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A Dylan song from 1964, taken up by the Byrds in 1966 and their last American Top 40 single.
The Byrds, from Younger Than Yesterday (1967)
- Written by
- Bob Dylan
- Released
- 13 March 1967
- Length
- 3:08
- Album
- Younger Than Yesterday
Dylan recorded it on 9 June 1964 under the title Ancient Memories, and it appeared on Another Side of Bob Dylan that August. The Byrds recorded their version from 5 to 8 December 1966 at Columbia in Hollywood. Their manager Jim Dickson suggested it, and Crosby objected to another Dylan cover. The single came out on 13 March 1967 with Renaissance Fair on the B-side. The single edit runs 2:31 and drops the second verse, against 3:08 on the album. It reached number 30 in the United States and 18 in Canada, and did not chart in Britain. It was the band's last American Top 40 single.
It stayed in their set until 1973.
Live
At the 1992 Dylan 30th Anniversary Concert at Madison Square Garden, McGuinn, Petty, Young, Clapton, Dylan and Harrison sang verses in the Byrds arrangement. It is track four on Live at Royal Albert Hall 1971, and it opened the 2018 Sweetheart of the Rodeo anniversary show.
Covers and versions
- Ramones
- The Hollies
- The Nice
- Keith Jarrett
- Steve Earle
- Jackson Browne
- Joan Osborne
More songs by The Byrds
Mr. Tambourine Man, Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There Is a Season), Eight Miles High, So You Want to Be a Rock 'n' Roll Star, Chestnut Mare
Sources
- My Back Pages, Wikipedia
- Live at Royal Albert Hall 1971, Wikipedia
- Sweetheart of the Rodeo 50th anniversary show review, Ultimate Classic Rock