Editing It Ain't Me Babe (section)

==== 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" />