[78-L] B side tossers

[David Lennick]

Two sided hits were a source of embarrassment for record companies who, let's 
face it, weren't in business for their health. Sometimes they'd split the sides 
when both had developed legs..the examples I'm thinking of are probably mostly 
on smaller labels like ABC-Paramount, Unique and Mercury (Patti Page's Tennis 
Knee Waltz has two couplings, one of them being the intended A-side, Boogie 
Woogie Santa Claus).

Sh-Boom and Earth Angel were two different records, a year apart, so they'd be 
combined on a Golden Hits kind of reissue. Incidentally, the flip side of 
Sh-Boom DID chart, briefly (I Spoke Too Soon).

dl

DAVID BURNHAM wrote:
> If I recall correctly, when the famous plane crash took Ritchie Valens, Big Bopper and Buddy Holly in 1959, Holly had just released a hit called "Raining in my Heart".  But after the incident, it seemed much more appropriate to play the B side which was "It Doesn't Matter Anymore".
> 
> As dl mentioned, a number of Elvis Presley records had both sides being hits of equal stature, (Hound Dog and Don't Be Cruel).  There have been a number of records which went the hit parade route with one side and then later did it again with the other side.  The one that comes to mind is "La Bamba" by Ritchie Valens.  Some time after that hit and gone through the chart, the B side, "Donna", did it again.  I think "Sh-Boom" and "Earth Angel" may have been another pair, (I have these two on a 45 but that may have been a new coupling for re-issue).
> 
> db
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