Ongoing History Daily: The B-side in the digital age
Back when the 7-inch single was one of the main currencies of the music industry, most people were interested only in the song on side A. Occasionally, though, there would be a real gem on side B. And in rare cases, that B-side would become a hit itself.
The Beatles were especially brilliant and putting high-value songs on the flip side of their official single. Later, when we got into the CD era, we had the B-side equivalent in the form of bonus tracks. Oasis was among the best at this, often offering excellent songs in addition to the main song songs.
But what about the notion of the B-side and bonus track in the digital age? They still exist as interesting bonus tracks found in out-of-the-way sites like Bandcamp, iTunes, or even the artist’s own website. The B-side lives. It’s just changed address again.
BONUS: The following songs originally began as B-sides:
- KISS, “Beth”
- The Smiths, “How Soon is Now”
- XTC, “Dear God”
- Pearl Jam, “Yellow Ledbetter”
- Oasis, “Acquiesce”
- Righteous Brothers, “Unchained Melody”
- Carl Douglas, “Kung Fu Fighting”
- Rod Stewart, “Maggie May”
- Elvis Presley, “Hound Dog”
- Beach Boys, “God Only Knows”
- Green Day, “Good Riddance”
- David Bowie, “Suffragette City”
- U2, “Sweetest Thing”
