"I'll Be Your Baby Tonight" is a 1967 song by

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...

first released on ''

John Wesley Harding ''John Wesley Harding'' is the eighth studio album by the American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, released on December 27, 1967, by Columbia Records. Produced by Bob Johnston, the album marked Dylan's return to semi-acoustic instrumentation and ...

''. It features

Pete Drake Roddis Franklin "Pete" Drake (October 8, 1932 – July 29, 1988) was a Nashville-based American record producer and pedal steel guitar player. One of the most sought-after backup musicians of the 1960s, Drake played on such hits as Lynn Anders ...

pedal steel guitar The pedal steel guitar is a console steel guitar with pedals and knee levers that change the pitch of certain strings, enabling more varied and complex music to be played than with other steel guitar designs. Like all steel guitars, it can play ...

, and two other Nashville musicians,

Charlie McCoy Charlie McCoy (born Charles Ray McCoy, March 28, 1941) is an American harmonica virtuoso and multi-instrumentalist in country music. He is best known for his harmonica solos on iconic recordings such as " Candy Man" ( Roy Orbison), "He Stoppe ...

bass guitar The bass guitar (), also known as the electric bass guitar, electric bass, or simply the bass, is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family. It is similar in appearance and construction to an Electric guitar, electric but with a longer nec ...

and Kenneth Buttrey on

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

, both of whom had appeared on Dylan's previous album, ''

Blonde on Blonde ''Blonde on Blonde'' is the seventh studio album by the American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, released as a double album on June 20, 1966, by Columbia Records. Recording sessions began in New York in October 1965 with numerous backing musici ...

''. Dylan first performed the song in concert at the

Isle of Wight Festival The Isle of Wight Festival is a British music festival which takes place annually in Newport, Isle of Wight, Newport on the Isle of Wight, England. It was originally a Counterculture of the 1960s, counterculture event held from 1968 to 1970. Th ...

with

the Band The Band was a Canadian-American rock music, rock band formed in Toronto, Ontario, in 1957. It consisted of the Canadians Rick Danko (bass, guitar, vocals, fiddle), Garth Hudson (organ, keyboards, accordion, saxophone), Richard Manuel (piano, d ...

on August 31, 1969. Since then, he has included it in more than 650 live performances. "I'll Be Your Baby Tonight" has been covered by many artists, including

Robert Palmer Robert Allen Palmer (19 January 1949 – 26 September 2003) was an English singer and songwriter. He was known for his powerful and soulful voice, sartorial elegance and stylistic explorations, combining soul, funk, jazz, rock, pop, regga ...

with

UB40 UB40 are an English reggae band, formed in December 1978 in Birmingham, England. The band has had more than 50 singles in the UK Singles Chart and has also achieved considerable international success. They have been nominated for the Grammy ...

in 1990.

Robert Palmer and UB40 version

In 1990, English singer and songwriter

and English

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its Jamaican diaspora, diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first ...

band

released a cover version of the song. It was released as a single by

EMI EMI Group Limited (formerly EMI Group plc until 2007; originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At t ...

in the United Kingdom and throughout Europe. It appears on Robert Palmer's albums '' Don't Explain'' and on the 1995

best of A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be creat ...

''The Very Best of''. The song reached the top 10 in Australia, Austria, the Netherlands and Switzerland, and it also secured a number-six placing in both the United Kingdom and Ireland. In New Zealand, it reached number one for a week in February 1991.

Critical reception

David Giles of ''

Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as ''Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music We ...

'' described the Robert Palmer and UB40 cover version as having "a dainty reggae beat", but deemed this "uninspiring pop... never really goes anywhere" and that success would depend on the music video.

Track listings

* 7-inch single # "I'll Be Your Baby Tonight" – 3:26 # "Deep End" – 4:33 * CD single # "I'll Be Your Baby Tonight" – 3:26 # "Deep End" – 4:33 * CD maxi # "I'll Be Your Baby Tonight" – 3:30 # "I'll Be Your Baby Tonight" (extended version) – 7:25 # "Deep End" – 4:33 * 12-inch single # "I'll Be Your Baby Tonight" (extended version) – 7:25 # "I'll Be Your Baby Tonight" – 3:30 # "Deep End" – 4:33

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

External links

Lyrics at Official Bob Dylan site
* {{Authority control 1967 songs 1990 singles Songs written by Bob Dylan Bob Dylan songs Number-one singles in New Zealand Robert Palmer (singer) songs UB40 songs Song recordings produced by Bob Johnston EMI Records singles MTM Records singles