Although Goldie was the first artist to record the song, her version was withdrawn following disagreements with Goffin and King over the song's lyrics.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 Dusty Springfield instead. Springfield went on to have an international hit with the song and, consequently, it is her version that is considered the most well known. 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, 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 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 guitarist David Crosby's lack of enthusiasm towards the song. Crosby considered "Goin' Back" to be lightweight fluff, typical of the Brill Building style of songwriting. He was therefore dismayed to find that his own song, "Triad", 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. 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 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 monomix, which may have been the cause of this confusion. In addition to the original release, the mono single mix of "Goin' Back" has also appeared on the 1982 compilation album ', the 2002 compilation LPThe 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 also be found on several Byrds' compilations, including The Byrds' Greatest Hits Volume II, History of The Byrds, ', The Byrds, The Very Best of The Byrds, There Is a Season, and the UK version of . 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, and later re-recorded the song for her Pearls: Songs of Goffin and King album in 1980. The New Seekers 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 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 Elkie Brooks on her 1982 album Pearls II, and by Diana Ross on her 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. In 1986, The Icicle Works released a version on their Seven Horses Deep EP, under the song title “Going Back”. 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, Johnny Logan, Marianne Faithfull, and by Phil Collins in 2010.
