This week, the week of January 11-15, 2016, we will be reviewing "B" sides that were bigger hits than their "A" side counterparts!

We call it:  "See you on the flip side!"

January 14, 2016

I am not naive enough to believe that anyone who is reading this isn't old enough to remember when you could buy a 45 rpm record...or that they don't know what a "B" side is.  But lets review anyway!

In the history of recorded music the various formats have all held time as the most popular.  Today a generation of people would rather buy a digital copy that never wears out than invest in a solid piece of vinyl with a groove it that you have to physically restart every time it ends!

But the 45 was an integral part of the music scene for decades.

The beauty of the 45 was you got two songs (usually) for the price of one...without buying the entire album.

Many times the "B" side was a throw away song or a novelty or even just an instrumental version of the "A" side.

On occasion, however, the second song actually became more popular than the song everyone was trying to push on the other side!  And that could happen for a variety of reasons.

In 1971 Rod Stewart released his version of a song originally from 1965 by Tim Hardin.

Stewart's version only reached #62 on the Hot 100, but part of the reason for that was that radio DJs preferred to play the "B" side...which went straight to #1 in the US.  And the UK.  And Australia.  All at the same time.

And really that is the whole story.  The guys and gals spinning the tunes liked this one better so the listeners heard it more.

However "Reason to Believe" got a second chance when it was reprised by Stewart for his MTV Unplugged and Seated special in 1993 reaching #19.

Tomorrow: Sometimes you to persevere....

~ Glenn