b/w General Hospi-Tale (Instrumental)
| Released: July, 1981 (MCA) Written by: Harry King & Lisa Tedesco Produced by: Harry King Album: General Hospi-Tale |
Note: when I label a song a "Lost AT40 Single," I'm only speaking for myself. Your mileage may vary.
So I'm listening to a rerun of the American Top 40 broadcast from October 3, 1981 and sandwiched between songs from legendary artists John Lennon and Simon & Garfunkel, I heard words I hadn't heard in 33 years:
"General Hospi-Tale" was a rap parody of the soap opera General Hospital in which a female voice rapped basic plot lines from the show over a disco beat. In addition to the rapping, re-created soap opera dialogue is interspersed throughout. The chorus was sung by a mostly female backing group, ending with the aforementioned punchline. There's also an occasional yakety sax line that is catchy as hell and sticks in your head for days.
So I'm listening to a rerun of the American Top 40 broadcast from October 3, 1981 and sandwiched between songs from legendary artists John Lennon and Simon & Garfunkel, I heard words I hadn't heard in 33 years:
"I just can't cope without my soap!"
"General Hospi-Tale" was a rap parody of the soap opera General Hospital in which a female voice rapped basic plot lines from the show over a disco beat. In addition to the rapping, re-created soap opera dialogue is interspersed throughout. The chorus was sung by a mostly female backing group, ending with the aforementioned punchline. There's also an occasional yakety sax line that is catchy as hell and sticks in your head for days.
I can't speak to the accuracy of the rap as I didn't watch General Hospital. My sister was a Guiding Light fan, which meant that if I wanted to watch a soap, it had to be that. I tried it for a while in the summer of '81, but quickly realized soap operas weren't my thing. However, General Hospital was earning more than $50 million a year in profits in 1981 and was watched by over 14 million people every day. In other words, this single had a built-in audience. A month after this single peaked, the marriage of popular characters Luke and Laura would net a viewership of 30 million people—the highest rated soap opera episode ever.
On the October 3 AT40 show, "General Hospi-Tale" was "up a notch" at position 33, which would be its peak chart position (it would peak at #23 on the R&B chart around the same time). The song spent a total of 5 weeks in the Top 40. Originally a single-only release, an album was hastily put together in order to cash in on the single's (minor) success, but never saw the album charts.
I can't in good conscience give this a good grade, but that doesn't mean that it isn't worth a listen every few years.
I can't in good conscience give this a good grade, but that doesn't mean that it isn't worth a listen every few years.
Note: there are better recordings available on the interwebs, but I had to include this one because Solid Gold.
Like your sister, I was a Guiding Light fan. My brother and cousin were both into General Hospital. That said, I owned this on a 45 because it was a great novelty song. From what I know, the lyrics were very accurate to the plotline.
ReplyDeleteFYI: the group came from Boston and consisted of Rebecca Hall, Suzanne Boucher, Janet Powell and Robalee Barnes. They took their name from the Starland Band's number 1 hit from 1976.
ReplyDeleteTrack 20, Disc 1 of my mammoth 7-disc Rhino Like, Omigod! The '80s Pop Culture Box... A 'D+' pretty much tells the whole "tale".
ReplyDelete