Occasionally DJs ignored the A side and played the B side instead which sometimes resulted in an unexpected hit, e.g. Rod Stewart’s Maggie May from 1971!
For my 9th birthday I got my first record player but the number of 45s I had were extremely limited, in fact the first single I got was rather pathetic: Sunsilk Shampoo – Sunny Girl (7″ flexi-disc NL 1967), a freebie commercial one…
Luckily soon afterwards I got a bunch of 45s from my Rock ’n’ Roll uncle which included Little Richard’s frantic “Tutti Frutti” and Elvis’ “Jailhouse Rock”...
As a result both sides of each record were enjoyed a lot, but only much later I started to notice that some of those B-sides were intriguing and at times not even available on the artist’s or group’s albums. By the time I got really into record collecting, hunting B-sides became an almost full-time sport!
The focus here though is on B-sides in general, whether exclusive or not, and irrespective of much later appearances on Deluxe Editions / Box Sets!
Both collections here are just a grab bag of B-sides from all kinds of artists, on purpose no attempt was made to follow any kind of musical coherence or logic...
To get this fabulous two record set at no extra charge, answer this simple question: what is your favorite B-side?
ReplyDelete(Koen has assembled a really stellar collection here, folks. It's two volumes -- the first covering 1960-70, and the second from 1970-80. Each one includes a great pdf with vintage record labels from the 45's. All three of us here at the blog really enjoy your comments, and it's all we ask for before the link to the download is posted.)
Rain is not only the best B side but is also the best Beatles song
DeleteNot many people know this
Thank you, Big Fat Daddy! "Rain" has one of John's best psychedelic melodies, and is a masterclass in bass playing. A tough one to beat!
DeleteIt's gotta be Midnight Hour, the B-side to 96 Tears. (Not the Wilson Pickett song!)
DeleteThanks Jonder, now I really have to start working on Vol. 2! Problem is I have too many 'candidates' & must make a selection, choices, choices...
ReplyDeleteOne of my favorite B-side stories is about how Kenny Laguna and his band Wind created a bit of filler that unexpectedly turned into a huge UK hit:
Deletehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mr._Bloe
"Murder by Numbers" by the Police is a great B-side ,as is Elton John's "Strangers."
DeleteThanks, JWD! Now I've got Murder By Numbers stuck in my head! Here's the download link. If you get an error message when you unzip it, choose to unzip ALL of the files to get all of Koen's b-side goodness!
Deletehttps://tinyurl.com/bsidemadness
Thanks for "Groovin' with Mr. Bloe", great story! Just checked the song on YouTube but to my surprise don't recall ever hearing it...
Delete"Murder By Numbers" on the other hand I'm very familar with, great track!
I'm pretty partial to "I Like Drugs" by Simpletones.
ReplyDeleteOooh, that's a good one. I bought the Posh Hits LP when it came out, and that was a great cut as well as "Push Comes To Shove" by the Stepmothers.
DeleteMy Favorite B-side is one of the greatest Belgian tunes of all, the majestic earworm, written as the b-side of Manuela ( and for the Dutch batch, no, not that one). Written in haste, so he did not have a complete text and had to improvise some no-no-no-no-no-no=no lines to complete. I think it wasn't a b-side for more than one run of the print, and the second pressing named it the a-side forever. You'll find it here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mWksAbZQoO8
ReplyDeleteAnother fine 45 could be this one https://www.discogs.com/master/766076-Naafi-Sandwich-Slice-1-Slice-2 . Naafi Sandwich with Slice 1 as an a-side. It didn't sell, and when they tried it again in 1982, they cleverly changed artist name, record company and switched a and b sides, And then it did sell, at least one, to me.
ReplyDeleteAh, and the reggae/version 7''s or all those bolero/up-tempo singles and, in for instance Congo, they cut the song in two and made #1/#2.
Another b-side that took me by surprise was the one on Art Bears - Coda to Man and Boy. Just before I put the b-side up, I noticed something, looked better and then I saw it. No grooves, only an etched design. I was young, confused, and amused.
Thank you for the comments and links! I looked up the Art Bears single -- a lovely package! I didn't discover Brenda Ray and the Naffi stuff until a couple of years ago. Listening to "Marina" now, and enjoying Rocco Granata's melody and the great rhythm section.
DeleteThe Pretty Things - Circus Mind
DeleteI would go for the Kinks' great Pye B-sides like It's all right, I gotta move, I need you, Never met a girl like you, Sitting on my sofa, I'm not like everybody else, She's got everything or King Kong among others. Some were on American Kinks albums though. Great blog Jonder !
ReplyDeleteI vote for the Kinks
DeleteBeware of the flowers (cos I'm sure they're gonna get you yeah) B-side of Really Free by John Otway & Wild Willy Barrett. Tremendous!
ReplyDeleteSam Cooke - Having A Party (B-side to Bring It On Home To Me). Another of the great double-sided hits of the 60s.
ReplyDeleteOh, man...that's a good call.
Deletethere's so many! "stupid maryann," the flip of "punk rock girl"; "crazy," the flip of ... uh, "down under," maybe; "erotic city" ("when doves cry"), of course; "sun, sea & piracy" ("c30 c60 c90 go"); even john c. mellencamp sticking LP track "golden gate" on the b-side of "crumblin' down"! ooh, and ALL stuck "crazy?" on "she's my ex," too ...
ReplyDeleteI've always thought "Goin' Down" was far superior to "Daydream Believer"
ReplyDeleteCurrent favorite b's are: "Mr. Flower Vendor Man" by Tony & Terri, and "Tell Her" by Terry Randall.
ReplyDeleteThank you all for so many great b-sides! One of the first singles I bought was "Hot Child In The City" (don't judge). The b-side of Nick Gilder's hit was a great glam rocker called "Backstreet Noise". It was taken from his first solo album (which had a creepy clown doll on the cover) and was a remake of a song first recorded by his band Sweeney Todd. (A young Bryan Adams became the singer after Nick left Sweeney Todd for his solo career!) I didn't know any of these things in 1978, but I thought that b-side was much better than the big hit on the a-side, which always seemed kinda creepy.
ReplyDeleteI votefor the the KINKS, too....
ReplyDeleteThanks (everybody) for the collected b-sides . . . and for the recommended b-sides as well.
ReplyDeleteI had initially drawn a blank, or something, and decided to sit this one out, but now I'd like to nominate "Sultanesque," the flip to Roxy Music's "Love Is the Drug":
https://soundcloud.com/bryanferry/sultanesque?in=mycloudplayer/sets/bryan-ferry-and-roxy-music .
The track itself is certainly one of my favorites, regardless that lots of people, including at least one of its creators, seem actually to have detested it. What's more, Dave Thompson's commentary on it is pretty cool in its own right: https://www.allmusic.com/song/sultanesque-mt0044491918 .
Thanks, I wasn't aware of Sultanesque, intriguing track!
DeleteYes, thank you for the track and the commentary too! When I was reading about Doctors Of Madness, I discovered that Dave Thompson is a big fan.
DeleteAs much as I like 'Rain' I still have to go with 'I Am The Walrus'
ReplyDeleteI see some call in the bigguns , fine. The Beatles (and The Kinks, and The Small Faces, perhaps some more) should be excluded. They have far too many great songs.
ReplyDeleteI wonder, so many record companies demanding an a-side not caring for the b-side shouldn't there be much more interesting b-sides. Bands giving their other/better sides? I can understand why lazy millionaires didn't care for the next b-side. On the other hand, it seemed Elvis wasn't in control of his own output, and there you'll find numerous repeated b-sides. The same track for different a-sides, just to be filler.
Wiseblood - Motorslug had Death Rape 2000. I like to know more Real Fillers. Tracks that took the piss of the whole b-side idea. I know it wasn't a b-side, but what Wire did with 12XU on their Document & Eyewitness would be a great example. Than you would have the most curious of compilations.
"B-Side Pisstakes" would indeed be an interesting compilation. Kenny Laguna was quoted in the Wikipedia article above: "Our Buddah releases were known for their ridiculous B-sides, like A-side played backwards in order for the business dudes to copyright something with themselves as writers, even though they couldn't write songs." I can't recall the names right now, but there were "dub" b-sides of punk singles that were also just the A-side played backwards.
Delete"You Know My Name (Look Up The Number)" might qualify as taking the piss ....
"B-Side Pisstakes" cool name! Actually I am preparing something like that BUT from a different angle...
DeleteYes, that Is what I mean. One of the Beatles tunes I never gave much attention.
DeleteAnd if it wasn't for the complete taking the piss out of everything, this would be a contender too https://www.discogs.com/master/392786-The-Yobs-Run-Rudolph-Run-The-Worm-Song. Some parodies/novelties have beautiful b-sides, Happy Talk, Hole in my Shoe both have good stuff for different reasons.
Back to normal Sides 2. I mentioned Wire 12XU, and that is in fact a b-side. The Tights had Cracked on the flip, And from the 60s try 4PK I Laugh At You. That was a b-side twice, once to It's My Day Today and also to As Tears Go By .
the jam butterfly collector
ReplyDeletehi it was me who added butterfly collector
DeleteAnd it was a good 'un. Thanks Dave!
Delete