Turntable Talk #51 – Singly Under-Appreciated

This is my contribution for Round #51 of Turntable Talk presented by Dave Ruch of A Sound Day.  As I have stated in the past, this is one of my favorite features to write for. He always comes up with interesting topics for us to write about and this month is no exception. As a matter of fact, I actually had some difficulty this time around.

His instructions to us this month stated that someone “suggested awhile back that a “best B-side” would be a good topic.  So with all that in mind, the next topic is ‘Singly Under-appreciated!’  Let’s pick a song by an artist that wasn’t a single per se – either a regular album cut, or the “B-side” to a real single – that you think should have been a single and a good one, at that!”

The difficulty that I had with this topic was verifying that a song was (1) a B-side or album cut and (2) was never released as a single. What I found was that many songs that were album cuts or B-sides that weren’t “officially” released actually are pretty well known. I would guess that this stems from the AOR format that began in the late 1960’s.

AOR stands for Album Oriented Rock (or Album Oriented Radio). It was the format that evolved into what we know as classic rock today. Many of the songs played in this format were “deep tracks” or songs that were enjoyed by radio programmers and record people. By the mid-1970’s the format helped boost record sales for bands like Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd.

My search for a choice began with Elvis Presley. The problem with his music was that most of his songs were two-sided hits (Hound Dog/Don’t Be Cruel for example). I moved from Elvis to the Beatles. My problem with them was that many of the B-sides were songs that I was familiar with had either charted (Act Naturally – B-side of Yesterday went to #47, She’s a Woman – B-side of I Feel Fine reached #4, Slow Down – B-side of Matchbox went to #25). I figured if they had charted, it is almost like being a single. (Believe me, there were plenty of A-side singles that performed worse than some of these B-sides.)

As I was driving in to work this week, Roy Orbison’s Mean Woman Blues came on the radio. I thought that it was originally a B-side. Depending on where it was released, it was either the A-side of Blue Bayou or the B-side of Blue Bayou. It out performed Blue Bayou, which hit #29, while Mean Woman Blues went to #5. At any rate, this led me to examine Roy Orbison’s singles in search of B-sides.

With Roy, I hit the jackpot. I found two B-sides that I have always felt would have been hits for him if they had been released. Interestingly, the songs were written almost 100 years apart! The first is one that readers will recognize because it is associated with the 1970’s rock band – Nazareth.

Love Hurts was written by Boudleaux Bryant and was first recorded by the Everly Brothers in 1960. Because of a disagreement with their manager and publisher, they were not allowed to release the song. Instead, according to Don Everly, the arrangement intended for them was given to Roy Orbison to record in 1961. It was released as the B-side of Roy’s #1 song Running Scared.

Fun Fact: In Australia, Running Scared and Love Hurts were released as a double A-side. Both songs would hit #5 down under.

Just because I love this arrangement, here is the remix with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

The song tells of a lesson many of us learn – sometimes, Love Hurts. It is relatable to all who have been hurt by someone romantically. The song was a top ten song for Nazareth in 1975 and it was a top five hit in Australia, so it only makes sense that if it had been released in the US as a single, it would have been a hit.

The second Orbison B-side is one that was written around 1862. It was written by the man known as “the father of American music,” Stephen Foster. Foster is known for writing the songs Oh Susanna, Camptown Races, and My Old Kentucky Home among others. Beautiful Dreamer was actually released in 1864 after Foster passed away.

I can only imagine the number of people who have performed this song in the century since its release. There is no shortage of famous artists who’ve recorded it either. Among those artists are Bing Crosby, Jerry Lee Lewis, Slim Whitman, Jim Reeves, Tony Orlando, Marty Robbins and Bobby Darin. Oh, and a couple of years before they became the Fab Four, the Beatles were performing the song in their shows.

Roy’s version of the song was included on his 1963 album, In Dreams. It was the B-side of the holiday classic, Pretty Paper. For me, I cannot imagine a more perfect song. The beautiful orchestration that blends the strings with the piano arpeggios behind Roy’s amazing vocal is almost indescribable. It is just over two minutes of music that you can get lost in.

This leads to the question, “Would it be a hit?” Taking into account the songs that were popular around 1963, I believe it could have been. Roy certainly had great success with ballads, and I feel the final product sounds like a Roy Orbison single. I could also argue that the song did actually chart (and went top ten) in Australia. This could be countered with the “Yeah, but that is Australia!” argument, but I feel you should listen and decide for yourself.

It is funny how this all ties together. When I started to look for what song to write about, I looked at Elvis Presley. Elvis called Roy “the greatest singer in the world” during his Las Vegas residency and frequently stated that Roy had the most perfect and powerful voice he had ever heard. Then I looked at the Beatles. George Harrison once said that Roy was “like marble” on stage—never straining or moving around much, yet hitting high notes effortlessly like a “miracle.” I’d say that Roy was the perfect choice for this round.

Thanks again to Dave for inviting me to participate in Turntable Talk each month. Thanks for another great topic and the chance to share great music with our readers.