http://www.45cat.com/
For our latest installment of 45s, we pay tribute to the b side. Back in my time of growing up I couldn't afford albums on a cheapassed income of peddling Penny Savers a backbreaking job for a 12 years old that only payed in pennies of papers delivered. The Penny Saver was a free paper of want ads and inserts from the local Hy Vee as well as the entertainment section to where bars would advertise the cover bands playing at their local dives.
Sometimes, B sides played a great role in playing certain album cuts that would placed on the other side of hits. Without You by The Doobie Brothers was the B to Long Train Runnin' and Without You turned out to be one of the most requested songs on the FM dial. Once in a while a live cover not available on album would be the only way of getting was to buy the 45. Baby Don't You Do It, by The Who is the example and it was the opposite to Join Together in 1972.
Basically this is defeating the sense of purpose of the Top Ten Of The Week since these songs have been fitted in from time to time in archival Top Tens of the past. But then again it's been to known that DJs have switched playing the other side if they didn't think the plug side wasn't catchy enough. But from the 50s to the 90s there still remains plenty of undiscovered singles to be heard from the local junkshops or Ebay or you can locate a good chuck of them on You Tube. With the revival of vinyl, the 45 single is making somewhat of a comeback with independent record companies reissuing them (such as Jack White's Third Man Records) but being the traditionalist that I am, I still love to take great pride in finding them in the past, being in like new shape for a 50 year old record or even as a reference copy if it's too scratched up. Such is the our ongoing Singles Going Steady Series. Maybe it will be of value to somebody out there. We'll see.
1. With A Girl Like You-The Troggs (Atco 45-6415) 1966 B side to Wild Thing which was issued by both Atco and Fontana Records but to collectors the Atco one is the more desirable due to this song which was later issued by Fontana a couple months later. One of earliest singles that I bought over at Rock n Bach when they were still on Ellis Blvd in 1982.
2. After You Came-The Moody Blues (Threshold THS-67009) 1972 B side to Isn't Life Strange and one of many mainstays of songs that continue to be played on a regular basis on my stereo, I still believe this is one of the heaviest songs that The Moodys ever did, including the fadeout jam at the end to which Justin Hayward turns up the guitar and just rocks out.
3. Shake-Otis Redding (Volt 45-149) 1967 B side to You Don't Miss Your Water, this is an edited live version which is on the Stax/Volt Revue In London Volume one that did managed to make its way to CD. Back in the days of my youth, Mom bought this along with a few other oddities at the old Ben Franklin in Nevada years ago when we lived there. Playing the 45 and hearing the horns and the MGs tear it up for the first time really turned this 1st grader's world upside down. You young people of today don't know what you're missing when back in my days discovering a 9 cent 45 could change your perception of music too. Sam Cooke wrote it and although the Otis studio version was so so, the Live In London blows all versions away. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hjxar1ErDC0
4. Masquerade-Joe South (Fairlane 45-21010) 1961 B Side To I'm Sorry For You This week we lost Joe South from a heart ailment who was 72 and best known for Games People Play and writing Rose Garden for Lynn Anderson to which Joe could live off the royalites and not have to work too hard but years ago at the old hardware store up in Marion, I found this record and got it on name association. It seemed to be the way to go. Basically it's hard to tell if this was the A side or I'm Sorry For You was, I'm guessing the latter since You Tube doesn't have this song up anywhere. Joe South was one of the best songwriters of my generation and was part of the Lowery Music Group for most of his years. It's a great record but sadly I didn't take good care of this record since it looked like I left it out in the road and been trying for years to find a another copy but failing badly. But did find a best of that had this song at Record Collector.
5. Jive Samba-Cannonball Adderley Sextet (Riverside RF-4541) 1963 B Side To Lillie, A 2:!8 edit of a jam session that goes over 10 minutes on the live album. The single version is basically the last part of the song which it starts up around the 8 minute mark. Since this is a jazz single it could have been the A side (see the forth song of this blog) but I liked it fine. Another record that has seen better days and has a GD crack in it! Before 1973 I never did take good care of my 45s. But then again I wasn't the record collecting hoarder that I am today. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFK4tfQX9Ho
6. Barefootin'-Brownsville Station (Big Tree BT 16011) 1973 B side to Smokin In The Boys Room. And I enjoyed this song better than the hit. A cover of the Robert Parker hit, Brownsville actually played this on their 1979 tour opening for Blue Oyster Cult. Had a neighbor that was related to Cub Koda and he was kind enough to give me a free autographed copy of Yeah in the process. Great guy and he wrote a column for Goldmine for years. Sadly he passed away in 2000.
7. Stand Back-The Allman Brothers Band (Capricorn CPR-0014) B Side to One Way Out. In my first trip ever to Arizona in 1982 we stopped at some forgotten record store and bought a stack of 45s and walked back 2 miles in the 110 degree heat to my Aunt's house, hoping that the records didn't turn into soup or warped which a couple did died in the process. Off Eat A Peach one of a few 8 Tracks that I still have in the junk room. I don't play 8 tracks anymore, don't have a player. Anyway Stand Back did get some airplay on the FM dial a couple times and not sure if the DJ was our good friend Bobby Dorr. If he wasn't with KFMW or Old Gold 108 at that time then it was somebody else. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Qme1iE5smc
8. 51st Anniversary-Jimi Hendrix (Reprise 0572) 1967 B side to Hey Joe and a long time ago this record had the original picture sleeve which got thrown away and been kicking myself ever since. A collector's item now but Mom got it for 9 cents in Nevada at the Ben Franklin Store. Picture sleeve is right here but doubt if I will spend 500 bucks for another copy of it http://www.45cat.com/record/0572
Back then, nobody in Nevada knew much about Jimi Hendrix but this record was another life changing event for myself that when I did save up enough money to go buy more 45s, I would try to find Hendrix's 45s and did come up with two others, Up From The Skies and All Along The Watchtower when we moved to Webster City but I'm thinking the Arlen's there in Fort Dodge had the latter, or was it Wells? Hey Joe was a fun song but 51st Anniversary got played more on my player. Took them years to put it on a CD, first on Smash Hits and then it would rejoin the rest of the tracks that became Are You Experienced? Alas, the copyright folks have been out, links to this song on You Tube have been taken down.
9. Mystic Mr. Sam-The Four Seasons (Warner/Curb WBS 8203) B side to Sliver Star. The 4 Seasons were never really one of my favorite bands of the 60s outside of Opus 17 (Don't You Worry About Me) and the B side Beggar's Parade but my folks liked them enough to buy their strange alter ego band The Wonder Who with Lonesome Road and a Pickwick budget live LP but I had enough interest of them to buy the 1976 Who Loves You album featuring the overplayed title track and even more overplayed Oh What A Night but nobody payed much attention to the third and final single Sliver Star which was my favorite track off that album although we got a edited 45 version later on. The B side Mystic Mr. Sam is not your typical Frankie Valli and that's right, he doesn't sing on it .(Don Ciccone does). Still, this makes Who Loves You the last great Four Seasons album although it does lets you know this came from the mid 70s. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2JMAqNYzOU
10. Hey Hey What Can I Do-Led Zeppelin (Atlantic 45-2777) 1970 Why this was left off Led Zeppelin 3 is still beyond me, it would have added to the plus to the A grade that I gave that album. Of course this gets plenty of airplay on the rock radio stations be it classic and modern rock and still sounds fresh today as it did back then as a forgotten B side to Immigrant Song. Even Hootie And The Blowfish did a nice version of this (stop laughing). It probably would have made a great ending to LZ 3 or at least have it after Hats Off To Roy Harper which might the most strangest thing Plant and Page ever came up. But back then anything found on record from Led Zeppelin was a major find, including going through each and every one of the 4 for a dollar 45s at the downtown Woolworths to claim a copy. Oh for the days of Woolworths and the cheap 4 for a dollar single again. Some things the internet just can't replace.
Disclaimer: all links are to You Tube video of said songs and the majority of them can be found there. Everything applies under the fair use moniker and Crabby mentions the links for your listening pleasure. The singles going steady series has been a labor of love. We'll see where the next installment leads.
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