The version by Burnette was included on the soundtrack to the 1973 film American Graffiti, directed by George Lucas.

Although McCartney is credited on the liner notes of the album Ringo as having played the solo on a kazoo, reviewer Michael Verity has quoted the song's producer Richard Perry as revealing that it wasn't actually a kazoo: "In fact, the solo on 'You're Sixteen,' which sounds like a kazoo or something, was Paul singing very spontaneously as we played that track back, so he’s singing the solo on that.

Harry Nilsson sang backing vocals on Starr's version; Nicky Hopkins is heard playing the piano, including going up and down the scale in the instrumental fade of the song.

Of course, that doesn’t excuse Starr’s judgment as a 33-year-old man releasing a song about a love for a 16-year-old girl.

"[15] In 2019, Tom Breihan of Stereogum reviewed the song negatively, writing that, as it relates to musicians courting or having sex with teenagers, "Ringo Starr wasn't the worst offender of his era, and there's plenty of plausible deniability built into 'You're Sixteen.'