I was thinking about this the other day when reading a review of The Stones' Sticky Fingers (my favorite album of all-time). While the review was a positive one, I got wondering in all honesty whether the album would have been as popular as it was if not for the strength of its leading track - Brown Sugar (and possibly Wild Horses), even though personally I love it all. I am guessing that album sales at the time were often driven by the strength of a leading single on the album. Whereas in the 60s, singles were viewed as separate entities, I think, especially in the UK where they were not included on albums, things changed in the late 60s when albums became more popular as complete works in their own right. However, I suspect that some people would purchase an album just to get the main song they were interested in. So, the next thought I had was.. what other albums were there that were largely successful due to the strength of the big single on it? Here's some that come to mind... Edgar Winter Group - They Only Come Out At Night -- Frankenstein Deep Purple - Machine Head/Made In Japan -- Smoke On The Water Don McLean - American Pie -- American Pie The Police - Synchronicity -- Every Breath You Take ...
A little confused by some of your selections. OK, can see "American Pie," as "Vincent" was only a minor hit. By contrast, "Free Ride" sure helped They Only Come Out at Night and Synchronicity had multiple hit songs, even with "Every Breath You Take" being by far the biggest.
In the Garden of Eden It sold more than eight million copies within its first year of release, outselling every record in the history of recorded music to that time. And yet I doubt the A side got much play.
While 'Brown Sugar' was a Billboard Number One hit ' Wild Horses' only got as high as #28 and even that position is suprising for this turgid dull song.
Yes, understood, even as I mentioned Wild Horses on Sticky Fingers as a secondary hit. But I think the others were the primary blockbuster hits that really pushed into super hit territory. While Free Ride was a nice little song, I don't think people were lining up for a copy of that as much as Frankenstein, which was a Frankenstein hit (sorry). The same with Every Breath. That song was everywhere.
Crash Test Dummies: God Shuffled His Feet Eight million copies sold worldwide, primarily on the back of Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm.
He means "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" by Iron Butterfly. I guess some people aren't aware of the alternative "Garden of Eden" title, since that example was posted again later.
That one did pretty well as an album. It had a second hit along with quite a few tracks that FM radio grabbed onto. You could even say it broke America as an album band.
I think the Tommy soundtrack having Elton John's 'Pinball Wizard' would apply here. It wasn't really available anywhere else after the single ran it's course.
Do you have any evidence for this? When I was young, albeit in Australia, as an avid radio listener, I never once heard Stairway To Heaven on the radio, or on TV music shows, ever, from 1972 to 1980. However, I always heard Rock N Roll and Black Dog on the radio (plus Whole Lotta Love). I first heard Stairway To Heaven in 1980, when I acquired the double vinyl The Song Remains The Same. I recall in 1981, playing Stairway To Heaven in massive school dormitory holding 60 people on a school camp and not one person commented on the song.
I would agree- in Germany the single was Black dog /Rock'n roll, too , but I think by the time of LZ IV the band had already been established as an album band . It might be true that some years later people bought the album for Stairway to Heaven , but not upon its release.
Metallica/ST/aka The Black Album - hit track: Enter Sandman Screaming For Vengeance: Judas Priest - hit track: You've Got Another Thing Coming Ted
I would guess Led Zeppelin II. Whole Lotta Love was a smash hit all around the world. While it was/is a cover song (which would have been generally unknown at the time), it is by far the best song on the otherwise mediocre album. I cannot imagine another track on the album that would be hugely popular as a single for radio play. Other songs & albums that come to mind are: * Sultans Of Swing in respect to Dire Straits debut album. Sultans Of Swing was already popular on radio & actually gained Dire Straits their first album contract. * Bohemian Rhapsody for Queen's A Night At The Opera. Bohemian Rhapsody was a smash hit all around the world. A Night At The Opera had some good commercial radio friendly songs, such as You're My Best Friend, Love Of My Love and I'm In Love With My Car, but also has lots of dumb songs. Bohemian Rhapsody is the obvious standout on the album and would have seriously driven the sale of the album.
Yes, Zeppelin were known for not wanting to be a "singles" band (although there were a few), but an album band.
I think a lot of people would argue against that opinion. While only the B side, I have a vivid memory of my introduction to the band as a fan upon hearing "Living Loving Maid" played on a jukebox at a Catskill's resort in my early teens. That could have stood on its own as an A side. Another possible candidate would be Heartbreaker. While there are other popular songs on that album, many of them suffer (if I can use that word) from dynamic shifting in the song that might not bode well for radio-friendly singles (e.g. What Is and What Should Never Be, Ramble On, etc.). Maybe that's what you mean.
