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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Oct 12, 2021 21:01:45 GMT
The era of double sided hits was over, so the b-side's became just a spot for throwaway tracks. That will become really obvious when we get to the 80's. Oh hang on, did I misunderstand your point, lonelysummer , with my previous response? Did you mean that era was over for the Beach Boys, as in, they weren't so successful to the point of double-sided hits anymore? Or (which I suspect after reading Sheriff John Stone 's post) did you mean that singles generally--not just theirs, but everyone's--weren't seen as "double-sided" so often anymore, and everyone was putting less thought and effort into B-sides?
I assumed the former, but if it's the latter, that is a whole other ball of wax. And not being old enough to remember, I honestly have no idea. It's new to me.
To clarify, my response was addressing both - The Beach Boys AND the music business in general, and how the B-side could still have some merit, though in limited instances.
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Post by lonelysummer on Oct 13, 2021 2:34:25 GMT
The era of double sided hits was over, so the b-side's became just a spot for throwaway tracks. That will become really obvious when we get to the 80's. Oh hang on, did I misunderstand your point, lonelysummer , with my previous response? Did you mean that era was over for the Beach Boys, as in, they weren't so successful to the point of double-sided hits anymore? Or (which I suspect after reading Sheriff John Stone 's post) did you mean that singles generally--not just theirs, but everyone's--weren't seen as "double-sided" so often anymore, and everyone was putting less thought and effort into B-sides?
I assumed the former, but if it's the latter, that is a whole other ball of wax. And not being old enough to remember, I honestly have no idea. It's new to me.
Actually, a bit of both. It was very rare after the early 70's for an act to have double sided hits. CCR was the last group to really excel at that. Sure, there were a few after that - John Fogerty put Rock and Roll Girls and Centerfield on the same single, and I'm sure his record label wished he hadn't. Paul McCartney and Wings hit the top 10 in 74 with Junior's Farm/Sally G, and even a few of Elvis' later singles had both sides charting. Look at some of the singles the Beach Boys put out in the 80's - It's OK as the b-side to It's Gettin' Late? WTF? Good Vibrations live in London as the b-side of Rock 'N' Roll to the Rescue? California Girls live in D.C. as the b-side of Happy Endings? And leftover tracks like Male Ego and Lady Liberty were b-sides. I agree, though, that I would prefer a great group like the Beach Boys give us two excellent songs on their singles. It must have been great to live through the 60's and experience the Beach Boys early run of hits, the Beatles hits when they were new.
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Post by Kapitan on Oct 13, 2021 13:44:19 GMT
Not to steal the thunder from our next SotW, but as we discuss the demise of the double-sided single, what do people think about the idea of having paired "Rock and Roll Music" with "It's OK"? Would it have in the long run meant fewer sales and less airplay than what we got with them both being A-sides, or might the whole been more than the sum of its parts?
From a political standpoint, maybe there would have been gripes: two Mike leads, after all. But it would still have gotten us a classic oldie backed with a B. Wilson (plus M. Love) original, and inarguably "It's OK" is a far stronger song than "TM Song."
I know it's one of those unanswerable "what if" questions. But what if...?
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Oct 13, 2021 13:55:37 GMT
Not to steal the thunder from our next SotW, but as we discuss the demise of the double-sided single, what do people think about the idea of having paired "Rock and Roll Music" with "It's OK"? Would it have in the long run meant fewer sales and less airplay than what we got with them both being A-sides, or might the whole been more than the sum of its parts?
From a political standpoint, maybe there would have been gripes: two Mike leads, after all. But it would still have gotten us a classic oldie backed with a B. Wilson (plus M. Love) original, and inarguably "It's OK" is a far stronger song than "TM Song."
I know it's one of those unanswerable "what if" questions. But what if...?
That would've been a mistake, but ultimately, with 20/20 hindsight, it wouldn't have mattered anyway. "Rock And Roll Music" went Top 5 without "It's OK" as the B-side. Would've it gone any higher with it?
Two things. As I posted above and as I've posted several times in the past, "Rock And Roll Music" was released at least one month too late, which consequently forced "It's OK" to be released too late. If "Rock And Roll Music" would've been released in April, it would've been a hit in May and June. Then they could've piggybacked on that success with "It's OK" around the 4th Of July. They should've had back-to-back HIT singles in 1976. Instead, "It's OK" was released in August which was too late for that summer song to capitalize on...summer. They did get something out of "It's OK"; it did hit No. 29 on the Billboard charts, but I think it's a Top 10 song, especially in the summer of 1976.
Also, like I posted above, 15 Big Ones had other songs which could've complemented "Rock And Roll Music" as a B-side better than "TM Song". I'm thinking "Palisades Park" (it wouldn't have mattered that it was another oldie), "Had To Phone Ya", "That Same Song" (it's not a bad song and it was BRIAN), or maybe even "Back Home" (which was being performed live).
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Post by lonelysummer on Oct 13, 2021 20:15:47 GMT
I think they released Rock And Roll Music just at the right time - it's fun to listen to those old American Top 40 shows and hear the Beach Boys and the Beatles - Got to Get You Into My Life - climbing the charts at the same time. And as I recall, they both peaked around the 4th of July - 200 years of rock and roll, lol. I don't know that the timing of It's OK mattered all that much. The Beach Boys were still riding the success of Endless Summer/Spirit of America, interest was high in the group - cover stories in People, Rolling Stone; a network tv special. I can't explain why It's OK didn't do better. Wouldn't it have been great if It's OK had been a top ten hit, and then they followed it with....(fill in the blank)...and then in 77 we get The Beach Boys Love You..and everything goes to hell after that?
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Oct 17, 2021 17:09:26 GMT
It looks like "TM Song" got the "song title adjustment" treatment like some other BB songs. It's almost like a Badge Of Honor. "TM Song" became a single (well, a B-side) and it became "The TM Song".
Also, back in 1976, Mike Love and Al Jardine appeared on The Mike Douglas Show without the rest of the group. Al actually sang "TM Song", and he included an extra verse! For years, a video of that performance was on YouTube, but now it's gone. I'm posting two videos, one is just the audio of Al's 1976 performance of "TM Song" (it was grafted onto the rest of the song in the video), and the other video is an interview with Mike and Al from that Mike Douglas Show.
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Post by Kapitan on Oct 18, 2021 11:46:55 GMT
Just six voters this week, who rated our SotW a 5.7. We'll move on shortly.
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