Mr. Tambourine Man

Bob Dylan wrote the song in early 1964 and recorded it on 15 January 1965 for Bringing It All Back Home. The Byrds cut theirs five days later at Columbia in Hollywood with producer Terry Melcher. McGuinn sang lead and played the Rickenbacker 12-string, Clark and Crosby sang harmony, and Hal Blaine, Larry Knechtel, Jerry Cole and Bill Pitman played the other parts. The single came out on 12 April 1965 with I Knew I'd Want You on the B-side. It runs about 2:18, uses only the second verse, and turns Dylan's 2/4 feel into 4/4. Dylan reportedly told the band at a rehearsal that you could dance to it.

It reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100, Cash Box and the British chart, and was the first Dylan composition to top a major pop chart. It also went to number one in Ireland and South Africa. McGuinn said he sang it as a prayer of submission to God, and Dylan denied that it is about drugs. Rolling Stone placed it 79th on its 2004 list of the greatest songs, and it entered the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1998.

Live

The reunited Byrds played it with Dylan in 1990, and all five original members performed it at the Hall of Fame ceremony on 16 January 1991. Live versions appear on (Untitled) and Live at Royal Albert Hall 1971.