"I'm Headin' For California" was written by Glenn Miller with Arthur Malvin, a member of the Crew Chiefs, copyrighted on September 21, 1944 and published by the Chappell Co., Inc. The song was recorded on Thursday, February 21, 1946 at a session at the RCA Victor Studios in New York. The recording was released as a 78 single, RCA Victor 20-1834, b/w "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" arranged by Bill Finegan, by the Glenn Miller Orchestra led by Tex Beneke in 1946 and as an HMV 78, BD 5956, in the UK in 1947 b/w "Texas Tex". This was the first single released by the Glenn Miller Orchestra under the direction of Tex Beneke. The recording appeared on the 1998 album Glenn Miller Orchestra: A Tribute to Tex Beneke and the 2001 release The Legendary Big Bands: Tex Beneke by Castle/Pulse.