Johnny & The Hurricanes: "Beatnik Fly"

March 21, 1960 (3 weeks)

The advantage in putting out a double A-side is that it leaves the tough decisions to someone else. Band members may quarrel over which song gets the marquee side while management and/or record labels may have their own ideas. So, what's the harm then in leaving it to the public and the radio stations to decide? Sure, record sales might not give much away but airplay, requests and even spins on a jukebox can seal the deal.

The only problem is, they might still end up getting it wrong. "Penny Lane" would go on to top the US Hot 100 and — spoiler alert — the Canadian charts in 1967 largely because it was much more immediate than flip side "Strawberry Fields Forever", an extraordinary John Lennon composition which had to grow on teenage Beatles fans who may have initially thought that they had gone too far with their latest release. But at least there was a catchy pop song with a winning melody over on the flip that they could enjoy while the waiting out the slow burn over on the other side.

"Penny Lane" being more popular than "Strawberry Fields" is at least understandable — it's a misguided opinion I once had in the past myself — but no similar excuses can justify why anyone, under any circumstances would ever opt for "Beatnik Fly" over "Sand Storm" from the latest single release by Johnny & The Hurricanes. How not one DJ in North America or Europe ever scoffed at their take on "Jimmy Crack Corn" and ultimately decided that the song on the other side was a good deal better is beyond me. The only consolation is in knowing that fans who invested in a copy of the Hurricanes' fourth single were in for a pleasant surprise when they finally got round to flipping the record over.

This is not to say that "Beatnik Fly" is without merit. Instrumental acts had to be adept at variety and so it was beneficial to have fun little turns like this one to fall back on to get audiences on their feet or liven a dreary dance hall in Wales on a Tuesday night in November. Booker T & The MG's might have been the tightest foursome ever to record together but they weren't above putting out amusing trifles that were no doubt done just for shits and giggles. "Beatnik Fly" is a fun exercise which would have made a fine B-side to its more accomplished companion.

So, what makes "Sand Storm" so special then? For one thing, the listener can get a really good idea of just what made them such a live favourite, especially in Europe where they were slowly gathering a following. Guitarist David Yorko plays some superlative country-ish twang solos as well as some furious chugging while organist Paul Tesluk sounds like the forerunner to Booker T himself. Their playing is ably backed up by the syncopated drumming of Bill "Little Bo" Savich. But there is a Hurricane who seems to be absent: saxophonist Johnny Paris is nowhere to be heard which could not have helped its case as a potential radio hit. The other factor in its favour is that they sound like they're taking it seriously and taking their time with it. "Beatnik Fly" sounds rushed as though they're trying to get it over with while the only slightly longer "Sand Storm" has a much more relaxed quality about it. 

My preference for one over the other aside, the two work quite well as a double A-side. The lightness of "Beatnik Fly" is offset by the less gimmicky "Sand Storm" while the former supplies some relief after the darker latter. They aren't a whole lot different from "Strawberry Fields Forever" and "Penny Lane" come to think of it. Not only did the public get it wrong when it came to which side to choose from but they went with the poppier bit of ear candy in both cases. We can only hope that "Sand Storm" was a similarly slow burn among fans that "Strawberry Fields" was.

Score: 5

Hypothetical Score for "Sand Storm": 8

~~~~~

Can Con

Just as journalists ought to avoid running for office (so as to maintain the integrity of the fourth estate, as that sex offender playing the newspaperman A.W. Merrick once said in an episode of Deadwood), so should DJ's stay out of cutting their own records. These guys typically have great taste in music but as a rule they can't sing. But if they must, at least make it a joke which is what CHUM personality Al Boliska chose to do with his "hit" "The Ballad of the Dying Cowboy". Or so I am going to guess. He would later cut a comedy album so it can't be much of a stretch to assume that his first single was of a similar vein. I like to think that it's a parody of tragic country music melodrama, something which would have been much needed at the time. But I can but speculate since Boliska's first try at pop stardom is currently unavailable on YouTube. No doubt it was scrubbed from the record because there's no need to keep the sound of a DJ singing for posterity.