This week as I contemplated my first blog of the new year, inspiration didn't drop by with a bright and shiny new year idea. My excuse? Well, January has never been my favourite month and perhaps its confines tend to dull my brain as well.
So I persevered with the Rock History tweets that I write during the week, hoping that an ember of an idea might drop by for a visit. Finally it did, in the form of the humble 45, specifically those 45s that not only reached #11, but did so with a hit on both sides of the record in question. That happened four years in a row during the first week in January between 1965 and 1968.
OK, diversion concluded. For my readers who started following music when it came on CD and only learned about record albums as they resurfaced during the past few years, let's talk about the historic 45. It came with one song on each side and was priced somewhere between 70 cents and a dollar, depending on where you chose to spend your record buying allowance.
Usually, Side 1, generally termed the 'A Side', contained the song that either was, or was meant to be the hit which radio stations played frequently. The 'B Side', or flip side, was generally a throwaway song that left you wondering why the artist in question hadn't been just too ashamed to record it. But sometimes, you found that the flip side also contained a strong song. Rarer still, you would begin to hear that flip side on the radio, essentially doubling the artist's exposure.
That brings us back to the four #1 records that topped the charts during the first week of January between 1965 and 1968. Not suprisingly three of the four records were by the Beatles. Just for the record, I bought all four of these double sided hits. I guess this means that either I had good taste or that I simply followed the stampede that rushed to the record store to buy two hits for the price of one. We'll start our lookback in 1965.
1965 - The Beatles
Beatlemania was still going strong, a year after burstng forth west of the Atlantic. At that time, just to confuse things a bit, the Beatles had two albums out. There was Beatles for Sale in the UK and Beatles 65 (which I still own on mono vinyl) in Canada and the United States. The Hot 45 on that album was I Feel Fine. The flip side, which I actually liked a bit better, was this one.She's A Woman
1966 - The Beatles
January 1966 brought us We Can Work It Out, another hit for the Beatles, with Day Tripper on the flip side. This one was marketed as a 'double A side' record, meaning that, at least in theory, its label promoted both sides equally. To further confuse the issue, when both sides of a record became hits, they were considered separately for chart positioning. So, on one national US chart we had We Can Work It Out topping the chart, while Day Tripper peeked at #5. To me, they are from the same record. You could not purchase only one side, therefore, to me at least, both should be considered to have reached the same chart position.Day Tripper
1967 - The Monkees
The first week of the new year saw a break from #1 Beatle music. Instead, we had the Monkees enjoying chart supremacy with I'm A Believer. The other side of the record, again my favourite side, was (I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone. You couldn't say that the Monkees evolved naturally through friendship or shared musical interests. Rather, they were assembled for a TV show which ran from 1966 through 1968. Nevertheless, unlike the Partridge Family, another TV show-inspired group which came along a couple of years later, the Monkees all sang and generally played on the singles and albums that they released. I'm A Believer was written by Neil Diamond, while Steppin' Stone was written by Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart, who also charted nicely with hits which they performed themselves. Steppin' Stone was originally recorded by Paul Revere and the Raiders, appearing on their 1966 Midnight Ride album. But it was the Monkees who put the song on the radio.(I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone
1968 - The Beatles
By 1968, the Beatles were into more complex lyrics and chord progressions. We had already enjoyed Sgt. Pepper, their summer 1967 release. Then, as 1967 neared its end, it was time for a Magical Mystery Tour. As for this particular Mystery Tour single, Hello Goodbye was the side that I heard first. Then, very shortly thereafter, I heard I Am the Walrus. In a way, Walrus contradicted the image of more complex Beatles lyrics.I Am the Walrus was credited to both Lennon and McCartney, though it was mainly a Lennon project. It came to be as the result of several concepts. As for the Walrus reference itself, it originated in a Lewis Carroll poem entitled The Walrus and the Carpenter. Other aspects of the song came from three different song ideas that John had been working on. Finally, a verse of basically nonsense became part of the recipe when John heard that a teacher at his old primary school was having students analyze Beatles lyrics as part of their classwork. John was bothered by the idea of turning Beatles lyrics into schoolwork, so he set out to write a line of lyrics that could not be analyzed. Still, many have tried and B side or not, Walrus rode the singles charts to the top.
I Am The Walrus
Till next time, that's another Classic Track Lookback at rock history. Speaking of rock history, you can always find my rock history tweets in all of their Storified glory, waiting for you to read, complete with music links. These are not dated tweets that die with the moment, but are mini slices of the music that we love. Find last week's tweets and their rockin music links right here.
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