Someday Baby by Bob Dylan: 2006 iPod + iTunes Ad

A black-and-white departure

Bob Dylan's iPod + iTunes commercial debuted on 29 August 2006, the day his album Modern Times was released in the US. MacTech noted that, unlike earlier silhouette ads, it was mostly black and white rather than brightly coloured. Dylan, in a black cowboy hat, plays acoustic guitar and sings "Someday Baby" into an old-style microphone, intercut with a silhouetted woman dancing with her iPod.

“Someday Baby” by Bob Dylan, iPod commercial, 2006. Chart of the iPod commercials covered on this site, 2001–2007, with this one highlighted. — Where “Someday Baby” sits among the iPod commercials of 2001–2007.

Part of an iTunes partnership

The commercial was one part of a wider arrangement. On 8 August 2006 Columbia Records and Apple announced an exclusive iTunes pre-order of Modern Times, and from 29 August iTunes sold The Collection, a digital box set of nearly 800 Dylan tracks including 42 rarities. In the announcement Steve Jobs described Dylan as a personal hero.

Blues roots and a Grammy

"Someday Baby", recorded in New York in February 2006, reworks the blues "Trouble No More" by Muddy Waters, itself based on Sleepy John Estes's "Someday Baby Blues". It reached number three on Billboard's Adult Alternative chart and won the Grammy for Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance at the 49th Annual Grammy Awards in 2007, where Modern Times also won Best Contemporary Folk/Americana Album. The album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, Dylan's first US chart-topping album since Desire in 1976.

Browse more iPod history

Browse iPod advertising for more commercials. Explore the 2001 timeline, 2002 timeline, 2003 timeline, 2004 timeline, 2005 timeline, 2006 timeline, 2007 timeline, and 2008 timeline, or visit the iPod classic, iPod mini, iPod nano, iPod shuffle, and iPod touch pages. Home provides broader site browsing.

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