Elvis's #1 songs

Thanks for all the responses everyone. I guess there's a lot I don't understand about a "double-sided" hit and such. It seems like if a song is popular enough to be #1, it should reach that position regardless of it's flip side. Are you saying that if both "Little Sister" and "Latest Flame" had been released as separate singles, they would technically have gotten equal treatment, but since one was a B-side, the DJ might have played it instead of the A-side, thus cutting down on the lead songs opportunity at airplay?

Basically, there were two factors which decided how a song did on the Billboard charts: sales and airplay.

When both sides of a single showed good enough airplay (not just the lead track), the sales points were given to that side which had the better airplay performance. That could change weekly. The other side would just chart solely based on its airplay.

Of course if there were two strong songs released at the same time by the same artist, this would lower the number of times each of the songs were played compared to a release of just one strong song and a "throwaway" flip side. While the lead track was "disadvantaged" in terms of airplay and chart performance, to the record company, that was still a good deal because with two strong tracks released at the same time, airplay was almost always definitely higher for both songs combined compared to a release of just one strong song coupled with a throwaway b-side.

The airplay was what record companies were interested, because that triggered sales, that's what made people go to a record store and buy a record. And a 45 with two strong songs was twice as valuable as a regular 45 and thus people were more likely to invest in a double-sided hit 45.

Hard bucks in the end were more important to record companies than chart peaks.

Thanks guys for the explanations, its starting to make sense. 'One Night' b/w 'I Got Stung' got to number 1 in Britain maybe because it was a double A side, whereas the strong rock song 'A Big Hunk O' love' only made number 4 Yet not being a doublea side it went to number 1 in the U,S,

Surely Elvis would have further number 1's if for excamble 'One Night' which got to number 4 and its other side 'I Got Stung' which was a number 8 weren't counted separatly. In the US there are further excamples of this happening.

So that's why ''One night/I got stung and (Marie's the name) his latest flame/Little Sister were both #1 hits in the U.K.

Yes I think so, although they were double sided hits in the UK they were both sold as one single eg they both jointly made number one. In the US they both charted as two seperate sides. in other words if say ony only one side had been counted would, for examble, One Night have made number one as it did in Britain? Of course if that was the case I Got Stung wouldn't have shown up seperatly at number 8!

Could this have have been the case? Some of our US friends who know their charts better than I may have the answer.

Is there no one on this site who can either redicule or confirm above? Is it not possible that if the sales of 'I Got Stung' charting at number 8 hadn't been counted seperatly to 'One Night' charting at number4, then the later may actually have made number one? I don't know, but surely someone must have better knowledge

I think you were right.

People say the reason (''Marie's the name) his latest flame'' didn't hit number one in USA was because of the equally popular ''Little Sister'' got a lot of airplay causing them to hit #4 and #5.

People say that if ''(Marie's the name) his latest flame'' and ''Little Sister'' had been released separately as A - sides they both probably would have hit #1.

"(Marie's the name) his latest flame'' and ''Little Sister'' was a double sided #1 in a couple of countries including the U.K.

So a couple of years ago i asked in a thread how come the split airplay prevented them from going to number one in the USA but not in U.K.

ColinB relplied and said the U.K. and other countries only counted the song as one side.

I imagine the popularity of several B sides prevented the A side from going to number one in the USA.

A shame about both singles not hitting number one in the U.S. but RCA didn't have room in the schedule to release both as A -sides.

Are you saying that if both "Little Sister" and "Latest Flame" had been released as separate singles, they would technically have gotten equal treatment, but since one was a B-side, the DJ might have played it instead of the A-side, thus cutting down on the lead songs opportunity at airplay?

Yes.