I just heard this song in a movie a few minutes ago and felt compelled to locate it. Maybe a lot of you are already aware of it, but I had never heard it (or even heard OF it) until this morning. I'm not that impressed with the song, but I think it's worth hearing, just for its novelty value.

I have a few old R&B 45's which feature an instrumental version of the A-side track on the flip-side. In each instance, that instrumental version is nothing more than the a-side with the lead vocals removed. This instance is no different.

I wonder if there was any other time that the "instrumental" b-side was better known than the vocal version on the a-side...

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OusS9v9JAt8[/youtube]

This still happens:

Yeah, it's actually quite common for instrumental versions to be included on promo singles for dance/R&B/hip-hop artists...

True, but my intent with this thread was to discuss the instrumental versions that proved to be more popular than the vocal versions. I guess I could have created a better thread title than the one I did. The example in the thread-starter was one in which the instrumental is so popular that I wasn't even aware that a vocal version existed.

If I dare mention Gary Glitter (see other thread!), "Rock & Roll, Part 2" is basically an instrumental with a "Hey!" thrown in a few times. Part 1 is the actual song.

One that I've always wondered about is "Fingertips, Part 2" by Stevie Wonder. Is Part 1 more of the same or is it a traditional song? I've never heard it so I have no idea.

(p.s., if either of these is addressed in the original post -- which I assume includes a YouTube link -- my apologies. Those don't show up on my work computer.)

Glenn,

The song in the original post is called "Love is Alright" (by Cliff Nobles.) The (much better known) vocal-less flip--side is "The Horse" (which, I would bet that most folks here have heard, even if the song title is unfamiliar.)

I was thinking about the Gary Glitter song as well, but have only heard snippets of Part 1, so I wasn't sure if the backing track was the same as Part 2.

I THINK that Fingertips, Part 1 was also instrumental and that the two versions are a single performance which was split in half for the 45 release, but I am not 100% sure. I have a bio of Stevie and will check to see if that question is addressed. I'm curious too, now that you brought it up.

On Aaron Neville's "Tell It LIke It Is" LP, there is one instrumental tune which is nothing more than the backing tracks to another song on the same LP. If I recall correctly, the vocal version was released on a single. The instrumental version was not and is viewed as a throw-away, so that pairing doesn't fit this topic either.

Certainly, there must have been other instances like this where the instrumental side is the better known one.

It would be cool if some label put out a compilation of the less-familiar halves of all those two-part singles. Not sure what label on the scene currently could pull it off, though.

Rhino seems to have a way of getting stuff like that together. Or at least they used to have that rep.

Not sure what domestic label could/would do it, but the idea sounds right up (the UK label) ACE Records' alley.

I just looked through my Stevie Wonder bio and found info about "Fingertips, Part 2." It is, in fact, half of a longer live performance with the first part of that performance being on the a-side. The story behind that recording is actually quite interesting. It was made during a live performance and Stevie kept playing on, long after the song was supposed to have ended. Apparently, after the song wound down, his backing band didn't realize that he was going to start up again and left the stage. The musicians on the last part of the song are actually the band for the singer who performed AFTER Stevie.

"Part 2" became the single because of the greater energy during that half and it's speculated that the chaos caused by Stevie's entending the song contributed significantly to the performance's energy.

If you listen close enough, you can hear one of the musicians asking, "What key? What key?"

Regarding Gary Glitter's "Rock and Roll Part 1," the lyrics reflect on the history of the genre; as cut-and-pasted from Lyrics.com, they go something like this...



I suppose I could make some quips about Mr. Glitter's other hits "Doing Alright with the Boys" and "Do You Wanna Touch Me? (Oh Yeah)" but since this is not the appropriate thread for same I shall refrain from doing so.