"Goin' Back" (also recorded and released as "Going Back") is a song written by

Gerry Goffin Gerald Goffin (February 11, 1939 – June 19, 2014) was an American lyricist. Collaborating initially with his first wife, Carole King, he co-wrote many international pop hits of the early and mid-1960s, including the US No.1 hits " Will You Lo ...

and

Carole King Carole King Klein (born Carol Joan Klein; February 9, 1942) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician who has been active since 1958, initially as one of the staff songwriters at 1650 Broadway and later as a solo artist. Regarded as one ...

in 1966. It describes the loss of innocence that comes with adulthood, along with an attempt, on the part of the singer, to recapture that youthful innocence. The song has been recorded by many artists, including

Dusty Springfield Mary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O'Brien (16 April 1939 – 2 March 1999), known professionally as Dusty Springfield, was an English singer. With her distinctive mezzo-soprano sound, she was a popular singer of blue-eyed soul, pop and dram ...

, Goldie Zelkowitz,

the Byrds The Byrds () were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1964. The band underwent multiple lineup changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn (known as Jim McGuinn until mid-1967) remaining the sole con ...

Elkie Brooks Elkie Brooks (born Elaine Bookbinder; 25 February 1946) is an English rock, blues and jazz singer. She was a vocalist with the bands Dada and Vinegar Joe, and later became a solo artist. She gained her biggest success in the late 1970s and 198 ...

Blerta Blerta (''"Bruno Lawrence's Electric Revelation and Travelling Apparition"'') was a New Zealand musical and theatrical co-operative active from 1971 until 1975. It was the idea of Bruno Lawrence to arrange a group of musicians, actors and f ...

, Ricky Ross (of

Deacon Blue Deacon Blue are a Scottish pop rock band formed in Glasgow during 1985. The line-up of the band consists of vocalists Ricky Ross and Lorraine McIntosh, keyboard player James Prime and drummer Dougie Vipond. The band released their debut albu ...

Marianne Faithfull Marianne Evelyn Gabriel Faithfull (born 29 December 1946) is an English singer and actress. She achieved popularity in the 1960s with the release of her hit single " As Tears Go By" and became one of the lead female artists during the British I ...

, Bill Drummond (of

the KLF The KLF (also known as the Justified Ancients of Mu Mu, the JAMs, the Timelords and other names) are a British electronic band formed in London in 1987. Bill Drummond (alias King Boy D) and Jimmy Cauty (alias Rockman Rock) began by releasing ...

Nils Lofgren Nils Hilmer Lofgren (born June 21, 1951) is an American rock musician, recording artist, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. Along with his work as a solo artist, he has been a member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band since 1984, a memb ...

Freddie Mercury Freddie Mercury (born Farrokh Bulsara; 5 September 1946 – 24 November 1991) was a British singer and songwriter, who achieved worldwide fame as the lead vocalist of the rock band Queen. Regarded as one of the greatest singers in the ...

(on a Larry Lurex single),

the Move The Move were a British rock band of the late 1960s and the early 1970s. They scored nine top 20 UK singles in five years, but were among the most popular British bands not to find any real success in the United States. For most of their car ...

the New Seekers The New Seekers are a British pop group, formed in London in 1969 by Keith Potger after the break-up of his group, The Seekers. The idea was that the New Seekers would appeal to the same market as the original Seekers, but their music would have ...

the Pretenders Pretenders are an English–American rock band formed in March 1978. The original band consisted of founder and main songwriter Chrissie Hynde (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), James Honeyman-Scott (lead guitar, backing vocals, keyboards), Pete ...

Diana Ross Diana Ross (born March 26, 1944) is an American singer and actress. She rose to fame as the lead singer of the vocal group the Supremes, who became Motown's most successful act during the 1960s and one of the world's best-selling girl groups ...

, Richard Thompson,

Phil Collins Philip David Charles Collins (born 30 January 1951) is an English singer, musician, songwriter, record producer and actor. He was the drummer and lead singer of the rock band Genesis and also has a career as a solo performer. Between 1982 and ...

, The Icicle Works,

Bon Jovi Bon Jovi is an American rock band formed in 1983 in Sayreville, New Jersey. It consists of singer Jon Bon Jovi, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, guitarist Phil X, and bassist Hugh McDonald. Original bassist Alec John such qu ...

, and

Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter. He has released 21 studio albums, most of which feature his backing band, the E Street Band. Originally from the Jersey Shore, he is an originato ...

, as well as by Carole King herself.

Dusty Springfield's version

Although

Goldie Clifford Joseph Price MBE (born 19 September 1965), better known as Goldie, is a British music producer and DJ. Initially gaining exposure for his work as a graffiti artist, Goldie became well known for his pioneering role as a musician in ...

(of

Goldie & the Gingerbreads Goldie & the Gingerbreads was an all-female American rock band from 1962 to 1967. They were the first all-female rock band signed to a major record label.Lucy O'Brien. ''She Bop II: The Definitive History of Women in Rock, Pop and Soul.'' Londo ...

) was the first artist to record the song, her version was withdrawn following disagreements with Goffin and King over the song's lyrics. Carole King then decided to record "Goin' Back" herself, but ultimately she offered it to

instead. Springfield went on to have an international

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from '' Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization ...

with the song and it is considered one of the best known versions. Springfield's version of "Goin' Back" was recorded on June 15, 1966 at Philips Studios, Stanhope Place, London, with musical accompaniment by Peter Knight and production by Johnny Franz. It was released as a single on July 1, 1966, reaching number 10 in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

, but was not released as a single in the U.S. Although "Goin' Back" was not included on any of Dusty Springfield's studio albums during the 1960s, it can be found on a number of her compilations, including ''Greatest Hits'', ''Goin' Back: The Very Best of Dusty Springfield'', ''Songbooks'', ''Complete A and B-sides: 1963–1970'', ''Live at the BBC'', and the UK version of ''Golden Hits''.

Chart history (Dusty Springfield)

The Byrds' version

The Byrds' recording of "Goin' Back" was released as a single on October 20, 1967 and reached number 89 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, but failed to chart in the United Kingdom. The song was also included on the Byrds' 1968 album, '' The Notorious Byrd Brothers''. The track has a subtle

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, whi ...

feel to it; a sound the Byrds would later explore more prominently on their '' Sweetheart of the Rodeo'' album. The band's decision to record "Goin' Back" led to tensions within the group, principally due to

rhythm guitar In music performances, rhythm guitar is a technique and role that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with other instruments from the rhythm section (e.g., drum kit, bass guitar ...

ist

David Crosby David Van Cortlandt Crosby (born August 14, 1941) is an American singer, guitarist, and songwriter. In addition to his solo career, he was a founding member of both the Byrds and Crosby, Stills & Nash. Crosby joined the Byrds in 1964. They got ...

's lack of enthusiasm towards the song. Crosby considered "Goin' Back" to be lightweight fluff, typical of the

Brill Building The Brill Building is an office building at 1619 Broadway on 49th Street in the New York City borough of Manhattan, just north of Times Square and further uptown from the historic musical Tin Pan Alley neighborhood. It was built in 1931 as t ...

style of songwriting. He was therefore dismayed to find that his own song, "

Triad Triad or triade may refer to: * a group of three Businesses and organisations * Triad (American fraternities), certain historic groupings of seminal college fraternities in North America * Triad (organized crime), a Chinese transnational orga ...

", was in direct competition with "Goin' Back" for a place on ''The Notorious Byrd Brothers''. Ultimately, Crosby was fired from the band and "Goin' Back" was included on the album and released as a single. ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an onli ...

'' said of the single that it is "soft, slow blues ballad material with combined folk and electronic frosting" with "sweet harmony into the vocal end and serves up the usual grade-A guitar sound." It has been erroneously claimed by some critics that the version of "Goin' Back" found on the Byrds' single release is a completely different take to the one that appeared on ''The Notorious Byrd Brothers'' album. However, an examination of the Byrds' recording session logs by Johnny Rogan reveals that, in fact, the single version is the same take as the version found on the album. The single version does feature a slightly different

mono Mono may refer to: Common meanings * Infectious mononucleosis, "the kissing disease" * Monaural, monophonic sound reproduction, often shortened to mono * Mono-, a numerical prefix representing anything single Music Performers * Mono (Japanes ...

mix, which may have been the cause of this confusion. In addition to the original release, the mono single mix of "Goin' Back" has appeared on the 1982 compilation album '' The Original Singles: 1967–1969, Volume 2'', the 2002 compilation LP ''The Columbia Singles '65-'67'', and the 2012 Japanese CD ''Original Singles A's & B's 1965–1971''. In addition to its appearance on ''The Notorious Byrd Brothers'' album, the Byrds' recording of "Goin' Back" can be found on several Byrds' compilations, including '' The Byrds' Greatest Hits Volume II'', '' History of The Byrds'', '' The Original Singles: 1967–1969, Volume 2'', ''

The Byrds The Byrds () were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1964. The band underwent multiple lineup changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn (known as Jim McGuinn until mid-1967) remaining the sole con ...

'', '' The Very Best of The Byrds'', '' There Is a Season'', and the UK version of '' The Best of The Byrds: Greatest Hits, Volume II''. Additionally, an early, alternate version of "Goin' Back" was included as a bonus track on the 1997 Columbia/Legacy reissue of ''The Notorious Byrd Brothers''.

Other cover versions

released her own recording of "Goin' Back" on her 1970 album ''

Writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles and techniques to communicate ideas. Writers produce different forms of literary art and creative writing such as novels, short stories, books, poetry, travelogues, ...

'', and later re-recorded the song for her ''Pearls: Songs of Goffin and King'' album in 1980.

The New Seekers The New Seekers are a British pop group, formed in London in 1969 by Keith Potger after the break-up of his group, The Seekers. The idea was that the New Seekers would appeal to the same market as the original Seekers, but their music would have ...

recorded and released a folk rock version of "Goin' Back" as part of their 1973 album ''Now''. The track featured band member Peter Doyle as the lead vocalist on this, his last album with the group. Additionally, "Goin' Back" was recorded by Freddie Mercury in 1973, featuring guitar by

Brian May Brian Harold May (born 19 July 1947) is an English guitarist, singer, songwriter, and astrophysicist, who achieved worldwide fame as the lead guitarist of the rock band Queen. May was a co-founder of Queen with lead singer Freddie Mercury and ...

and drums by Roger Taylor, and was released under the pseudonym Larry Lurex. Nils Lofgren recorded "Goin' Back" on his first eponymous solo album in 1975 and it has been a signature tune for his live shows ever since. Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band covered "Goin' Back" in concert during a four night stint at The Roxy in Los Angeles on October 15–19, 1975. It can be heard on the recording of the October 18 early show that was released as part of Springsteen's live archive series on December 7, 2018. "Goin' Back" was also recorded by

on her 1982 album '' Pearls II'', and by

on her '' Love & Life: The Very Best of Diana Ross'' album in 2001. In 1983, Renée Geyer and Glenn Shorrock released a live version as a single from Geyer's live album, '' Renée Live''. The song peaked at number 65 on the Australian

Kent Music Report The Kent Music Report was a weekly record chart of Australian music singles and albums which was compiled by music enthusiast David Kent (historian), David Kent from May 1974 through to January 1999. The chart was re-branded the Australian Music ...

. In 1986, The Icicle Works released a version on their EP '' Seven Horses Deep'', under the song title “Going Back”.

The Pretenders Pretenders are an English–American rock band formed in March 1978. The original band consisted of founder and main songwriter Chrissie Hynde (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), James Honeyman-Scott (lead guitar, backing vocals, keyboards), Pete ...

recorded a version for the soundtrack of the 1997 film '' Fever Pitch''. In 2011, Irish footballer Paul McGrath covered "Goin' Back" as part of an album of cover versions, with a percentage of the album's proceeds going to the Acquired Brain Injury Foundation and the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation of Ireland. "Goin' Back" has also been recorded by Eydie Gormé (album: ''It Was a Good Time'', 1971), Johnny Logan (album: ''Straight From the Heart'', 1985),

(album: '' Horses and High Heels'', 2011), and by

in 2010.

References

{{authority control 1966 singles 1967 singles 2010 singles Dusty Springfield songs The Byrds songs Phil Collins songs Renée Geyer songs Songs written by Carole King Songs with lyrics by Gerry Goffin 1966 songs Song recordings produced by Johnny Franz Philips Records singles Atlantic Records singles Song recordings produced by Gary Usher Carole King songs