I'll Be Your Baby Tonight

Last updated
"I'll Be Your Baby Tonight"
Song by Bob Dylan
from the album John Wesley Harding
ReleasedDecember 27, 1967 (1967-12-27)
RecordedNovember 29, 1967
Genre Country [1]
Length2:34
Label Columbia
Songwriter(s) Bob Dylan
Producer(s) Bob Johnston

"I'll Be Your Baby Tonight" is a 1967 song by Bob Dylan [1] first released on John Wesley Harding . It features Pete Drake on pedal steel guitar, and two other Nashville musicians, Charlie McCoy on bass guitar and Kenneth Buttrey on drums, both of whom had appeared on Dylan's previous album, Blonde on Blonde . [2]

Contents

Dylan first performed the song in concert at the Isle of Wight Festival with the Band on August 31, 1969. Since then, he has included it in more than 400 live performances. [2] "I'll Be Your Baby Tonight" has been covered by many artists, including Robert Palmer with UB40 in 1990.

Robert Palmer and UB40 version

"I'll Be Your Baby Tonight"
I'll be your baby tonight.jpg
Single by Robert Palmer and UB40
from the album Don't Explain
B-side "Deep End"
ReleasedOctober 22, 1990 (1990-10-22) [3]
Genre Reggae
Length3:26
Label EMI
Songwriter(s) Bob Dylan
Producer(s) Robert Palmer
UB40 singles chronology
"Wear You to the Ball"
(1990)
"I'll Be Your Baby Tonight"
(1990)
"Impossible Love"
(1991)
Robert Palmer singles chronology
"Life in Detail"
(1990)
"I'll Be Your Baby Tonight"
(1990)
"You're Amazing"
(1990)

In 1990, English singer and songwriter Robert Palmer and English reggae band UB40 released a cover version of the song. It was released as a single by EMI in the United Kingdom and throughout Europe. It appears on Robert Palmer's albums Don't Explain and on the 1995 best of 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 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. [4]

Track listings

  1. "I'll Be Your Baby Tonight" – 3:26
  2. "Deep End" – 4:33
  1. "I'll Be Your Baby Tonight" – 3:26
  2. "Deep End" – 4:33
  1. "I'll Be Your Baby Tonight" – 3:30
  2. "I'll Be Your Baby Tonight" (extended version) – 7:25
  3. "Deep End" – 4:33
  1. "I'll Be Your Baby Tonight" (extended version) – 7:25
  2. "I'll Be Your Baby Tonight" – 3:30
  3. "Deep End" – 4:33

Charts

See also

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