AMC and OLTL FanFest Luncheon '05

Thank Goodness for people like Carol Dickson, the tireless All My Children and One Life To Live Fan Club president. She mounted a fantastic event a couple of weekends ago in Manhattan for die-hard fans of those two shows. The annual AMC and OLTL luncheon was a blast. Thank you Carol!

I’d never been to a fan event before, but I had a great time and learned alot about the dedication fans have to their favorite shows. My husband John, performing artist Sophia Kartadinata-Levy (she’s on the OLTL CD!) and her husband Phil Levy helped me carry our Soapsongs CDS and fliers to the table that Carol so graciously allowed us to exhibit at. I met hundreds of fans from all across the country who’d travelled here to meet and greet the actors from these shows and purchase souvenirs from the various actors’ fan clubs. And the souvenirs were many! From beautiful one-of-a-kind dungaree jackets with photos of all the characters in Llanview and Pine Valley to pens, music CDs and key chains — this group of vendors had it all.

You could even buy a raffle ticket for a dinner with the star of your favorite show, or a furry designer coat some cute size 2 actress (aren’t they all?!!!) had worn while in character.

I met fans who’d been searching for years on internet and in stores to find a song they’d heard on the soaps - and there I was, able to immediately tell them what the song’s title was, and how they could now obtain it through Soapsongs.com.

For me, the best thing was being able to get immediate feedback from fans about what music they had noticed on the soaps, and what delighted or annoyed them. Some people wanted the music turned up because they could barely make out the lyrics, and others wanted it turned down because they wanted to hear every single word an actor spoke without the distraction of music.

I was particularly tickled by one fan who quoted the words from one of our songs that played on the Valentines Day 2004 episode of OLTL “ Girl don’t you know that I want you, so won’t you stay. I got a lifetime of love to put on you, don’t walk away. “ Sandy wanted to know where to find that song - and I was so flattered that she remembered it, because it was used for all of 30 seconds when Bo and Nora danced to it that day!

And just yesterday I got an email from someone who’d been at one of the other soapfan events that same weekend asking me if I knew anything about the John-Natalie song called “Invisible Man”. Well, I sure did, because it was written by one of our writers - and it’s been used in many of John’s agonizing-over-Natalie scenes on OLTL. No one had been able to find that song, so I was happy to be able to solve the mystery for the music fans who loved it. Knowing which songs are popular with fans also helps me figure out what to put on on future Soapsongs CDs.

But what made me truly happy was knowing that the long hours my writers and I spend composing music and songs that air for a few seconds on soaps is NOT IN VAIN, and that people actually notice them and want to hear them again!

Anyway, I just want to say THANK YOU to all of you who find your way to Soapsongs.com with your “what was that song?” questions, because now I know you’re really listening closely. If you’ve got a question I can’t answer, I’ll be sure to convey your questions to the music supervisors who emerge from their editing rooms at the end of long, hard days looking for just the right song to delight you with!

Please check out the photos I’ve posted of the AMC/OLTL Fan Luncheon ‘05 : http://soapsongs.blogs.com/photos/amcoltl_fanfest/
Talk to you later!

When a Song Loves A Soap

Wow, did anyone notice that beautiful use of "When A Man Loves A Woman" on today's General Hospital episode? (July 13, 2005) Nothing like a great, classic song to pull together a montage about love. Sometimes an instantly recognizeable song like that can bring you back to a place in your own life when you first heard that song, and the scene has even more meaning for you as you watch and listen.

When there isn't any dialogue in a scene, and the song is "saying it for the characters", a whole different dimension is added to the experience. In the best montages, I feel like the soap is no longer flat on my screen -- and I'm Barbara in Wonderland wandering right through the tv looking glass and totally surrounded by what's going on in the show. I can really identify with what's happening to the characters.

Music by itself is pretty abstract - we don't really know what the notes "mean" in and of themselves, but when a lyric is added to the mix, the music suddenly has a more distinct role. It supports the lyric! Add to that a series of visuals, and the effect is now considerably more potent. That's why those montages with songs are so carefully constructed by the music supervisors and their production team. They want to knock you out!

Which is why sometimes it's NOT a good idea to use a well-known song in a montage. The song may remind you of the last time you danced to it with your soon-to-be-ex! Instead of reacting positively to the scene, you might feel depressed. Many times, I've heard from soap fans it's exciting to hear a song you've NEVER heard before, or one that isn't even yet on a CD -- because you don't have any emotional baggage attached to that song, and you can experience that scene and that song as Madonna nicely put it, "like a virgin". And how fun it can be to discover an unsigned singer or songwriter who's not even on the radio yet. He or she is yours alone - for the time being, anyway. Many other great tv shows like the OC or shows on the WB network like to introduce their audience to fresh songs for that reason.

So keep me posted on what songs you're blown away by on soaps -- and whether you have a preference for hearing songs you've never previously heard...or songs you already know and like. You can email me at bjordan@soapsongs.com. Okay, I've gotta go now and write some new songs!

A song on Friday, 7/8/05's YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS!

Welcome to Soapsongs.com's new blog. I'm Barbara Jordan, head of A&R for Songs of The Soaps, and the writer and publisher of many songs you've heard on daytime soaps and wondered "what was that song I just heard...it's not in record stores...so I should call the show and find out where I can get that song!" Try this URL for starters : http://www.soapsongs.com/page/mp3store.asp

It's been busy in the world of soap opera music lately. So many of my favorite characters are getting into their usual trouble, only this time a touching song will play in their key scenes -- suggesting that there's hope for them!

On Friday 7/8/05, one of our most talented and prolific singer songwriters, Michael Kisur, will be heard on The Young and The Restless in a beautiful scene involving the Daniel-Lily storyline. The song he wrote and sings was inspired by the death of Cassie, the character on Young and Restless who was recently killed in a car crash on the show. Mike wrote the song when Cassie was in a coma, and now it's about to be used in a scene directly relating to Cassie's death. I'm a big fan of Mike Kisur, and I think this is one of his best songs yet. Go to our site and you can listen to a short clip of it : http://www.soapsongs.com/sunshine.asp

I've been super-busy these last few weeks, getting music to many new Fall season tv shows out there...but my most interesting work is always with the soaps, because frankly, contrary to what most people think about soaps, they do have cutting edge music as well as gorgeous traditional styles of music! And music that no one has ever heard on the radio!!

I get a lot of email from fans who've heard a song on a show and want to know where they can buy it. Well, not all the songs you hear on tv are commercially available. That's why Soapsongs.com was created - to make songs available to fans who have requested them. Whether the song was featured in a scene, or just played partially in the background, you can now purchase a song that you had once been told was not commercially available.

I'm very interested in hearing from any fans who either have questions about songs they've heard, or comments about them. Music is my life and my business, and it's great to have a forum to talk about it. I've been involved with music since I was 8 years old, as a writer, performer, music supervisor, publisher for songs in film and television, and now in A&R for the Songs of The Soaps record label. And I'm still excited when I hear a great song! So tell me about your experiences listening to the songs you've heard on tv. I'm all ears. http://www.soapsongs.com/page/index.asp