By Chance Welch

Ask your grandfather about the old days when hit singles would come on 45 rpm vinyl records. The hit song would be the “A” and the other side was “B.” Here are some songs that deserved every right to be “A” but did not.

Them-”Gloria”

Sure, you’ve heard the song a million times from bands like U2, Patti Smith, The Doors and David Bowie but imagine turning the 45 of “Baby Please Don’t Go” and hearing “Gloria” for the first time. Nothing beats the original. Even after the songwriter Van Morrison’s departure to become a music legend in his own right, the garage-rock staple with its shout-along chorus lived on in the form of countless cover versions. It’s probably being played in a garage or dive bar right now. G-L-O-R-I-A!

Led Zeppelin-”Hey Hey What Can I Do?”

It must have been tough deciding whether this or “Immigrant Song” would become the single for their third album Led Zeppelin III, but this acoustic cut still gets some play as classic rock stations have resurrected most of Zep’s catalog. The song is a desperate plea from Robert Plant to a woman who “won’t be true” and even though it’s not different from the other songs where he’s trying to a) score a chick b) keep his chick or c) leave his cheek, it still rocks.

Radiohead-”Talk Show Host”

This song, more known for its place on the Romeo + Juliet film soundtrack than for being the b-side for “Street Spirit (Fade Out),” has a slinky bass and a hypnotic piano line. It sounds like lounge music for your local rehab, different even for a more experimental band like Radiohead.

Wu Tang Clan-”Method Man”

The first taste of the spotlight for the rapper turned actor came on the Wu’s B-side to “Protect Ya Neck” from the seminal Enter the Wu Tang (36 Chambers). From name-dropping Fat Albert, Dr. Seuss books and Looney Tunes to making veiled threats, this is the song that best sums up Method Man’s style for me.

Duran Duran-”The Chauffeur”

Released as a B-side to their single for “Rio” and even having its own video, “The Chaffeur” is strangely haunting coming from a band that was more associated with making screaming teenage girls dance. With the way the group was churning out risqué MTV material left and right, it seems like this moody song was crafted for a noir-inspired music video. Even so, it deserved a spot on the charts because it’s the kind of catchy song that crawls inside your ears and never really lets go. In the years since, bands like the Deftones and Sleepthief have covered it as a B-side and as a single, respectively.

Video is kinda NSFW.

The Beatles-”Rain”

The other side of “Paperback Writer” reveals what fans call the Beatles’ finest B-side. Although “Writer” would hit number one and “Rain” would only chart at 22 in the U.S., its psychedelic sonic blast would have a ripple effect on all of rock music as we know it. The song features backwards singing a drum beat that doesn’t sound like Ringo’s a human metronome. The “Fab Four” also released three films promoting the song which ended up becoming a primitive precursor to modern-day music videos. Sure, it mostly features a shot of Ringo Starr walking toward the camera but it was the 60′s and everyone was probably chemically inspired.

Coming just two months shy of the landmark Revolver in 1966, this was just a sign of things to come.