" Blue Bayou " is a song written by Roy Orbison and Joe Melson . It was originally sung and recorded by Orbison, who had an international hit with his version in 1963. It later became Linda Ronstadt 's signature song , with which she scored a Top 5 hit with her cover in 1977. Many others have since recorded the song.
22-459: "Blue Bayou" was originally recorded by Roy Orbison at the end of 1961. In the UK, it was released by London Monument as the double A-side track with " Mean Woman Blues " on a Monument Records single (HLU 9777), where both sides peaked at number 3. It was issued as a B-side single in the US, peaking at number 29; the A-side, "Mean Woman Blues", peaked at number 5. The song also appeared on Orbison's 1963 full-length album In Dreams . According to
44-510: A fastball , a pitch that "blew by you". That phrase was coined by New York Mets broadcaster Tim McCarver during a Mets telecast in the 1980s. Ronstadt's version appears, in edited form, in the 2017 film American Made and in Tony Scott 's 2004 film Man on Fire . US: Asylum Records E-45431 Side one Side two Shipments figures based on certification alone. Double A-side The A-side and B-side are
66-544: A "B-side compilation album" across multiple periods of an artist's career. Hit record A hit song , also known as a hit record , hit single or simply hit , is a recorded song or instrumental that becomes broadly popular or well-known. Although hit song means any widely played or big-selling song, the specific term hit record usually refers to a single that has appeared in an official music chart through repeated radio airplay audience impressions, or significant streaming data and commercial sales. Prior to
88-634: A disagreement between EMI and John Lennon about which side of the Beatles ' " We Can Work It Out " and " Day Tripper " single should be considered the A-side and receive the plugging, "EMI settled for a double-side promotion campaign—unique in Britain." In the UK, before the advent of digital downloads, both A-sides were accredited with the same chart position, for the singles chart was compiled entirely from physical sales. In
110-423: A hit due to the increasing singles market after chart rules included download singles. In most cases, the amount of weeks spent on either music chart may also play a big part in its relevance as a 'hit,' regardless of its peak chart position. A hit single is variously called a number one hit , a top 5 hit , a top 10 hit , a top 20 hit or a top 40 hit , depending on its peak position. In the UK (where radio play
132-459: A previously released Spanish song that Ronstadt herself co-wrote. This version has never been included on any reissues of Simple Dreams . Ronstadt later performed the song on episode 523 of The Muppet Show , first aired on October 26, 1980, in the UK, and May 16, 1981, in the United States. Because of this song, Dickson's Baseball Dictionary records that a "Linda Ronstadt" is a synonym for
154-482: A promotional tool. A "double A-side", "AA-side", or "dual single" is a single where both sides are designated the A-side, with no designated B-side; that is, both sides are prospective hit songs and neither side will be promoted over the other. In 1949, Savoy Records promoted a new single by one of its artists, Paul Williams ' "House Rocker" and "He Knows How to Hucklebuck", as "The New Double Side Hit – Both Sides "A" Sides". In 1965, Billboard reported that due to
176-543: Is also possible in the United States, or anywhere, with slow but steady sellers; a number of minor hits, especially those that are popular in specific genre, have earned gold certifications despite relatively poor pop chart performances.) In the UK, the number of sales required to achieve a hit single steadily declined in line with a general decline in single sales until the early 2000s. The number has, however, recovered strongly with growth in official digital downloads . 2011
198-404: Is not included in the official charts), this does not completely reflect the song's popularity—as the weekly chart position is based solely on direct comparison with concurrent sales of other singles. It is, therefore, not uncommon that a single fails to chart, but has actually sold more copies than other singles regarded as "hits" based on their higher chart placement in a period of low sales. (This
220-532: Is often used in listings to indicate the B-side of a record. The term "c/w", for "coupled with", is used similarly. B-sides are often considered to be filler material: songs of lower quality. However, some pop artists such as Prince , The Smiths , Def Leppard , Oasis , Bon Jovi and The Beatles have been particularly known for releasing strong material on B-sides. B-sides have often been compiled on expanded or "deluxe" editions of albums or may be compiled into
242-640: The Cash Box Top 100 chart. The single was RIAA certified Gold (for sales of over 1 million US copies) in January 1978. It was the first of Ronstadt's three Gold singles. Don Henley of the Eagles sang backup on the recording. "Blue Bayou" was later certified Platinum (for over 2 million copies sold in the United States). It was a worldwide smash, charting in countries such as Australia , Canada , New Zealand ,
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#1732863270370264-641: The United Kingdom , a single is usually considered a hit when it reaches the top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100 or the top 75 of the UK Singles Chart . The Guinness Book of British Hit Singles has used this definition since the 1970s. Some argue that reaching at least the top 100—since the Official Charts Company increased the chart size on their website on 23 June 2007—lets a single be considered
286-529: The United Kingdom , and Mexico , where it topped the singles charts. Ronstadt's version was nominated for the Grammy Award for Record of the Year and for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance . Ronstadt also recorded a Spanish-language version of the song (translated by her father, Gilbert Ronstadt), titled "Lago Azul (Blue Bayou)", which was released in 1978 on the single Asylum E-45464, backed by "Lo Siento Mi Vida",
308-435: The 21st century as the music industry has transitioned away from analog recordings towards digital formats without physical sides, such as downloads and streaming . Nevertheless, some artists and labels continue to employ the terms A-side and B-side metaphorically to describe the type of content a particular release features, with B-side sometimes representing a "bonus" track or other material. Conventions shifted in
330-637: The UK, the biggest-selling non-charity single of all time was a double A-side, Wings ' 1977 release " Mull of Kintyre "/" Girls' School ", which sold over two million copies. It was also the UK Christmas No. 1 that year. Nirvana released " All Apologies " and " Rape Me " as a double A-side in 1993, and both songs are accredited as a hit on both the UK Singles Chart and the Irish Singles Chart . The term "b/w", an abbreviation of "backed with",
352-497: The authorised biography of Roy Orbison, a rare different version of "Blue Bayou" was released only in Italy (London 45-HL 1499). "Blue Bayou" reappeared on his 1989 posthumous album A Black & White Night Live , from the 1988 television special on Cinemax . US: Monument Records 824 Side one Side two This song has been used in several motion pictures including: Jacques Cousteau included an abridged version of
374-408: The dominance of recorded music, commercial sheet music sales of individual songs were similarly promoted and tracked as singles and albums are now. For example, in 1894, Edward B. Marks and Joe Stern released The Little Lost Child , which sold more than a million copies nationwide, based mainly on its success as an illustrated song , analogous to today's music videos . In the United States and
396-401: The early 1960s, at which point record companies started assigning the song they wanted radio stations to play to side A, as 45 rpm single records ("45s") dominated most markets in terms of cash sales in comparison to albums , which did not fare as well financially. Throughout the decade the industry would slowly shift to an album-driven paradigm for releasing new music; it was not until 1968 that
418-721: The song during a "River Explorations" episode, which details environmental changes on the Mississippi River . This song has also been used in the Netflix digital series, Stranger Things (Season 2, Episode 6). A French language version of the song entitled "Tu n'es plus là" was released in 1963 by French rock and roll singer Dick Rivers . Linda Ronstadt took the song to #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 in late 1977, where it held for four weeks, as well as #2 Country and #3 Easy Listening. It also reached #2, holding there for four weeks, on
440-490: The total production of albums on a unit basis finally surpassed that of singles in the United Kingdom. Today, with the vast majority of music released and accessed digitally on streaming services , the traditional A-side/B-side is obsolete as a technological necessity. Nonetheless, some contemporary artists have added on a second track to a single release as a nominal B-side, which can serve as an aesthetic choice as well as
462-562: The two sides of phonograph records and cassettes , and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record company intends to be the initial focus of promotional efforts and radio airplay, with the aim of it becoming a hit record . The B-side (or "flip-side") is a secondary recording that typically receives less attention, although some B-sides have been as successful as, or more so than, their A-sides. Use of this language has largely declined in
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#1732863270370484-422: Was a record year for UK singles sales. Actual figures vary considerably depending on the time of year. In 2010 a number one single usually sold around 100,000 copies per week; sales of around 30,000 were often sufficient to reach the top ten, and a single selling over 6,000 copies could make the top forty. Record companies often release collections of hit singles by various artists as compilation albums , such as
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