B-Side

Released 45 years ago today: “Computer World” by Kraftwerk. This 8th album by the German ‘krautrock’ / synth-pop group arrived three years after “The Man-Machine” and included several singles like “Pocket Calculator” and the UK #1 hit “Computer Love.” This 1981 album’s concept predicts the full integration of computers into society during an era when home computing and digital communication was in its infancy. It reached #72 Billboard (#15 UK; #7 Germany) while earning review

55 years ago, 23-year-old folk-rock songwriter James Taylor released “Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon.” Arriving 15 months after his breakthrough LP “Sweet Baby James,” this third album reached #2 Billboard while earning good reviews. This was blocked from #1 by his friend Carole King’s recent smash album “Tapestry,” both albums featured #1 hit versions of her song “You’ve Got a Friend,” Taylor’s rendition features backing vocals by Joni Mitchell. Carole plays piano on se

Single released 60 years ago today: “Wild Thing” by The Troggs. Fronted by singer Reg Presley (24), this second single by the English garage-rock band launched them into stardom, a Billboard #1 hit that also reached the Top Ten in almost all reporting countries around the world. New Yorker Chip Taylor (1940-2026) said that he wrote Wild Thing very quickly the previous year for NY band the Wild Ones; that version did not chart. After The Troggs’ version hit big, the song was c