Inside the Rock Era: The Top Double-Sided Hits of the Rock Era*--Part Six

For those not familiar with the inner workings of the music business (or for those who hear the term "double-sided" and have no idea what we're talking about!!), here is a short explanation. Prior to MP3's, CD's, or even cassettes and eight-tracks, but after 78's were the main modem in which an artist marketed their songs, 45's ruled the day. They were actually pretty neat--"mini-LP's" in a way (LP's stood for Long-playing records, which in themselves were pretty special).

Artists and record companies used 45's, or singles, to promote themselves early in the Rock Era, and later, to promote their new albums. They were made of vinyl, and generally only consisted of one song on one side of the record, and one song on the other. They were pressed on the record with larger volume level than on LP's, so they would immediately "jump out at you", and the sound was equalized so there would be no sections of quiet sounds in the playing of the record.

When you hear the terms, a Gold or Platinum single, or a "million-selling" single, it referred to sales of these units--Gold was a single that had sold one million copies; Platinum meant it had sold two million. In 99% of the singles, there was a song the record company was pushing, and the "B" side (flip side) of the single contained a "filler song", something the artist just recorded to have a back side.

That is what made the "double-sided hit" so special. DJ's back then were a lot smarter than now, and they actually experimented with the music, not necessarily doing what the record company (or even the radio station!) wanted you to do. They played songs not released as singles, played special requests, and flipped 45's over to play the "B" side, if they deemed it good enough. Now, corporations have ruined radio, just as they have ruined everything else. Not only do they not allow DJ's to experiment, in many cases the DJ's aren't even doing their show live. Sad.

For a double-sided hit to chart, both sides must get considerable airplay--and again, this was pretty rare. Inside The Rock Era is featuring the best of these. Here are more examples of the great Double-Sided Hits of the Rock Era*: