Top 10 Alert!
Song#: 1727 Date: 12/10/1983
Debut: 67
Peak: 9
Weeks: 17
Genre: Soft Rock, Adult Contemporary
Pop Bits: Cross' second album, Another Page, wasn't doing nearly as well as his platinum debut. The LP's first single, "All Right," stalled outside the Top 10 and a second single was locked out to the Top 30. Although the album initially shipped at gold level and was certified as such, sales were actually flat and it seemed the album was on the verge of disappearing. Then came this third single which got a much needed boost from a TV soap opera. General Hospital was a cultural phenomenon at the time with the Luke and Laura characters being wildly popular. There was a point in their story line where Laura goes missing for an extended period of time. The producers of the show needed a song to play when Luke reflects back on Laura and asked Cross if they could use this song. He agreed and the song began to get played on the soap. The extra publicity paid off handsomely and the single soon found its way into the Pop Top 10. It did even better at AC reaching #1 and staying there for four weeks. No one really knows what the fate of the single might have been had it not been on the soap, but no one can deny that it certainly made the song a hit. It would be Cross' last appearance in the Pop Top 10.
ReduxReview: Ugh. I was a GH fan, but was not a fan of this song. I can still remember those awful flashbacks to Laura and this song playing. Luke would be all mournful and sad while Cross whined his way through the tune. And then I had to endure the single on radio. I was just over Cross by that time and didn't wanna hear it, or really anything he had to offer. I know lots of folks love this song and it brings back memories of GH, but I still don't care for the tune. I think Cross got super lucky with this one. Had it not been featured on GH, I doubt this would have even gotten into the Top 40. The results were awesome for Cross, but I'll still skip it.
ReduxRating: 4/10
Trivia: Double Shot! 1) No, this song was not written specifically for the soap. It actually has a bit of a sad origin. Apparently, Cross was dating a woman named Paige who was attending Denison University in Ohio. She had a roommate at the time named Laura Carter. Cross had met Carter while visiting Paige at the college. One evening Carter's parents were visiting and they got in the car after a lacrosse match to head out for dinner. Unbeknownst to them, there was some kind of altercation going on about a block away and gun shots were fired. A stray bullet ended up striking Carter and she died. The tragedy affected Paige and to help her through the difficult time, Cross wrote this song. The inner sleeve of the Another Page album has a photo of Cross and Paige. 2) The R&B group Boyz II Men recorded a version of this song titled "Think of Aaliyah (The Aaliyah Song)." It was done as a tribute to R&B star Aaliyah who died in a plane crash in 2001.
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