"Outside Chance" is a song written by lyricist Glenn Crocker and composer Warren Zevon, initially recorded by American pop band the Turtles in 1966.

[1][2][nb 1] The song, a raga rock composition,[4][5] written by band members Al Nichol and Chuck Portz,[6] was a commercial failure, only reaching number 81 on the US Billboard Hot 100.

[9][10] After playing with temporary replacement drummer Joel Larson for a few weeks, before more permanently settling on John Barbata after a suggestion from the Byrds Gene Clark.

[10][19][nb 2] Zevon and the Turtles were introduced to one another through White Whale Records founders Ted Feigin and Lee Lasseff, who played Lyme & Cybelle's "Follow Me" for the band during a meeting.

[31] Musicologist Bob Stanley writes that "Outside Chance" was "tough garage punk rock" that contrasted greatly from their previous singles,[32] whereas Elizabeth Klisiewicz of The Big Takeover calls the song an early example of jangle pop.

[29] AllMusic's Richard Gilliam stated that the lyrics were ironic, with the composition combining the music of "the folk rock era" onto a pop song.

[35] The song is largely based on a riff performed on a 12-string electric guitar,[36] which Bill Kopp of Goldmine instead suggests was influenced by George Harrison's "Taxman", which was released on the Beatles album Revolver.

[24] Following the chart failure of "Grim Reaper of Love", White Whale rush-released "Outside Chance" as the Turtles' fifth single release in July 1966.

[36][41][2][nb 6] On original release, the B-side was a cover of "We'll Meet Again", popularized by Vera Lynn and featured as the closing song in the Turtles' live repertoire.

[27] Just like "Grim Reaper of Love", "Outside Chance" was originally issued as a non-album single, and was also excluded from the Turtles' forthcoming third studio album Happy Together in April 1967.

[46] ""Outside Chance" was one of the Turtles' last releases in their angry young folk-rocker incarnation; soon afterward they elevated themselves to new pop, megahit status with smashes such as "Happy Together" and "Elenore".

[50] Retrospectively, music historian Alec Palao wrote that the Turtles never "sounded as snotty" as they did on "Outside Chance", noting the song's guitar riff and the "bittersweet" vocal harmonies.

[47] Lead guitarist Nichol has held the single in favorable opinion,[37] and in 2009, vocalist Kaylan stated that "Outside Chance" was his favorite Turtles recording of all time.

[52] Additionally, the release of "Outside Chance" gave songwriter Zevon some credibility on the music scene,[29] with Crocker noting that he "bought all of his friends dinner" with the first royalty check he received for the song after "not eating for a week".