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Over the years, there have been countless “Great Songs” that started out as the “B” side of a single that didn't quite make it.
Sometimes radio Deejays simply flipped the record over and “the rest was history.” Other times, a record company would just re-release the song as the “A” side of a different single, and watched it become a hit.
There have also been several “double sided” hits—where both sides of a single charted separately at the same time. (This happened a lot in the '60s with The Beatles and Beach Boys).
On very rare occasions, an “A” side would become a big hit, and then, as it fell off the charts, the “B” side would suddenly re-appear and separately climb right back to the top!
That's the case with today's “Great Songs of the '70s!”
In 1975, John Denver released what would be his last #1 song (but not his last hit): “I'm Sorry.” The song was an apology for a troubled relationship. Was he apologizing to his wife, Annie? Most people who knew the couple think so. After all, John & Annie divorced a few years later.
The song resonated with fans and radio listeners in a BIG way: #1 in the US on Billboard's Hot 100, Adult Contemporary, and Country charts...and in Canada: #1 on The Top 40 and AC charts, and #2 on the Country chart!
Impressive...and so is what happened next...
As “I'm Sorry” started to drop off the charts, radio stations flipped the record over and started playing the “B” side: a tribute to explorer, scientist and conservationist Jacques-Yves Cousteau and his research ship, “Calypso.” We did this at WOHO in Toledo.
John had spent time on the ship with Cousteau and was inspired to write a song that would set his new-found love of the sea to music. It almost didn't happen. While writing the music was relatively simple for him (He wrote it as sort of a sea shanty), matching lyrics to the tune gave him no end of trouble. He was about ready to scrap the whole thing, when back on land, he decided to go downhill skiing. Then, in the middle of one of his runs, the lyrics finally clicked in his head, and he rushed home to finish the song.
Cousteau was quite famous for his travels and research back then, so a catchy tribute song about him—by the likes of John Denver—was a recipe for a “Great Song.”
“Calypso” climbed right back up the charts, and John had another hit: #2 on the Hot 100! It was also Top 10 in The Netherlands and New Zealand.
Note: John donated all proceeds from “Calypso” to Cousteau's reseach organization.
“I'm Sorry” and “Calypso:” TWO “Great Songs of 1975” on one 45 RPM record!
“I'm Sorry:”
“Calypso:”
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