Brilliant Beatles B-Sides That Outshined Their A-Sides in Britain
- Robbie - ChattingTracks
- Apr 6
- 17 min read
Updated: 5 days ago
B-sides were just throwaway tracks? The Beatles proved this notion wrong and transformed their A-side and B-side releases into groundbreaking two-sided masterpieces that shaped music history.
The Beatles broke the mould when other bands reserved their best songs for A-sides. Their B-side performances matched the quality of their chart-topping hits. Ringo's innovative drumming on "Rain" and John Lennon's heartfelt "Don't Let Me Down" demonstrated the band's exceptional songwriting talent on these flip-side treasures.
Let me share 10 amazing Beatles B-sides that fans and critics claim surpassed their A-side companions. These tracks aren't mere bonus songs - they are the foundations of the Beatles' legacy that deserve recognition and appreciation.
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The vinyl record format ruled from the 1950s through the 1980s and created a fascinating split in music history. Each physical record had two different sides with unique musical content. This simple design gave birth to what we now call the a-side and b-side.
The Physical Difference Between A-Side and B-Side
Vinyl records are flat discs with grooves on both surfaces to store audio information. The first recordings, from the late 19th century, only used one side. By the 1910s, double-sided recordings became standard in Europe and the USA. Both sides were made from the same materials and manufactured simultaneously. The real difference between them was just a matter of convention, not physical makeup.
The 7-inch 45 RPM vinyl singles became popular in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Record labels needed a way to tell the two sides apart. They started using the "A-side" and "B-side" labelling system to show which side had the featured song.
How Record Companies Determined Which Songs Went Where
Record companies would randomly pick which track would be an A-side or B-side at first. The industry evolved and a clear pattern emerged. Record producers put songs with the greatest commercial potential on the A-side. These were tracks they hoped radio stations would play and turn into hits.
The B-side became home to secondary material including:
Songs not good enough for album inclusion
Different versions of other songs (instrumental, live, acoustic)
Cover versions
Songs by non-primary songwriters in the band
Experimental material that didn't match the artist's usual style
Record companies picked B-sides that weren't too catchy to make radio stations play the A-side more often. This strategy became common in the 1960s as singles brought in more money than albums.
The Cultural Significance of B-Sides in Britain
British music fans gave B-sides special meaning. Devoted fans and collectors treasured these secondary tracks. Many B-sides earned praise for their artistic value and sometimes became more popular than their A-side partners.
DJs in Britain's Northern Soul movement loved B-sides. They often "flipped the record" looking for hidden gems. Some B-sides did better than their A-sides. Rod Stewart's "Maggie May" started as a B-side to "Reason to Believe". Bill Haley's "(We're Gonna) Rock Around the Clock" was also a B-side first.
B-sides let artists create freely without commercial pressure. Bands like The Smiths, Oasis, and The Beatles used B-sides to try new things they couldn't risk on A-sides or albums. Fans loved their B-side collections just as much as their greatest hits albums.
Digital formats have made the physical A-side/B-side split outdated. Yet the term lives on as a cultural symbol. Modern artists still release "B-sides" as bonus tracks or extra content. This keeps alive a unique part of music history that came from the limits of physical records.
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"I Am The Walrus" ranks among The Beatles' most experimental songs. The band released it as the B-side of their November 1967 single "Hello, Goodbye"—a choice that bothered Lennon for years The Beatles recorded this surrealist masterpiece in September 1967, their first studio work after their manager Brian Epstein's death.
Lennon's Psychedelic Masterpiece
Lennon created "I Am The Walrus" to puzzle listeners who took Beatles lyrics too seriously. A student from his old school sent him a letter about their literature classes that analysed Beatles songs. This prompted Lennon to think over and craft "I Am The Walrus" to confuse scholarly interpretation.
Psychedelic experiences shaped the song's creation. Lennon wrote the first two lines during separate acid trips. He combined three musical ideas: a melody from a police siren near his Weybridge home, a short rhyme about his garden, and a nonsense phrase about sitting on a cornflake.
Lewis Carroll's poem "The Walrus and the Carpenter" inspired the title. Lennon later felt upset after learning the walrus was the villain in Carroll's work.
Producer George Martin turned what started as a simple acoustic piece into a sonic masterpiece.
His arrangement added violins, cellos, horns, and clarinets. The Mike Sammes Singers added backing vocals with nonsensical lines and shrill whooping sounds. The recording captured a dramatic reading from Shakespeare's "King Lear" from an AM radio Lennon tuned during a session.
Why McCartney's Pop Sensibility Won the A-Side Battle
Lennon pushed hard to make "I Am The Walrus" the single's A-side. Paul McCartney and George Martin believed "Hello, Goodbye" would sell better, and Lennon gave in.
This choice deeply frustrated him, and he saw it as "one more nail in the Beatle's coffin".
Music historian Walter Everett later speculated that an A-side release of "I Am The Walrus" "would probably have encouraged Lennon to lead the Beatles to new heights".
McCartney's commercial instincts proved right—"Hello, Goodbye" became the band's fifteenth American number one, taking over from the Monkees' "Daydream Believer" on Billboard's Hot 100.
Cultural Impact and Legacy
December 1967 saw "I Am The Walrus" achieve something unique. The song held both first and second spots on the British singles chart—the single topped the chart while the Magical Mystery Tour EP (which included the song) sat at number two.
The song's impact went beyond chart success. The Beatles helped shape many cultural movements throughout the 1960s. "I Am The Walrus" showed the band's groundbreaking work in psychedelia and art pop.
Songs like "Strawberry Fields Forever" and "Penny Lane" built what poet Roger McGough called "the mythology of Liverpool".
Music critics still describe "I Am The Walrus" as "endlessly analyzable, and yet somehow analysis-proof", fifty years after its release. This shows its lasting influence on musical experimentation.
The Song's Appearance in Magical Mystery Tour
"I Am The Walrus" played a key role in the Beatles' television film Magical Mystery Tour. The band filmed memorable scenes at an airfield. They performed the track while standing on high anti-blast concrete walls with actors dressed as policemen.
The song appeared on both the double EP Magical Mystery Tour and its American LP version [3]. British viewers saw this groundbreaking composition during the film's broadcast on December 26, 1967. The song showcased the Beatles' artistic growth through various experimental elements.
"I Am The Walrus" proved that a B-side could contain more artistic innovation than its commercial A-side counterpart.
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"Rain" came out in May 1966 as the B-side to "Paperback Writer." The song stands as one of the most trailblazing recordings in the Beatles' catalogue.
This psychedelic masterpiece showed the band's move toward new recording technology and songwriting techniques.
Ringo's Finest Drumming Performance
Ringo Starr calls his drumming on "Rain" his proudest achievement. "I feel as though that was someone else playing—I was possessed!" he said. A 1984 interview captured his thoughts: "I think I just played amazing. I was into the snare and the hi-hat. I think it was the first time I used this trick of starting a break by hitting the hi-hat first instead of going directly to a drum off the hi-hat."
His performance becomes even more impressive because he played much faster than what we hear on the record. Engineer Geoff Emerick explained they recorded the backing track at high speed on a sped-up tape machine. They slowed it down during playback to create the song's distinctive dreamy, hypnotic feel.
Revolutionary Backwards Recording Techniques
"Rain" brought a new era of recording innovation with its groundbreaking use of backwards vocals—a technique that became essential to psychedelic music. Lennon's voice appears at the end, singing "When the rain comes, they run and hide their heads" and "Rain" in reverse.
The story behind this discovery has two versions. Lennon said he accidentally threaded a tape backwards into his reel-to-reel player at home: "I got home from the studio and I was stoned out of my mind on marijuana and, as I usually do, I listened to what I'd recorded that day. Somehow I got it on backwards and I sat there, transfixed, with the earphones on, with a big hash joint."
George Martin tells a different story. He said he created the effect on purpose: "I lifted a bit of his main vocal off the four-track, put it onto another spool, turned it around and then slid it back and forth until it fitted."
The technique's origin might be disputed, but its effect lasted. George Harrison noted: "It was backwards forever after that." The Beatles became captivated with reverse recording and pushed this experimentation further in songs like "I'm Only Sleeping" and "Strawberry Fields Forever."
Lennon's Philosophical Lyrics
"Rain" showcased Lennon's growing interest in philosophical ideas beyond its sonic innovations. The lyrics suggest that weather—and life's challenges—should be accepted rather than criticised.
Lennon explained, "This is a song I wrote about people who are always moaning about the weather all the time. You know, whatever it is, it's OK, it's meant to be." McCartney shared this view: "Songs have traditionally treated rain as a bad thing and what we got on to was that it's no bad thing. There's no greater feeling than the rain dripping down your back."
The song shares themes with "I'm Only Sleeping" about detachment from the material world and finding deeper consciousness within oneself. These ideas came from Lennon's experiences with hallucinogenic drugs. "Rain" marked a philosophical direction that shaped much of the Beatles' later work.
Image Source: The Paul McCartney Project
John Lennon created "Revolution" during the political chaos of 1968. This powerful response to global upheaval became one of the most controversial B-sides in the Beatles'
history.
The song paired with McCartney's "Hey Jude" marked Apple Records' first single release and showed a fundamental change in the Beatles' songwriting approach.
The Political Context of Revolution
The Beatles studied Transcendental Meditation in Rishikesh, India, where Lennon wrote "Revolution." Early 1968 saw political turmoil spread worldwide. Student protests brought France to a halt. Soviet tanks crushed democratic reforms in Czechoslovakia. London's Grosvenor Square became a battleground between anti-Vietnam War protesters and police.
Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy's assassinations deepened America's national trauma. Civil rights activists clashed continuously with authorities. Many artists embraced revolutionary rhetoric, but Lennon's lyrics showed support for social change. He questioned the violent tactics that certain New Left factions promoted.
Why the Faster Version Became the B-Side
Lennon wanted "Revolution" as the Beatles' next A-side. His bandmates disagreed. McCartney and Harrison believed the original recording (later named "Revolution 1") lacked the speed needed for a successful single. Harrison noted that the album version "has less attack and not as much revolution".
Lennon stayed committed to his vision. The band started rehearsing a faster, more aggressive version on July 9, 1968. Music critic Richie Unterberger called this new version's guitar riff "a startling machine-gun fuzz. The band reached a compromise—they would use the energetic version as the B-side to McCartney's "Hey Jude".
How It Differed from the Album Version on The White Album
"Revolution" on the single stood apart from "The White Album's" "Revolution 1." The single featured a faster tempo, hard rock energy, and heavily distorted guitars [16]. The distinctive guitar sound came from directly injecting the guitar signal into the mixing console. They pushed it just below overheating. Many buyers tried returning their 45 RPM singles, thinking the distortion meant defective records.
The lyrics changed between versions too. "Revolution 1" showed Lennon's uncertainty about destruction with "Count me out... in". The single version made his position clear with just "count me out". Lennon later admitted, "I left out the 'count me in' because I'm a coward – I don't want to be killed".
The single hit American stores on August 26, 1968, and British shops four days later. Apple Records included it in their "First Four" singles launch. They sent copies to Queen Elizabeth II and Prime Minister Harold Wilson.
Image Source: The Paul McCartney Project
The Beatles recorded "Don't Let Me Down" during the chaotic Let It Be sessions. Released as the b-side to "Get Back" on January 28, 1969, this song reveals John Lennon at his most vulnerable. The track gives us a rare glimpse into Lennon's state of mind during a crucial moment in Beatles history.
Lennon's Love Letter to Yoko Ono
"Don't Let Me Down" emerged as Lennon's heartfelt plea to Yoko Ono during a time of personal turmoil. Paul McCartney saw it as "a genuine cry for help" and explained: "John was with Yoko and had escalated to heroin and all the accompanying paranoias... It was saying to Yoko, 'I'm stepping out of line on this one. I'm letting my vulnerability be seen, so you must not let me down".
Raw emotion flows through every note, especially in the chorus where Lennon's repeated plea "Don't let me down" echoes four times, showing his emotional dependence. Lennon spoke about this in a 1970 Rolling Stone interview: "When it gets down to it when you're drowning, you don't say, 'I would be incredibly pleased if someone would have the foresight to notice me drowning and come and help me,' you just scream".
The Rooftop Concert Performance
The Beatles made rock history on January 30, 1969, just two days after recording, by performing "Don't Let Me Down" twice during their famous rooftop concert at Apple Corps headquarters. Lennon struggled with the lyrics in both performances. He forgot the second verse words during the first attempt and used gibberish instead, but pulled off a better second take.
Billy Preston's keyboard work brought amazing depth to the performance. His playing meshed perfectly with the Beatles' sound. McCartney later remembered: "We recorded it in the basement of Apple for Let It Be and later did it up on the roof for the film".
Why It Was Left Off the Let It Be Album
Phil Spector's decision to leave "Don't Let Me Down" off the Let It Be album sparked controversy. The song's importance to Lennon made this choice even more puzzling. Spector picked three other rooftop performances for the album: "I've Got a Feeling," "One After 909," and "Dig a Pony".
The song finally got its due on the 2003 Let It Be... Naked album. This version combined both rooftop performances to create what many fans now think of as the definitive recording.
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"You Can't Do That" first appeared as the B-side to "Can't Buy Me Love" on March 20, 1964. The song showed a tougher side to John Lennon's songwriting that would shape the band's sound. Most early Beatles tracks had an upbeat feel, but this song explored deeply into darker emotions.
Early Signs of Lennon's Edgier Songwriting
Lennon's personal life came through clearly in "You Can't Do That" - something rare in previous Beatles songs. The lyrics spoke directly about jealousy and possessiveness, giving fans a glimpse into Lennon's complex relationships with women. Music critic Robert Sandall described it as "sexual paranoia and nagging, dragging groove." These themes kept appearing in Lennon's later songs like "Run for Your Life" and "Jealous Guy," showing how these insecurities stayed with him.
The Wilson Pickett Influence
Lennon said about the track: "That's me doing Wilson Pickett. You know, a cowbell going four-in-the-bar, and the chord going 'chatoong!'" The timing makes this claim interesting. Wilson Pickett had only released four ballads in 6/8 time when the Beatles recorded this song in February 1964. His breakthrough didn't come until 1965 with "In the Midnight Hour." Lennon probably looked back at the broader R&B sounds from Memphis when he made this comment.
How It Spurred Lennon to Write for A Hard Day's Night
Lennon and McCartney used to work together on songs regularly. McCartney's success with the A-side "Can't Buy Me Love" sparked something competitive in Lennon. He later said, "There was a little competition between Paul and I as to who got the A-side, who got the hits." This pushed Lennon to write most of the songs for the A Hard Day's Night album. He noted: "If you notice, in the early days the majority of singles, in the movies and everything, were mine."
Image Source: The Paul McCartney Project
George Harrison's "Old Brown Shoe" stands as the Beatles' most thought-provoking b-side. The song appeared on the flip side of "The Ballad of John and Yoko" in May 1969. While most b-sides were mere afterthoughts, this track revealed Harrison's growing skills as a composer.
Harrison's Overlooked Gem
"Old Brown Shoe" remains a hidden treasure in the Beatles' catalogue. Many music critics see it as one of Harrison's finest works during the Beatles era. Ian MacDonald loved Harrison's guitar solo and called it a "tightly-structured solo with an American flavour to its final bars." The song found its way onto several compilation albums like Hey Jude, 1967-1970, and Past Masters, Volume Two. This preserved the track for future fans to discover. Harrison showed his musical range throughout the recording. He played both guitar and bass, and later said in a 1988 interview: "That was me going nuts. I'm doing exactly what I do on the guitar."
The Piano Origins of the Song
Harrison wrote "Old Brown Shoe" on piano instead of guitar in January 1969. His 1980 autobiography I, Me, Mine explains this unexpected choice: "I started the chord sequences on the piano, which I don't really play, and then began writing ideas for the words from various opposites." Harrison brought the song to Apple Studios on January 27, 1969. He said he had written it just the night before, which shows his clear vision of the track from the start. The Beatles needed just four takes to record the backing track. Take four became the foundation for the single version.
The Philosophical Lyrics of Duality
"Old Brown Shoe" explores duality at its core - a theme that captivated Harrison deeply. Theologian Dale Allison points out the song as a "further reflection of Harrison's interest in dualities and contradictions." The lyrics lack the obvious religious themes found in his other songs. Instead, they play with opposites throughout: "I want a love that's right / Right is only half of what's wrong" and "I want a short-haired girl / Who sometimes wears it twice as long." These contrasting pairs - love/hate, early/late, smile/frown - reflect Harrison's fascination with Eastern philosophy and life's yin-yang balance. Tim Riley perfectly captures it as "a witty and oblique look at love, delivered with sardonic flair."
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"Yes It Is" appeared as the b-side of "Ticket to Ride" in April 1965. This emotional ballad showed a depth rarely heard in early Beatles recordings. The song proved to be much more than a typical throwaway b-side track and highlighted the band's growing sophistication in composition and recording techniques.
The Three-Part Harmony Masterpiece
The Beatles created some of their most complex and dissonant three-part vocal harmonies in "Yes It Is." Lennon, McCartney, and Harrison spent three hours perfecting these intricate harmony parts while singing live together. George Martin suggested they use a barbershop quartet-style approach. Ian MacDonald later described the song's "rich and unusual harmonic motion," with harmonies that rise and fall unexpectedly around Lennon's lead vocal. These remarkable vocal arrangements showed how far the band had come from their earlier harmony-driven songs, reaching a level of sophistication rarely heard in mid-1960s pop music.
Lennon's Melancholy Lyrics
John Lennon described "Yes It Is" as his unsuccessful attempt to rewrite "This Boy" in his 1980 Playboy interview, saying it "didn't quite work". Both songs share similar elements - the 12/8 time signature, three-part vocal harmonies, and 1950s doo-wop chord sequences. McCartney saw it differently and called it "a very fine song of John's, a ballad, unusual for John". The lyrics express longing and loss, marking the band's shift from upbeat early material toward more reflective songwriting.
The Volume Pedal Guitar Innovation
"Yes It Is" brought something new to the table - Harrison's use of the volume pedal guitar effect, which preceded the wah-wah pedal. Harrison found it challenging to play and operate the pedal at the same time. Lennon stepped in to help by kneeling to control Harrison's guitar volume while he played. Harrison explained: "I played the part, and John would kneel in front of me and turn my guitar's volume control". This creative approach created a unique, ethereal quality that became the song's signature sound.
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The Beatles created "I'll Get You" as a potential follow-up single to "From Me To You." The song became the B-side to their international hit "She Loves You" in August 1963. This early gem shows how Lennon and McCartney's songwriting talent grew faster, even with songs they put on the B-side of their records.
Early Lennon-McCartney Collaboration
Lennon and McCartney shared equal credit for "I'll Get You." They wrote the song at Lennon's Menlove Avenue home, which rarely happened because Lennon's Aunt Mimi, who he lived with, didn't approve of the Beatles. The song's original title was "Get You in the End". They wrote it during a two to three-hour session while touring Britain in June 1963. Lennon later said: "That was Paul and me trying to write a song and it didn't work out". Yet this "failure" turned into a track that would fascinate audiences.
The 'Oh Yeah' Hook That Fascinated Britain
The song shared its A-side's prominent use of "yeah" - a signature that earned them the nickname "The Yeah-Yeahs" throughout Europe. McCartney looked back on their distinctive vocal style: "I liked that slightly faggy way we sang. 'Oh yeah, oh yeah,' which was very distinctive, very Beatley". Their thick Liverpool accents highlighted their roots, and Lennon pointed out: "Ever heard anyone from Liverpool singing 'yes'? It's yeah!".
How It Showcased Their Growing Songwriting Maturity
"I'll Get You" stands out through its subtle touches that show the band's artistic growth. The song opens with "Imagine I'm in love with you" - a creative line that pulls listeners into the story. McCartney saw this as one of the first examples of Lewis Carroll's influence on Lennon's lyrics, a style they would explore more in later songs. The unusual chord change from D major to A minor under "It's not like me to pretend" showed their musical sophistication. McCartney credited Joan Baez's version of "All My Trials" as the inspiration.
The band recorded the song on July 1, 1963, after finishing "She Loves You." It became a regular part of their live shows. Fans can find a version from their London Palladium performance on October 13, 1963, on the Anthology 1 compilation. This early B-side masterpiece lives on for new generations to discover.
Image Source: The Paul McCartney Project
The Beatles recorded "Baby You're A Rich Man" during a single six-hour session at Olympic Sound Studios on May 11, 1967. The song became the B-side to their worldwide hit "All You Need Is Love." Though initially planned for the Yellow Submarine animated film soundtrack, it ended up as part of the first Beatles single released on their Apple Records label.
The Combination of Two Separate Songs
The sort of thing I love about "Baby You're A Rich Man" is how it blends two unfinished Lennon-McCartney compositions. John wrote the verses under the working title "One of the Beautiful People," while Paul created the "Baby, you're a rich man" chorus. "That's a combination of two separate pieces, Paul's and mine, put together and forced into one song," Lennon explained. The songwriters worked together at McCartney's London home on Cavendish Avenue. Their approach mirrored similar combinations like "A Day in the Life" and later "I've Got a Feeling."
The Innovative Use of the Clavioline
A Clavioline gives the song its distinctive, swirling sound. This early predecessor to the synthesiser came with a three-octave keyboard. Lennon played this French electronic instrument on an oboe setting, which created an exotic, Middle Eastern-like quality throughout the track. Engineer Eddie Kramer explained: "It had a little strip which you put your thumb on and moved it up and down the length of the keyboard as you played, to get vibrato". Music journalist Gordon Reid claimed Lennon created the trill sound "by rolling an orange up and down the keyboard" of the Clavioline.
Rumours About the Song's Subject
People interpret the song's meaning differently. Harrison believed it showed that you have wealth within yourself, whatever your material concerns. Lennon's message was simple: "Stop moaning. You're a rich man and we're all rich men". Some people think the "rich man" referenced Beatles manager Brian Epstein. A controversial theory suggests Lennon changed the chorus during fade-out to "Baby, you're a rich fag Jew" - a cruel reference to Epstein's homosexuality and Jewish background. One tape box's notation reads "The Beatles + Mick Jagger?" which hints at the Rolling Stones frontman's possible contribution to handclaps or backing vocals.
Conclusion
The Beatles' remarkable B-sides are proof of their unmatched creative depth. The band didn't treat flip sides as mere album fillers. They reshaped the scene with groundbreaking musical experiments that often rivalled or surpassed their A-side counterparts.
Songs like "Rain" and "I Am The Walrus" helped The Beatles pioneer revolutionary recording techniques that shaped modern music production.
Their B-sides showcased everything from backwards recording to innovative guitar effects that challenged technical boundaries.
Each B-side carries its own compelling story. Lennon's raw vulnerability shines in "Don't Let Me Down," while Harrison shares philosophical musings in "Old Brown Shoe." The band's political commentary comes through strongly in "Revolution." These songs show The Beatles at their most experimental, honest, and daring moments.
Musicians today still draw inspiration from these B-sides' legacy. The band was willing to challenge creative boundaries, even on songs that weren't meant to be hits. This showed an artistic integrity that set new standards for popular music. These lesser-known gems contain some of the band's most innovative and authentic work.
The Beatles ended up being more than just the world's biggest band - they were its most creatively fearless group. Their flip-side masterpieces show that true artistic brilliance shines through whatever a song's commercial designation.
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