Classic 45's Jukebox

Collector Nerd Alert: Here's another case where if one behaves like a man from Mars and looks at this record's labels with no other information about the record, one would conclude that "I Can Give You More" was the intended A side, and perhaps it was. But to persist in acting as if that's the record's "A" side in the face of overwhelming sales and airplay data that show "I Can't Live Without My Radio" was L.L. Cool J's first hit, reaching #15 on Billboard's Black/RnB Singles chart, and it's also the side that lands him at #550 on Dave Marsh's list of the 1,001 greatest 45s of Rock'n'Soul. Yes, the market-demoted "B" side is a fine piece of Rap/Hip-Hop, but the award for most significant side, and therefore the "A" side in our way of thinking, clearly goes to "...Radio". That's the side collectors will be seeking, and it should be placed rightfully as the "A" side of this particular 45, the label information notwithstanding. It behooves any discography to put each record in the context of its period in terms of chart data, airplay and sales data, and awards of various kinds from institutions and influential writers.

* A 5-star rating in my iTunes library translates to a 2-star recommendation from us (yes, my wife gets to weigh in, too. :-) on Classic 45s; a 4-star, to a 1-star. Of course, our recommendations only show on a record's detailed page or in a search list for 45s that aren't already on one of the other lists we maintain — Dave Marsh, Kev Roberts, and Rolling Stone.

OK, trivia time again... "Brown Sugar" was one of eight #1 U.S. singles by the Stones. The group also had eight chart-toppers in their native England, though over there they garnered all of those hits during the 1960s.

Here is the list of the Stones' #1 U.S. singles:

This is a second pressing with "Warner Communications" on the label. Note: This beautiful copy has no notable flaws, grading Mint across the board (Labels, Vinyl, Audio).