‘B’ Side Smash Hits

Typically in the music business, band records songs from a studio session, then the record label decides which songs are good enough to be released as singles for radio play. The label must also have a song to be pressed on the opposite side of the vinyl. The ‘B’ side of that single.

Often time however, the artists and the music executive’s quibble as to which songs are best to be the ‘A’ side, and which end up as filler.

Hindsight is ’20-20’ and we want to look back at songs that were originally deemed by the record company as filler or ‘B’ side songs, ending up being colossal hits. There a lot of examples so we’re going to split this topic into two articles. Today is part one of ‘B’ side smashes.

Don’t you just love that Fleetwood Mac smash “Silver Springs?” Nope, no one knows that song as it was the ‘A’ side to “Go Your Own Way,” the bands biggest song at the time. Stevie Nicks let the label release the wrong ‘A’ side song, but the best song won out.

The Police were excited about an upcoming song that was bound to be a smash. The problem is the label thought “Murder By Numbers” was a better radio single. Radio executives liked the other song better. You know it as “Every Breath You Take.”

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