I'm sure this will come as a brutal shock to you, but the titans of the music industry - you know, the executives - don't always know which songs are going to be hits. Sometimes they miss, sometimes they miss badly. And every once in a while, they release something they dismiss as mere filler, which turns out to be one of the best songs ever. These are the greatest B-sides of the 1960s.
I'm sure that for a lot of our younger audiophiles, the idea of a B-side is something quite novel. As in, "What the heck is a B-side?" Long before my time, slightly after the Earth cooled, record companies released single songs.
The one they expected to be a hit was the A-side, while the flip side, the B-side, usually just had some filler material. By all rights, the B-side should be trash, like these inexplicable hits. But sometimes, that other side was the song that everyone loved.
The seven great B-sides of the 1960s live on in music history
For most devotees of the aural arts, it may be hard to imagine that there was a time when music was delivered on these physical things called records. Thankfully, vinyl is making a comeback, although the major record companies still focus on full albums.
Other than on smaller labels, B-sides have nearly disappeared, as most singles released now only have one song. Why give away one song when you can sell that would-be B-side separately, right? The days of the B-side may be over, but these have transcended time.
"Green Onions" ("Behave Yourself") - Booker T and the M.G.s, 1962
Our first hit arrived in 1962. This R&B band was formed that year in Memphis, Tennessee, and served as the house band for the legendary Stax Records. They would later back up stars like Otis Redding, Bill Withers, and Sam & Dave.
In 1962, at the age of 17, keyboard player Booker T. Jones was joined by Steve Cropper on guitar, Lewie Steinberg on bass, and Al Jackson Jr. on drums. Joens came up with the basic riff of what would become one of the all-time great instrumentals.
First released on the Volt label as the B-side to "Behave Yourself" in May, the DJs knew what was up and flipped the record at every radio station. The record was rereleased by Stax in July, and Booker T. and the M.G.s had their biggest hit ever.
It was released as the lead of their debut album, Green Onions. As for the name M.G.s, yes, they were named for the British sports car. But according to Steve Cropper, who joined the group in 1965, it stands for Musical Geniuses. Can't dispute that.
"Wipe Out" ("Surfer Joe") - The Surfaris, 1963
Spin up another instrumental, Madam DJ. The band that unleashed one of the greatest drum solos in the history of rock was comprised of four high school kids in Southern California. Nope, we're not talking about the Beach Boys.
This group wasn't nearly as successful as those icons of popular music. But for a brief time, the Surfaris were as big as any band. And "WIpe Out" is as iconic as any song from the era.
The A-side of the 1963 release, "Surfer Joe," was a minor hit in the local market. It was first released in January with the eventual hit as the B-side by the DFS label for the regional market. Princess Records released it the very next month, followed by Dot Records with a national release in April.
"Wipe Out" climbed all the way to number 2 on the Billboard Top 100, held back only by Stevie Wonder's "Fingertips." It charted again in 1966 and 1970 and has been covered by countless bands, notably the Ventures twice, and, yes, the Muppets, with Animal crushing the drum solo.
"Linus and Lucy" ("Oh, Good Grief") - The Vince Guaraldi Trio, 1964
We're on our third straight instrumental. What can I say? The '60s were a different time, man. So far, we've sampled soul with Booker T & the M.G.s, and surf rock with the Surfaris. Let's dip into some jazz with one of the most ubiquitous sounds of childhood in that era.
That would be the soundtrack of the Peanuts animated specials, created by the Vince Guaraldi Trio. You may not recognize the title, but you've heard "Linus and Lucy" a hundred times.
This song had a very strange genesis. The group (Guaraldi on piano, Monty Budwig on bass, and Colin Bailey on drums) already had a major hit on their hands with the Grammy-winning "Cast Your Fate to the Wind." Anyway, the producer of the Peanuts specials heard "Cast Your Fate" and loved it, then asked Guaraldi to score a documentary then being filmed.
The documentary, A Boy Named Charlie Brown, never aired, but Guaraldi released an album later in 1964 titled Jazz Impressions of a Boy Named Charlie Brown. "Oh Good Grief" was released as the A-side, but the superior song won out.
"Gloria" ("Baby Please Don't Go") - Them, 1964
What do you mean, we've got vocals? Is that even allowed? Well, since we've got Van Morrison involved, I guess we can let it go this time. I cheated a bit here, as the iconic "Gloria" was released in November, while "Linus and Lucy" came out a month later. I never claimed to be a Time Lord. Morrison himself is doubtless a Time Lord, and was just 18 when he wrote the anthem to teenage lust.
You know the story by now. Released as the B-side, "Gloria" practically erased the existence of the intended hit. The rock anthem was covered by the Shadows of Knight in a somewhat slower-paced version in 1965, to even greater success.
The Doors covered it a few years later, and then Patti Smith created her own unique spin in 1975, mixing it with her poem, "Oath." Regardless of which version you prefer, it all began with the titan, Van Morrison.
"A Change Is Gonna Come" ("Shake") - Sam Cooke, 1964
I think it's safe to say that we have entered the full-on realm of soul with Sam Cooke. Beyond being a "good song"", is there any cultural significance to it? Well, the Library of Congress named it "culturally, historically, and aesthetically significant." Rolling Stone magazine named it number 3 on the top 500 greatest songs of all time, and the number 1 protest song ever. And yes, it's a phenomenal song.
Sam Cooke was already a megastar when he released the album Ain't That Good News in 1964. Hits like "You Send Me," "Cupid," and "Wonderful World" filled the airwaves in the late 1950s and early 1960s. They were seen as safe by the recording industry, but Cooke wanted more.
He felt compelled to add his voice to the protests against racism. "Shake" was the safe, uptempo dance number RCA Victor wanted. "A Change is Gonna Come" was the statement that reached the soul of the world.
"Unchained Melody" ("Hung on You") - Righteous Brothers, 1965
Congratulations, you made it past 1964. As with every other hit listed here, "Unchained Melody" obliterated the A-side of the single. Unlike the others, the version that eventually became a hit was a cover itself. The Righteous Brothers recorded their version 10 years after it was first released.
In fact, no less than seven versions charted between the U.S. and the U.K. in 1955 alone. One of those was by Liberace. Make of that what you will.
As for the version everyone on the planet knows, legendary producer Phil Spector shepherded the single "Hung On You" for the Righteous Brothers in 1965. Apparently, he never cared about the B-side and left that entirely up to the duo, Bobby Hatfield and Bill Medley. Medley chose the song, while Hatfield won a coin toss for the solo.
The soaring final chorus was a change from the previous versions, and undoubtedly powered its success. It found a new audience when used in the film Ghost. The duo rerecorded it, and the new version charted along with the original. One act had never charted in the top 20 with the two versions of the same song before. Now that's iconic.
"I'm a Man" ("Keep On Runnin'") - The Spencer Davis Group, 1967
It took two more years for the recording industry to seriously misjudge the public's taste, but they slayed it with this hit. We've seen this young fella before, as the Spencer Davis Group had a massive hit with "Gimme Some Lovin'." "I'm a Man" didn't quite reach that peak on the charts, but then again, the record company weasels knew which one was the hit.
This was no ten-year-later cover version, although Ten Years After would have undoubtedly slayed this song. No, "I'm a Man" was written by Winwood and producer Jimmy Miller. The funk is thicker than black treacle in this blues-rock classic.
Americans may picture molasses, but this is a British band, after all. Chicago, then the Chicago Transit Authority, covered it in their debut album with considerably different lyrics. As in, wildly different lyrics. As much as I love early Chicago, nothing matches the original.