"General Hospital" is a daytime soap opera that I've known about since I actually got out of hospital after my birth. Even as a toddler, I'd been aware of characters such as nurse Jessie Brewer, Dr. Steve Hardy and lawyer Lee Baldwin. However going into the 1980s, I and a lot of North America suddenly realized that one of television's longest-running programs spiked in popularity, intrigue and sex appeal because of the Luke & Laura story line. I didn't actually get sucked into that plot but then afterwards, I started watching in 1982 when Luke Spencer had supposedly died and then come back from the dead to get into some more mystery which involved spies like Robert Scorpio of the WSB and the enigma that was Holly Sutton.
Unfortunately, the above video has Luke and Holly meeting up but it doesn't have the scene where the latter first appeared. It was accompanied by a sultry R&B number that I would later find out was titled "Baby, Come to Me" although the Wikipedia article identified the song as a love theme for Luke. It was around the same time that a young Demi Moore would make her presence felt as crusading reporter Jackie Templeton.
At the time, I was still getting my feet wet in terms of my newfound appreciation for pop music and since "Baby, Come to Me" was something that was being played in the background while the actors were saying their lines, I didn't quite fall for it back then. However, as sung by Patti Austin and the late James Ingram who contributed mightily to Quincy Jones' "The Dude" in 1981, I've come to discover that the love ballad is one of the very best of Quiet Storm, a genre that I often associate with one Anita Baker.
"Baby, Come to Me" was released in April 1982 but it had first become known as a track on Austin's September 1981 album "Every Home Should Have One". I hadn't known that and what I also didn't know that the album version had a slightly longer intro. But once it was put out as a single in the spring of 1982, it did OK by peaking at No. 73 on Billboard but with the boost in popularity thanks to its use in "General Hospital", it was given a second release later in October and finally hit No. 1 in early 1983.
May I say that this ballad really brings back the nostalgia and the wonders of late 70s and early 80s R&B. Plus, Michael McDonald is once again providing wonderful backing chorus. Rod Temperton created the song while the aforementioned Jones produced the whole ball of wax. The recording musicians were no slouches either: David Foster, Temperton, Greg Phillinganes and Steve Lukather among others.
To specify, the album "Every Home Should Have One" was released on September 28th 1981. Well, I was able to track down the list of the top songs in Japan on that very day. The top three are as follows:
1. Imo Kin Trio -- High School Lullaby
Fireminer here. This is the first time in a very, very long time I listened to "Baby, Come to Me". Somehow the first impression I've got of it is the realization how much more vocally demanding singers used to be subjected too. I guess that when you lacked all the fancy digital adjustment tool, you just had got to be a good singer to make it.
ReplyDeleteAnd "High School Lullaby" definitely has some YMO in it. the production though... I guess they did it like that to give it a more comedic & amateurish feel?
Hello, Fireminer. Yeah, it's been a while for me, too, to listen to "Baby, Come to Me". Happy that I've been able to do the ROYs to re-discover some of the ol' R&B. Interesting point about how things being analog (relatively speaking back then) meant that talent and practice were even more vital.
Delete"High School Lullaby" definitely has the YMO touch. In fact, the "Imo" in the group's name was a shoutout to a mispronunciation of YMO by their mentor, comedian Kin'ichi Hagiwara. It also explains the goofy choreography; the three were playing the comedian's sons or nephews in a variety show.
守ってあげたい is a classic! And, I have heard "High School Lullaby" a bit, I did not know the name of the song so at first I thought I did not know it. I have heard "Baby, Come to Me" in a long time! I never owned the song, but I heard it playing on the radio when I was a child. Good memories here!
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