Before the days of Spotify, when people used to buy records on vinyl from a music store, albums were released very differently than they are today. The promotion was similar, though promotion via word-of-mouth was much more literal, and singles were still released prior to the albums to give fans a little taste.
When singles were released on vinyl, they were released on ’45 records, typically in pairs, with one side of the record being the primary single, or A-side, and the other side being a secondary, almost bonus-like single, or the B-side. The singles were determined based on a record label’s prediction of how a song would perform, and typically, an album’s A-side was the track that a label would anticipate blowing up.
More often than not, a single’s A-side was the song that blew up. Occasionally, however, record labels have been known to misjudge an album’s tracklist, and the B-side was actually the song that blew up, eclipsing the success of its A-side. Here are nine songs that are sure to make you say, “Wow! That was a B-side!?”
“Roadhouse Blues” by The Doors (A-Side: “You Make Me Real”)
The only single released from The Doors’ fifth studio album, Morrison Hotel, was “You Make Me Real,” the B-side of which was “Roadhouse Blues.” The single reached platinum sales certification, and definitely did its job in promoting their upcoming album. That said, “You Make Me Real” was far from the most successful track on Morrison Hotel.
Any fan of The Doors is surely a massive fan of this song, but any casual fan of The Doors would likely say that the album’s opening track and the single’s B-side absolutely has the edge. “Roadhouse Blues” kicks off Morrison Hotel with a rowdy bang, the energy of which “You Make Me Real” just can’t quite match.
Both the A-side and the B-side boast an iconic introduction, “You Make Me Real” with an electric keyboard sequence from Ray Manzarek, and “Roadhouse Blues” with an equally iconic bluesy guitar riff from Robby Krieger. In the five-plus decades since this album’s release, however, the B-side has definitely overtaken the A-side in terms of success and relevance within the band’s catalog.
“I Am the Walrus” by the Beatles (A-Side: “Hello Goodbye”)
One of the most oddly psychedelic releases of The Beatles’ career was Magical Mystery Tour, released as an LP in the US, but as a double EP in the UK. The band’s label, Capitol Records, released the song “Hello Goodbye” as a single, with “I Am The Walrus” as a B-side.
Within the catalog of a band as wildly successful as The Beatles, there are very few, if any, songs that don’t qualify as legendary, but there are certainly tiers of legendary status. “Hello Goodbye” is not nearly as iconic as its endlessly weird B-side; “I Am The Walrus” is a truly defining song of The Beatles’ psychedelic era, and is a strong contender for the title of The Beatles’ weirdest song throughout their whole catalog.
“Hello Goodbye” may have outperformed “I Am The Walrus” on the charts at the time of the single’s release, but in the decades since, the single’s B-side has been remembered as the more successful song, particularly within the context of psychedelic rock.
“Maggie May” by Rod Stewart (A-Side: “Reason to Believe”)
Rod Stewart’s second-most streamed song on Spotify is none other than the beloved classic, “Maggie May.” One may think that his highest streamed song is the A-side to “Maggie May,” as that would be logical, but not only is “Reason to Believe” not his most-streamed song, it’s not even in his top ten.
This song is perhaps the greatest instance of a record label getting it wrong; “Maggie May” was both the most successful song from Stewart’s third album, Every Picture Tells a Story, and arguably the most successful song of his career. The B-side of a Tim Hardin cover, there is simply no overstating just how backwards this single was.
“Maggie May” eclipsed its A-side in every sense; where “Reason to Believe” peaked at number 62 on the Billboard Hot 100, “Maggie May” spent five weeks at number one. The A-side is hardly known at all to casual fans of Rod Stewart, and you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone at all who isn’t familiar with the B-side.
“Ruby Tuesday” by The Rolling Stones (A-Side: “Let’s Spend the Night Together”)
“Ruby Tuesday” is a song with more of a pop-heavy influence, at least compared to the rest of The Rolling Stones’ discography. It’s catchy, pleasing to the ear, and overall, just a nice, enjoyable song. Its A-side, “Let’s Spend the Night Together,” on the other hand, employed some sexual lyricism, and did not nearly enjoy the same level of success.
Though “Let’s Spend the Night Together” earned itself a David Bowie cover, it peaked at number 55 on the US charts, and did not see much airplay on the radio. “Ruby Tuesday,” however, peaked at number one on the US charts and became a radio staple. The success of the B-side actually led certain outlets in the UK to list the single as a double A-side.
The difference between the two songs is like night and day; “Let’s Spend the Night Together” is a clear sexual advance in the form of a song, while “Ruby Tuesday” is a sweet, rather inspirational anthem, resulting in the song’s definitive position as one of the band’s greatest hits.
“I Want to Take You Higher” by Sly and the Family Stone (A-Side: “Stand!”)
Sly & The Family Stone’s legendary Woodstock performance was made so largely due to the song “I Want to Take You Higher.” Personally, when I found out this song was a B-side, I was truly shocked. The song’s A-side was the title track of the band’s fourth album, Stand!, and it certainly was no slouch of a single.
“Stand!” peaked at number 22 on the Billboard Hot 100, higher than the B-side which peaked at 38, and it was covered by a number of artists, from the Jackson 5 to Phish. “I Want to Take You Higher,” however, boasted a cover version from legendary R&B duo Ike & Tina Turner.
Looking back on the band’s catalog, both songs have held up as some of their best. That said, due to its upbeat, contagious energy, and aided slightly by their Woodstock performance, “I Want to Take You Higher” is more of a defining track in Sly & The Family Stone’s career than its A-side.
“Time” by Pink Floyd (A-Side: “Us and Them”)
Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon is a solid contender for the album of the ’70s, reaching multi-platinum sales certification in the US—15 times to be exact. The second single released from their first smash-hit album was “Us and Them,” with the song “Time” as its B-side.
On an album as successful as this one, again, there really aren’t any tracks that didn’t blow up in the album’s wake. That said, “Time” was arguably the biggest song on the album, both at the time, and in the years since its release. The opening sequence of alarm clocks going off one by one is at once jarring, intriguing, and brilliant.
“Us and Them” is a beautiful track that really does capture the mellow, psychedelic essence of The Dark Side of the Moon as a whole. However, in the grand scheme of both the album and the band’s full 15-album catalog, “Time” is, ironically, as timeless a Pink Floyd song as they come, certainly outshining its A-side.
“Beth” by KISS (A-Side: “Detroit Rock City”)
Being from Detroit, this one pains me a bit, as it’s not often that an artist who isn’t from Detroit dedicates a song to our city, but between “Detroit Rock City” and its B-side, “Beth,” one definitely had a bigger impact than the other. For a hard rock band like KISS, “Beth” was the kind of song that stopped fans dead in their tracks upon hearing it for the first time.
KISS released the third single (“Detroit Rock City”) from their fourth album, Destroyer, along with the B-side, “Beth.” The band’s record label, Casablanca, was adamant about “Detroit Rock City” being the third single from the album, but they released it with “Beth,” and the B-side was the song to which radio DJs took a much stronger liking.
“Detroit Rock City,” though still a staple of KISS’ catalog, failed to chart in the US. “Beth” peaked at number seven on the Billboard Hot 100. Fans were pleasantly shocked by the band’s ballad, and at the time, “Beth” completely overtook its A-side in terms of popularity and success.
“Blue Sky” by The Allman Brothers Band (A-Side: “Melissa”)
The Allman Brothers Band’s hybrid album Eat a Peach was absolutely stacked with hits, not the least of which was the second single, “Melissa,” along with its B-side, “Blue Sky.” Initially, “Melissa” was released as the B-side to the album’s first single “Ain’t Wastin’ Time No More,” and it was subsequently released as its own single, with “Blue Sky” its B-side.
Both the A-side and the B-side of this single became instant staples within The Allman Brothers Band’s discography, and are undoubtedly two of their greatest hits. That said, “Blue Sky” has a slight edge. “Melissa” has been a relatively prominent feature within popular culture, but “Blue Sky” is more of an all-encompassing classic.
Joan Baez covered “Blue Sky” on her 1975 album Diamonds and Rust, as did Frank Hannon, the son-in-law of Allman Brothers guitarist, Dickey Betts, with Betts’ son Duane Betts on guitar. “Melissa” is a gorgeous ballad in its own right, but “Blue Sky” has a certain upbeat, feel good charm that has kept it a classic for all these years.
“We Will Rock You” by Queen (A-Side: “We Are The Champions”)
“We Will Rock You,” and its A-side, “We Are The Champions,” are a clear case of a phenomenally successful single on both sides. Each of these two songs are among Queen’s all-time greatest hits, and played a pivotal role in the success of the band’s sixth album, News Of The World.
Both songs made waves for Queen, each going multi-platinum, but where “We Are The Champions” went quadruple-platinum, “We Will Rock You” more than doubled that, going nine times platinum. Not only that, but the introduction to “We Will Rock You” has become a cultural touchstone, and remained so for going on five decades.
The record label really couldn’t have gone wrong either way with either of these songs as the A-side, with the legendary introduction to “We Will Rock You” and the fact that “We Are The Champions” has become synonymous with winning. It was really six of one and a half dozen the other, but “We Will Rock You,” as is evidenced by its sales, takes the cake.
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