Editing It Ain't Me Babe (section)

==Notable renditions==

=== Covers ===
* Dylan and [[Johnny Cash]] were admirers of each other's work.<ref>{{cite web|last=Springer |first=Mike |url=http://www.openculture.com/2012/06/the_1969_bob_dylan-johnny_cash_sessions_twelve_rare_recordings.html |title=Inside the 1969 Bob Dylan-Johnny Cash Sessions |publisher=Open Culture |date=2012-06-14 |access-date=2016-09-29}}</ref> Cash recorded the song with [[June Carter Cash|June Carter]]. The song was released on Cash's 1965 album, ''[[Orange Blossom Special (album)|Orange Blossom Special]]'', and became a hit. This song was also featured in the 2005 film about Cash's life, ''[[Walk the Line]]'', and was performed by [[Joaquin Phoenix]] and [[Reese Witherspoon]] on [[Walk the Line (soundtrack)|the film's soundtrack]].
* "It Ain't Me Babe" was among many Dylan songs recorded by [[Joan Baez]] in the early years of her career.<ref name=pc19>{{Gilliland |url=https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc19769/m1/ |title=Show 19 - Blowin' in the Wind: Pop discovers folk music. [Part 2]}}</ref> Baez's version appeared on her 1964 album ''[[Joan Baez/5]]'', which also included "Go 'Way from My Window". Additionally, Baez's 1967 album ''Live in Japan'' contains the song. Dylan and Baez sang a duet of "It Ain't Me Babe" at the [[Newport Folk Festival]] on July 24, 1964, as can be seen in the 2007 documentary film ''[[The Other Side of the Mirror (film)|The Other Side of the Mirror]]'', and their October 31, 1964 performance of it may be heard on ''[[The Bootleg Series Vol. 6: Bob Dylan Live 1964, Concert at Philharmonic Hall]]'', released in 2004.
* [[Kesha]] covered the song during the [[2016 Billboard Music Awards|2016 ''Billboard'' Music Awards]].<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Kesha Slays Bob Dylan's 'It Ain't Me Babe' at 2016 Billboard Music Awards |url=http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/bbma/7378393/kesha-bob-dylan-it-aint-me-babe-2016-billboard-music-awards |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] }}</ref>
===The Turtles version===
{{Infobox song
| name          = It Ain't Me Babe
| cover         = It Ain't Me Babe Turtles.jpg
| alt           = 
| border        = yes
| caption       = Swedish single sleeve
| type          = single
| artist        = [[the Turtles]]
| album         = [[It Ain't Me Babe (album)|It Ain't Me Babe]]
| B-side        = Almost There
| released      = {{Start date|1965|07}}
| recorded      = {{Start date|1965|06}}
| studio        = [[United Western Recorders|Western Recorders]], Hollywood
| venue         = 
| genre         = [[Folk rock]]
| length        = {{Duration|m=2|s=11}}
| label         = [[White Whale Records|White Whale]]
| writer        = Bob Dylan
| producer      = [[Bones Howe]]
| prev_title    = 
| prev_year     = 
| next_title    = [[Let Me Be (The Turtles song)|Let Me Be]]
| next_year     = 1965
| misc          = {{External music video|type=single|header=Audio|{{YouTube|ZxQDsM3Wvh8|"It Ain't Me Babe"}}
 }}
}}

==== Background and recording ====
By summer 1965, the members of Los Angeles-based [[Surf music|surf rock]] band the Crossfires had graduated [[Secondary school|high school]] and were on the brink of breaking up in the face of their future careers.<ref name=":0">{{Cite AV media |url=https://archive.org/details/cd_solid-zinc-the-turtles-anthology_the-turtles |title=Solid Zinc: The Turtles Anthology |date=2002 |last=Sandoval |first=Andrew |type=CD |publisher=[[Rhino Entertainment|Rhino]] |place=US |page=9 |access-date=January 13, 2025 |id=R2 78304 |via=[[Internet Archive]]}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Stanley |first=Bob |url= |title=Yeah Yeah Yeah: The Story of Modern Pop |publisher=[[Faber & Faber]] |year=2013 |isbn=978-05-712-819-85 |edition=1st |location=UK |page=184 |access-date=}}</ref> In that period, the band had switched their sound towards a folk-inspired one, partly because it was more commercially viable for the times and partly because the members revered "Dylan like a God".<ref name=":5">{{Cite book |last=Dunbavan |first=Peter |title=An Avid's Guide to Sixties Songwriters |publisher=[[AuthorHouse]] |year=2017 |isbn=978-15-246-334-55 |edition=1st |location=United Kingdom |page=356}}</ref> During the early summer of 1965, Ted Feigin and Lee Lasseff formed [[independent record label]] [[White Whale Records]], who aimed "to release as few records as possible" and only recordings in artists "they believed in".<ref name=":6">{{Cite AV media |url=https://archive.org/details/cd_all-the-singles_the-turtles |title=All The Singles |date=2016 |last=Sandoval |first=Andrew |author-link=Andrew Sandoval |type=CD |publisher=[[Manifesto Records|Manifesto]] |place=US |page=7 |access-date=January 13, 2025 |id=MFO 48040 |via=[[Internet Archive]]}}</ref> [[Disc jockey]] Red Foster saw the Crossfires perform at the Revelaire Club in Los Angeles,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bush |first=John |title=The Turtles Biography by John Bush |url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-turtles-mn0000564239/biography |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150905054404/http://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-turtles-mn0000564239/biography |archive-date=September 5, 2015 |access-date=February 20, 2025 |publisher=[[AllMusic]]}}</ref> and promptly contacted Feigin and Lasseff, who signed to the label.<ref name=":6" /> They promptly re-christened the band's name to the [[Beatlesque]] name the Turtles and urged them to record something [[folk rock]]-influenced.<ref name=":6" /><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Kaylan |first1=Howard |author-link1=Howard Kaylan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xfEfEAAAQBAJ |title=Shell Shocked: My Life with the Turtles, Flo and Eddie, and Frank Zappa, etc. |last2=Tamarkin |first2=Jeff |author-link2=Jeff Tamarkin |publisher=[[Hal Leonard]] |year=2013 |isbn=978-14-803-429-34 |edition=1st |location=US |page=24 |access-date=February 14, 2025 |via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref> "It Ain't Me Babe" was suggested by the Turtles lead vocalist [[Howard Kaylan]]".<ref name=":6" /> Additionally he also stated that Dylan saw the members of the band perform the song at the Revelaire Club and warmly gave them an enthusiastic response, urging them to record "It Ain't Me Babe" as "their [debut] single".<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Kaylan |first1=Howard |author-link1=Howard Kaylan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xfEfEAAAQBAJ |title=Shell Shocked: My Life with the Turtles, Flo and Eddie, and Frank Zappa, etc. |last2=Tamarkin |first2=Jeff |author-link2=Jeff Tamarkin |publisher=[[Hal Leonard]] |year=2013 |isbn=978-14-803-429-34 |edition=1st |location=US |page=27 |access-date=February 14, 2025 |via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref>

The Turtles' rendition of "It Ain't Me Babe" derives heavily from the sound of the contemporary rock band [[the Byrds]] (who had also recorded Dylan songs) and was recorded in a folk rock arrangement in contrast to Dylan's original folk version.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":5" /><ref name=":6" /> The band's recording features both [[twelve-string guitar]] and [[tambourine]], characteristic of the folk rock genre.<ref name=":7">{{Cite web |last=Ruhlmann |first=William |title=It Ain't Me Babe Review by William Ruhlmann |url=https://www.allmusic.com/song/it-aint-me-babe-mt0009279902 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151115193650/https://www.allmusic.com/song/it-aint-me-babe-mt0009279902 |archive-date=November 15, 2015 |access-date=February 20, 2025 |publisher=[[AllMusic]]}}</ref> According to Turtles' lead vocalist [[Howard Kaylan]], their recording of the song had been inspired by [[the Zombies]], as he enjoyed the way "they did a [[Soft rock|soft]] and mysterious [[Song structure|verse]]" that led into a [[Time signature|quadruple]] ({{music|time|4|4}}) "[[Refrain|chorus]] that really kicked ass".<ref name=":0" /> By June 1965, White Whale had booked recording time at the [[United Western Recorders|Western Recorders]] studio in [[Hollywood, Los Angeles]], which came to be the Turtles' first recording session under that name.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Kaylan |first1=Howard |author-link1=Howard Kaylan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xfEfEAAAQBAJ |title=Shell Shocked: My Life with the Turtles, Flo and Eddie, and Frank Zappa, etc. |last2=Tamarkin |first2=Jeff |author-link2=Jeff Tamarkin |publisher=[[Hal Leonard]] |year=2013 |isbn=978-14-803-429-34 |edition=1st |location=US |page=26 |access-date=February 14, 2025 |via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref> In addition to "It Ain't Me Babe", the Kaylan-penned songs "Almost There" and "Wanderin' Kind" were also recorded at the session.<ref name=":6" /><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Kaylan |first1=Howard |author-link1=Howard Kaylan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xfEfEAAAQBAJ |title=Shell Shocked: My Life with the Turtles, Flo and Eddie, and Frank Zappa, etc. |last2=Tamarkin |first2=Jeff |author-link2=Jeff Tamarkin |publisher=[[Hal Leonard]] |year=2013 |isbn=978-14-803-429-34 |edition=1st |location=US |pages=26–27 |access-date=February 14, 2025 |via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref> As White Whale was a fledging record label, they were not able to afford [[Session musician|session musicians]] and thus the members of the Turtles' perform on the single.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bronson |first=Harold |url=https://archive.org/details/rhinorecordsstor0000bron |title=The Rhino Records Story: Revenge of the Music Nerds |publisher=SelectBooks |year=2013 |isbn=978-15-907-913-56 |edition=1st |location=US |pages=108 |access-date=February 14, 2025 |via=[[Internet Archive]]}}</ref> The session was produced by [[Bones Howe]], who would come to produce the majority of the Turtles' early recordings.<ref name=":0" />

==== Release and reception ====
White Whale released "It Ain't Me Babe" as both the Turtles' and the record label's debut single in the US during July 1965.<ref>{{Cite journal |date=November 20, 1965 |title=White Whale Swims Past The Million Mark |url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Cash-Box/60s/1965/CB-1965-11-20.pdf |url-status=live |journal=[[Cashbox (magazine)|Cash Box]] |page=6 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230928145306/https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Cash-Box/60s/1965/CB-1965-11-20.pdf |archive-date=September 28, 2023 |access-date=February 20, 2025 |via=WorldRadioHistory}}</ref><ref name=":8">{{Cite AV media |url=https://archive.org/details/cd_the-story-of-rock-roll_the-turtles |title=The Story Of Rock & Roll |date=1995 |last=Barnes |first=Ken |type=CD |publisher=[[Delta Entertainment Corporation|LaserLight Digital]] |place=US |access-date=February 14, 2025 |id=12 601 |via=[[Internet Archive]]}}</ref> This followed shortly by the release of the single in Canada by [[Mercury Records]] in August 1965,<ref>{{Cite journal |date=August 28, 1965 |title=Canada |url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Cash-Box/60s/1965/CB-1965-08-28.pdf |url-status=live |journal=[[Cashbox (magazine)|Cash Box]] |page=53 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240530173338/https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Cash-Box/60s/1965/CB-1965-08-28.pdf |archive-date=May 30, 2024 |access-date=February 20, 2025 |via=WorldRadioHistory}}</ref> and in the UK on [[Pye Records]] in September 1965.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Kaylan |first1=Howard |author-link1=Howard Kaylan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xfEfEAAAQBAJ |title=Shell Shocked: My Life with the Turtles, Flo and Eddie, and Frank Zappa, etc. |last2=Tamarkin |first2=Jeff |author-link2=Jeff Tamarkin |publisher=[[Hal Leonard]] |year=2013 |isbn=978-14-803-429-34 |edition=1st |location=US |page=28 |access-date=February 14, 2025 |via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref> According to Kaylan, this made them label-mates with [[the Kinks]] and that it was "thrilling to have their songs released globablly".<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Kaylan |first1=Howard |author-link1=Howard Kaylan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xfEfEAAAQBAJ |title=Shell Shocked: My Life with the Turtles, Flo and Eddie, and Frank Zappa, etc. |last2=Tamarkin |first2=Jeff |author-link2=Jeff Tamarkin |publisher=[[Hal Leonard]] |year=2013 |isbn=978-14-803-429-34 |edition=1st |location=US |page=28 |access-date=February 14, 2025 |via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref> The [[A-side and B-side|B-side]] of the single was the Kaylan-penned "Almost There", which band member [[Mark Volman]] stated was almost a "parody of the Kinks".<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":6" />

"It Ain't Me Babe" debuted on the US [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]] on August 7, 1965 before peaking in the top-10 at number eight on September 18.<ref name=":9" /><ref name=":02">{{Cite web |title=Chart History - The Turtles |url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/the-turtles/chart-history/slp/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240531040949/https://www.billboard.com/artist/the-turtles/chart-history/slp/ |archive-date=May 31, 2024 |access-date=January 13, 2025 |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]}}</ref> It would spend a further 11 weeks on the charts.<ref name=":02" /> In the other US music trade publications [[Record World|''Record World'']] and [[Cashbox (magazine)|''Cash Box'']] it fared similarly well, peaking at number 7 and 8 respectively.<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":2" /> Outside of the US, the single fared the best in Canada, where it reached number three on the [[RPM (magazine)|''RPM'']] chart,<ref name=":4" /> and Sweden, where it peaked at number five of the [[Tio i Topp|''Tio i Topp'']] chart on October 29, 1965.<ref name=":10" /> According to Kaylan, this national success came so fast that "they did not know what hit them", adding that the band first heard the song on the radio after which they "screamed and hugged and lost their minds".<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Kaylan |first1=Howard |author-link1=Howard Kaylan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xfEfEAAAQBAJ |title=Shell Shocked: My Life with the Turtles, Flo and Eddie, and Frank Zappa, etc. |last2=Tamarkin |first2=Jeff |author-link2=Jeff Tamarkin |publisher=[[Hal Leonard]] |year=2013 |isbn=978-14-803-429-34 |edition=1st |location=US |pages=27–28 |access-date=February 14, 2025 |via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref> In September 1965, "It Ain't Me" became the title track of the Turtles' [[It Ain't Me Babe (album)|debut album of the same name]],<ref name="Gill" /><ref name=":0" /> and it has since been featured on most of the band's [[Compilation album|compilation albums]], including [[Golden Hits (Turtles album)|''Golden Hits'']] in October 1967.<ref name=":0" />

Based on the Turtles' arrangement, "It Ain't Me Babe" became a folk rock [[Standard (music)|standard]] in Los Angeles, producing covers by the likes of [[Nancy Sinatra]], [[Jan and Dean]] and [[Dino, Desi & Billy]].<ref name=":7" /> Reception of the song has generally been positive, with [[AllMusic]] critic Joseph McCombs stating it to be part of the Turtles' "important bases".<ref>{{Cite web |last=McCombs |first=Joseph |title=The Best of the Turtles Review by Joseph McCombs |url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/the-best-of-the-turtles-mw0000109120 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150825090111/http://www.allmusic.com/album/the-best-of-the-turtles-mw0000109120 |archive-date=August 25, 2015 |access-date=February 20, 2025 |publisher=[[AllMusic]]}}</ref> On the contrary, Steve Leggett believes the Turtles' to have sounded like a "second-tier version of the Byrds" following the release of the single,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Leggett |first=Steve |title=Save the Turtles: The Turtles' Greatest Review by Steve Leggett |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/save-the-turtles-the-turtles-greatest-mw0000815337 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230322224205/https://www.allmusic.com/album/save-the-turtles-the-turtles-greatest-mw0000815337 |archive-date=March 22, 2023 |access-date=February 20, 2025 |publisher=[[AllMusic]]}}</ref> as does Gracie Williams who stated that the band turned into a "glorified cover band" with the single release.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Williams |first=Gracie |date=March 29, 2021 |title=From Johnny Cash to Joan Baez: 5 best covers of Bob Dylan's 'It Ain't Me Babe' |url=https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/bob-dylan-it-aint-me-babe-best-covers/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230122032354/https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/bob-dylan-it-aint-me-babe-best-covers/ |archive-date=January 22, 2023 |access-date=February 21, 2025 |publisher=[[Far Out (website)|Far Out]]}}</ref> Jim Beviglia of [[American Songwriter|''American Songwriter'']] wrote that the band pulled off a "nice dynamic" between the contrasting verses and chorus.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Beviglia |first=Jim |date=October 29, 2024 |title=Covering Dylan: 5 Takes on "It Ain't Me Babe" |url=https://americansongwriter.com/covering-dylan-5-takes-on-it-aint-me-babe/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241112072824/httpshttps://americansongwriter.com/covering-dylan-5-takes-on-it-aint-me-babe/ |archive-date=November 12, 2024 |access-date=February 20, 2025 |publisher=[[American Songwriter]]}}</ref> Kaylan has retrospectively stated that the Turtles turned "It Ain't Me Babe" from a song about [[regret]] to a song expressing anger.<ref name=":8" />

====Charts====
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|+Weekly chart performance for "It Ain't Me, Babe"
!Chart (1965)
!Peak
position
|-
! scope="row" |Australia ([[Kent Music Report]])<ref>{{cite book |title =Australian Chart Book 1993 – 2005 |author = David Kent |isbn = 0-646-45889-2 |year = 2006 |publisher = Australian Chart Book Pty Ltd. |location=Turramurra, N.S.W. |page=345}}</ref>
| style="text-align:center;" |38
|-
! scope="row" |Canada ([[RPM (magazine)|''RPM'' 100]])<ref name=":4">{{Cite journal |date=September 20, 1965 |title=RPM 100 |url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/RPM/60s/1965/RPM-1965-09-20.pdf |journal=[[RPM (magazine)|RPM]] |page=5 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240902184647/https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/RPM/60s/1965/RPM-1965-09-20.pdf |archive-date=September 2, 2024 |access-date=February 20, 2025 |via=WorldRadioHistory}}</ref>
| style="text-align:center;" |3
|-
!scope="row"|France (''[[Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique|SNEP]]'')<ref>{{Cite web |title=Les Tubes de chaque Artiste commençant par T |trans-title=The Hits of Each Artist Starting With T |url=https://infodisc.fr/Tubes_Artistes_T.php |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241115005207/https://infodisc.fr/Tubes_Artistes_T.php |archive-date=November 15, 2024 |access-date=February 20, 2025 |website= |publisher=InfoDisc |language=fr}}</ref>
| style="text-align:center;" |44
|-
! scope="row" |Sweden ([[Sverigetopplistan|Kvällstoppen]])<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hallberg |first=Eric |title=Eric Hallberg presenterar Kvällstoppen i P3: Sveriges Radios topplista över veckans 20 mest sålda skivor |publisher=Drift Musik |year=1993 |isbn=978-91-630-2140-4 |location=Sweden |page=199 |language=sv |trans-title=Eric Hallberg Presents Kvällstoppen in P3: Sveriges Radios Top List of the Week's 20 Most Sold Records}}</ref>
| style="text-align:center;" |14
|-
! scope="row" |Sweden ([[Tio i Topp|''Tio i Topp'']])<ref name=":10">{{Cite book |last1=Hallberg |first1=Eric |title=Tio i topp med de utslagna "på försök" 1961-74 |last2=Henningsson |first2=Ulf |publisher=Premium |year=2012 |isbn=978-91-89136-89-2 |edition=2nd |location=Sweden |page=386 |language=sv |trans-title=Tio I Topp With the Eliminated on Try 1961-74}}</ref>
| style="text-align:center;" |5
|-
! scope="row" |US ([[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]])<ref name=":9">{{Cite magazine |date=September 18, 1965 |title=Billboard Hot 100 |url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/60s/1965/Billboard%201965-09-18.pdf |url-status=live |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |page=22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240519175159/https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/60s/1965/Billboard%201965-09-18.pdf |archive-date=May 19, 2024 |access-date=February 20, 2025 |via=WorldRadioHistory}}</ref>
| style="text-align:center;" |8
|-
! scope="row" |US ([[Cashbox (magazine)|''Cash Box'' Top 100]])<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal |date=September 18, 1965 |title=Cash Box Top 100 |url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Cash-Box/60s/1965/CB-1965-09-18.pdf |url-status=live |journal=[[Cashbox (magazine)|Cash Box]] |page=4 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250121185051/https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Cash-Box/60s/1965/CB-1965-09-18.pdf |archive-date=January 21, 2025 |access-date=February 20, 2025 |via=WorldRadioHistory}}</ref>
| style="text-align:center;" |8
|-
! scope="row" |US ([[Record World|''Record World'' 100 Top Pops]])<ref name=":3">{{Cite journal |date=September 25, 1965 |title=100 Top Pops |url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Record-World/60s/65/RW-1965-09-25.pdf |url-status=live |journal=[[Record World]] |page=19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240217125644/https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Record-World/60s/65/RW-1965-09-25.pdf |archive-date=February 17, 2024 |access-date=February 20, 2025 |via=WorldRadioHistory}}</ref>
| style="text-align:center;" |7
|}