While many artists were satisfied with releasing lackluster B-sides, The Beatles always ensured every single had a stellar A-side and B-side. Sometimes, the fab four liked the B-side more, but the studio would decide the A-side appealed to a broader audience. Still, The Beatles weren’t shy about sharing when they believed a B-side was better. Here are three B-sides that The Beatles liked more than the A-sides.
‘Rain’
“Rain” was released as the B-side to “Paperback Writer” in 1966. It was a minor hit, reaching No. 23 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. It’s one of the weirder but more underrated Beatles singles, as it has a unique sound created by experimenting with a tape recorder. The Beatles would play sped up but slow it down on the recorder to get the desired tempo.
Ringo Starr considers “Rain” one of his favorite songs and his best drumming performance with The Beatles. In an interview with Clash, Paul McCartney said The Beatles did like “Rain” more but made it the B-side as they thought “Paperback Writer” would be the more successful track.
“I think we in the Beatles had always liked ‘Rain,’ but I think we thought that as a song, as a kind of radio thing, ‘Paperback Writer’ was a bit more immediate,” McCartney shared. “I know we all liked ‘Rain,’ but some of the things we liked were kind of, not ‘underground,’ but underground, if you know what I mean; it was a little bit off the beat, leftfield, and ‘Rain’ was one of them.”
‘You Can’t Do That’
The Beatles debuted “You Can’t Do That” in 1964 as the B-side to “Can’t Buy Me Love”. The track wasn’t much of a hit, as “Can’t Buy Me Love” stole all of its thunder, reaching No. 1 on multiple charts. While the A-side was a huge success, George Harrison said he didn’t find the song as musically interesting as its B-side. However, he acknowledged the cultural impact of “Can’t Buy Me Love” due to its commercial success.
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“I think the B-side is good, it’s more interesting to us, musically, to be honest,” Harrison said in The Beatles: Off the Record. “But the impact of ‘Can’t Buy Me Love’ is more instant than ‘You Can’t Do That.’ It’s the more commercial side.”
‘I Am the Walrus’
“I Am the Walrus” is one of the weirdest singles released by The Beatles. While it has a catchy chorus, its nonsensical lyrics and bizarre instrumentals make it a perfect choice for a B-side. Released in 1967, it was the B-side to “Hello Goodbye” and was later included on the soundtrack of Magical Mystery Tour. It failed to crack the top 50 on the Billboard Hot 100.
“I Am the Walrus” was written by John Lennon, who was influenced by Alice in Wonderland and LSD. “Hello Goodbye” was a hit for The Beatles, but in later interviews, Lennon revealed he didn’t like the song, calling it “three minutes of contradictions and meaningless juxtapositions.”
“That’s another McCartney. Smells a mile away, doesn’t it?” Lennon told Playboy in 1980. “An attempt to write a single. It wasn’t a great piece; the best bit was the end, which we all ad-libbed in the studio, where I played the piano.”
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