# Album cuts that shoulda been singles **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 7, 2011, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/album-cuts-that-shoulda-been-singles/566718 "2011-01-07T06:02:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![cjepson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9adbd/32.png) [@cjepson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cjepson)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2015, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/album-cuts-that-shoulda-been-singles/566718/21 "2015-12-02T16:57:14Z")
> [@cjepson](#): > > “Couldn’t I Just Tell You” from _Something/Anything_ by Todd Rundgren. OK, I blew it. This actually was released as a single; it just wasn’t a hit. ---
**Author:** ![Abner\_Ravenwood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c4cdca/32.png) [@Abner\_Ravenwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Abner_Ravenwood)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2015, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/album-cuts-that-shoulda-been-singles/566718/22 "2015-12-02T17:01:17Z")
> [@Duckster](#): > > _In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida_ > > If you have to ask for clarification, it’s not worthy of an answer. > > 😃 Don’t you mean In the Garden of Eden by I. Ron Butterfly? ---
**Author:** ![ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chockfullofheadygoodness/32/511_2.png) [@ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2015, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/album-cuts-that-shoulda-been-singles/566718/23 "2015-12-02T21:29:12Z")
_Long Distance_ - The Kinks. It’s such a deep cut, it wasn’t even on the vinyl release of _State of Confusion_. It appeared only on the cassette version. _Living on a Thin Line_ - The Kinks. While a big hit on FM radio, it was never released as a single because (according to songwriter Dave Davies) the deal with the record company mandated that the first 3 singles of any album be Ray Davies compositions. \*On Top of the World \* - Cheap Trick, from _Heaven Tonight_. Heck, most of that album could have been released singles ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2015, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/album-cuts-that-shoulda-been-singles/566718/24 "2015-12-02T21:42:46Z")
For a recent example, I don’t know why Lady Gaga didn’t release “Hair” as a single. It was the best song on born This Way. ---
**Author:** ![Mixolydian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/da6949/32.png) [@Mixolydian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mixolydian)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2015, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/album-cuts-that-shoulda-been-singles/566718/25 "2015-12-07T19:50:01Z")
> [@ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness](#): > > _Living on a Thin Line_ - The Kinks. While a big hit on FM radio, it was never released as a single because (according to songwriter Dave Davies) the deal with the record company mandated that the first 3 singles of any album be Ray Davies compositions. And here I am wondering why Ray and Dave continue to fight 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2015, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/album-cuts-that-shoulda-been-singles/566718/26 "2015-12-07T20:00:24Z")
Fight my ignorance here: In the digital age, what released tracks aren’t available as singles? If an album is available on iTunes, you get to select which track or tracks you want to purchase, so “released as a single” doesn’t really mean anything anymore. ---
**Author:** ![NineToTheSky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5a626/32.png) [@NineToTheSky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NineToTheSky)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2015, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/album-cuts-that-shoulda-been-singles/566718/27 "2015-12-07T20:13:13Z")
> [@Horatio\_Hellpop](#): > > Fight my ignorance here: In the digital age, what released tracks aren’t available as singles? If an album is available on iTunes, you get to select which track or tracks you want to purchase, so “released as a single” doesn’t really mean anything anymore. Very true. ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2015, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/album-cuts-that-shoulda-been-singles/566718/28 "2015-12-07T22:35:53Z")
> [@Horatio\_Hellpop](#): > > Fight my ignorance here: In the digital age, what released tracks aren’t available as singles? If an album is available on iTunes, you get to select which track or tracks you want to purchase, so “released as a single” doesn’t really mean anything anymore. [QUOTE=Nine to the Sky] Very true. [/QUOTE] I think there’s still the factor of radio airplay in determining what track is a single and what isn’t. Even if all the tracks off a new album can be purchased individually, the record companies and programmers often limit the number of tracks radio stations can play off an album. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2015, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/album-cuts-that-shoulda-been-singles/566718/29 "2015-12-07T22:52:19Z")
> [@ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness](#): > > _Living on a Thin Line_ - The Kinks. While a big hit on FM radio, it was never released as a single because (according to songwriter Dave Davies) the deal with the record company mandated that the first 3 singles of any album be Ray Davies compositions. Does anyone have a cite for this? I’m skeptical, partly because the first single from their next album (which was, admittedly, on a different label) was by Dave. ---
**Author:** ![somepumpkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7feea3/32.png) [@somepumpkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/somepumpkin)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2015, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/album-cuts-that-shoulda-been-singles/566718/30 "2015-12-07T22:59:01Z")
> [@psychonaut](#): > > I was going to start my own thread on this topic, but a quick search revealed this neglected one which I’m choosing to zombify. 🙂 > > Here’s my list: > [ul] > [li]“Sin’s A Good Man’s Brother” by Grand Funk Railroad, from the 1970 album _Closer to Home_. A heavy, pounding guitar riff and anguished, caterwauling, rock-opera-style vocals. Would have been right at home at the top of the charts alongside Led Zeppelin and Ian Gillan-era Deep Purple.[/li] > _snip_ > [/ul] What a good call ! I had forgotten about that tune; thanks for the reminder. Damn, that song rocks! Speaking of Elton (in the OP), Almost any of the songs on\* Capt. Fantastic…\* are better than the hit from that album. My vote would be for “Tell Me When the Whistle Blows”. Rock with a bluesy back-beat and catchy lyrics. ---
**Author:** ![ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chockfullofheadygoodness/32/511_2.png) [@ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2015, 6:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/album-cuts-that-shoulda-been-singles/566718/31 "2015-12-08T06:54:01Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Does anyone have a cite for this? I’m skeptical, partly because the first single from their next album (which was, admittedly, on a different label) was by Dave. It was in Dave’s book [Kink: An Autobiography](http://www.amazon.com/Kink-An-Autobiography-Dave-Davies/dp/0786861495). I don’t have my copy available, so I can’t give you a page number or the exact quote. Maybe releasing “Rock and Roll Cities” as the lead single for the first MCA album was sort of a make-up, when Ray realized just how much of a fan favorite “Living on a Thin Line” was. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/album-cuts-that-shoulda-been-singles/566718.md?page=1)