"Go Where You Wanna Go" is a 1965 song written by John Phillips. It was originally recorded by the Mamas & the Papas on their LP If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears and given limited release as a single. However, the record was withdrawn, and its A-side[3] was reassigned to "California Dreamin'".[4] "Go Where You Wanna Go" later became a hit for the 5th Dimension.
| "Go Where You Wanna Go" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 US picture sleeve | ||||
| Single by the Mamas & the Papas | ||||
| from the album If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears[1] | ||||
| B-side | "Somebody Groovy" | |||
| Released | 1965 | |||
| Recorded | 1965 | |||
| Genre | Sunshine pop[2] | |||
| Length | 2:29 | |||
| Label | Dunhill Records | |||
| Songwriter(s) | John Phillips | |||
| Producer(s) | Lou Adler | |||
| The Mamas & the Papas singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Audio | ||||
| "Go Where You Wanna Go" by the Mamas & the Papas on YouTube | ||||
Background
editP.F. Sloan played guitar on the song. John Phillips said that he wrote it about Michelle Phillips's affair with Russ Titelman, a songwriter and record producer.[5]
The Fifth Dimension version
edit| "Go Where You Wanna Go" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by the 5th Dimension | ||||
| from the album Up, Up and Away[6] | ||||
| B-side | "Too Poor to Die" | |||
| Released | January 1967 | |||
| Recorded | 1966 | |||
| Genre | Pop | |||
| Label | Soul City | |||
| Songwriter(s) | John Phillips | |||
| Producer(s) | Johnny Rivers and Marc Gordon | |||
| The 5th Dimension singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Audio | ||||
| "Go Where You Wanna Go" by the 5th Dimension on YouTube | ||||
The 5th Dimension recorded "Go Where You Wanna Go" for their debut studio album in 1967, Up, Up and Away. The song was the group's first single to chart (after their first Soul City release, "Train Keep On Movin'", was unsuccessful), reaching number 16 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. It also did well in Canada. It is among the group's 10 biggest hits.
Producer Johnny Rivers suggested the group record the song.[7] According to Marilyn McCoo, "the record company wasn't going to release it as a single, but we put our whole thing into it, released it and it was a hit."[7]
Chart performance
edit| Weekly chart (1967) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia | 75 |
| Canada (CHUM Hit Parade)[8] | 9 |
| Canada RPM 100[9] | 18 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100[10] | 16 |
| U.S. Cash Box Top 100[11] | 16 |
| Year-end chart (1967) | Rank |
|---|---|
| U.S. (Joel Whitburn's Pop Annual)[12] | 158 |
Popular culture
edit- The original version found new life some 50 years after it was released in a 2011 USA TV commercial about Medicare supplemental insurance.
- In his memoir, Hitch-22, the journalist and writer Christopher Hitchens describes the importance of the song in motivating him to move to the United States from Britain.[13]
References
edit- ^ "www.allmusic.com". allmusic.com. Retrieved June 25, 2023.
- ^ Encyclopaedia Universalis (October 27, 2015). Dictionnaire des Musiciens: (Les Dictionnaires d'Universalis). Encyclopaedia Universalis. p. 3635. ISBN 978-2-85229-140-9.
- ^ "Go Where You Wanna Go/Somebody Groovy - The Mama's And The Papa's". 45cat. Retrieved 2019-06-06.
- ^ "California Dreamin'/Somebody Groovy - The Mama's And The Papa's". 45cat. Retrieved 2019-06-06.
- ^ "Radio Swiss Classic".
- ^ "www.allmusic.com". allmusic.com. Retrieved June 25, 2023.
- ^ a b Moses, Ann (February 14, 1970). "Love Keeps Us 5th Dimensions Together says Marilyn". New Musical Express. Retrieved April 25, 2019 – via Rock's Backpages.
- ^ "CHUM Hit Parade - Week of March 06, 1967". Archived from the original on November 7, 2006. Retrieved April 6, 2017. Chart No. 524. CHUM.
- ^ "RPM 100", RPM Weekly, Volume 7, No. 2, March 11, 1967. Retrieved April 6, 2017.
- ^ Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-2002
- ^ Cash Box Top 100, Cash Box, March 4, 1967. p. 4. Accessed April 6, 2017.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (1999). Pop Annual. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. ISBN 0-89820-142-X.
- ^ Hitchens, Christopher (2011). Hitch-22. p. 210.
External links
edit
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