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 650 live performances.[3] "I'll Be Your Baby Tonight" has been covered by many artists, including Robert Palmer with UB40 in 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 ofThe 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.
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.[5]
^Kosser, Michael (2006). How Nashville Became Music City, U.S.A.: A History Of Music Row. Lanham, Maryland, US: Backbeat Books. pp. 149–150. ISBN978-1-49306-512-7.
^ abMargotin, Philippe; Guesdon, Jean-Michel (October 27, 2015). Bob Dylan: All the Songs – the Story Behind Every Track (First ed.). New York, New York: Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers. p. 299. ISBN9781579129859.
^"New Singles". Music Week. October 20, 1990. p. 37.
^Giles, David (27 October 1990). "Singles"(PDF). Music Week. p. 25. Retrieved 6 September 2023.