-led-zeppelin-songs-of-all-time-20121107/going-to-california-1971-19691231|magazine = Rolling Stone|access-date = February 9, 2016}}</ref>

==Composition==
"Going to California" is a  [[folk music|folk]]-style song, with [[Robert Plant]] on vocal, acoustic guitar by [[Jimmy Page]] and [[mandolin]] by [[John Paul Jones (musician)|John Paul Jones]]. Page uses an alternative guitar tuning (D–A–D–G–B–D or double drop D tuning) for the recording.<ref name="Popoff">
{{cite book
| last = Popoff
| first = Martin
| year = 2018
| title = Led Zeppelin: All the Albums, All the Songs, Expanded Edition
| publisher = Voyageur Press
| isbn = 978-0760363775
| page = 113
}}</ref>

The song started out as a song about Californian [[earthquake]]s and when Jimmy Page, audio engineer [[Andy Johns]] and band manager [[Peter Grant (music manager)|Peter Grant]] travelled to [[Los Angeles]] to mix ''Led Zeppelin IV'', they coincidentally experienced a minor earthquake.<ref name=Complete>Dave Lewis (1994), ''The Complete Guide to the Music of Led Zeppelin'', Omnibus Press, {{ISBN|0-7119-3528-9}}.</ref>  At this point it was known as "Guide to California".<ref name="Complete"/>  

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]]'': 'To find a queen without a king', he quietly offers in the final verse. 'They say she plays guitar, cries and sings.{{'"}}<ref name="DeRiso">{{Cite web| url = https://ultimateclassicrock.com/led-zeppelin-going-to-california-song/| last = DeRiso| first = Nick| date = 7 November 2021| title = How Led Zeppelin's 'Going to California' Crushed on Joni Mitchell| website = [[Ultimate Classic Rock]]|quote = Includes quote from ''[[Spin (magazine)|Spin]]''| access-date = 18 January 2023}}</ref> In an interview for ''[[Spin magazine|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."<ref name="DeRiso"/>

==Performances==
At [[Led Zeppelin concerts]] the band performed this song during their acoustic sets, first playing it on their [[Led Zeppelin United Kingdom Tour Spring 1971|Spring 1971 tour of the United Kingdom]].<ref name="Complete"/> One live version, from Led Zeppelin's performance at [[Earl's Court 1975|Earls Court in 1975]], is featured on disc 2 of the ''[[Led Zeppelin DVD]]'' and again on the ''[[Mothership (Led Zeppelin album)|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 [[synthesiser]].

[[The Black Crowes]] and [[Slash (musician)|Slash]] performed a cover of the song on January 30, 2025 at [[Kia Forum]] in [[Inglewood, California]] for [[FireAid]] to help with relief efforts for the [[January 2025 Southern California wildfires]].

==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:{{sfn|Guesdon|Margotin|2018|p=284}}

* [[Robert Plant]] – vocals
* [[Jimmy Page]] – acoustic guitars (six-string and twelve-string)
* [[John Paul Jones (musician)|John Paul Jones]] – mandolin

==See also==
*{{slink|List of cover versions of Led Zeppelin songs#Going to California}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Bibliography==
*{{cite book|first1=Jean-Michel|last1=Guesdon|first2=Philippe|last2=Margotin|year=2018|title=Led Zeppelin All the Songs: The Story Behind Every Track|publisher=[[Running Press]]|isbn=978-0-316-448-67-3}}

==External links==
*[http://ledzeppelin.com/video/going-california-earls-court-1975 "Going To California (Earls Court 1975)" at Led Zeppelin Videos]

{{Led Zeppelin songs}}
{{Led Zeppelin}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:1971 songs]]
[[Category:Led Zeppelin songs]]
[[Category:Songs about California]]
[[Category:Songs written by Jimmy Page]]
[[Category:Songs written by Robert Plant]]
[[Category:Song recordings produced by Jimmy Page]]
[[Category:English folk songs]]
[[Category:Art rock songs]]