First use of 'D.I.'--who really WAS first??

[leftybass]

Here is one for the scholars--It has been widely assumed that The Beatles were the first to take an instrument and go straight into the mixing desk(mainly with Paul's bass) around the time of 'Revolver'...

My question is: Did Columbia and Roger McGuinn beat them to the punch? From the outset of 'Mr. Tambourine Man', Roger's Rickenbacker was recorded straight in to the board, through two tube compressors in the control room. Does this mean that this recording was really the first use of direct injection (DI) into a mixing console???