Marland Monday: Music Music Music
Is it Manic Monday? Yes, but it’s also…
Marland Monday!
You might be thinking “Jennifer, you did all of Marland’s rules.What else you can say about him?” Well, let’s find out.
As a writer, I use music in my writing. Lyrics are tricky; unless it’s in the public domain you might have to pay money to use them in your work. I think because in the age of MTV, music was on all the TV shows when I was growing up. Someone walking in a dark street? “You Belong To The City” by Glen Frey. Road trip to Memphis? “Graceland” by Paul Simon. Girlfriends sharing a tender moment? “That’s What Friends Are For” by Dionne Warwick, Elton John, Gladys Knight, and Stevie Wonder. Music played a part of Douglas Marland’s work as well. This week I’m going to concentrate on how it was used when he wrote for Guiding Light. Come with me as we, (quoting Dick Clark) rock, roll and remember!
“No More Tears (Enough is Enough)” by Donna Summer, Barbra Streisand: I’ve written about this before, but allow me to do it again. The first time I truly felt something suspenseful was watching the Hall of Mirrors scene on Guiding Light. Rita (Lenore Kasdorf) was trying to escape the man who raped her Roger (Michael Zaslow) who was wearing a clown mask (what is it with creepy clowns?) Since there were mirrors all around her, Rita had a hard time knowing where Roger was and what was an illusion. She went one way, she saw him. Another way, she could see him again. She can’t find her way out; everything looks alike. All the time Barbra and Donna are singing: If you’ve had enough, don’t put up with his stuff, don’t you do it
If you’ve had your fill, get the check pay the bill, you can do it…Enough is enough (is enough) I can’t go on, I can’t go on no more, no/Enough is enough (is enough)/ I want him out, I want him out that door now. As the song played, Rita became even more frightened. The viewer had no idea what was real and what wasn’t. I know it ripped off The Lady From Shanghai, but at least they ripped off the best.
“You Needed Me” Anne Murray: I’ve written about Morgan and Kelly before, but again, indulge me. Kelly (John Wesley Shipp) sang the song at Hope (Elvera Roussel) and Alan’s (Christopher Berneau) wedding. Morgan (Kristen Vigard) had made mistakes during their courtship; running away to Chicago, getting in a car with a drunk driver (Kevin Bacon) that resulted in a bad car crash that left her in a coma, and finding out she had a long lost sister Amanda (Kathleen Cullen) Yet Kelly was there for her, as she sold my soul, you bought it back for me/And held me up and gave me dignity/Somehow you needed me. Kelly made bad choices too, sleeping with Morgan’s best friend Nola (Which I’ve written about) yet Morgan put Kelly up high on a pedestal. Why? She needed him (yes, bad pun. Stay where you are folks, I’ll be here all week)
“Misty,” Johnny Mathis: The summer of 1980, Alan started to have flashbacks of his first love, Janice Stafford. As he remembered her, their song “Misty” would play. Look at me, I’m as helpless as a kitten in a tree. This showed a new side of Alan, who was trying to be a better man for wife Hope. A couple of months later, we saw Morgan’s mom Jennifer (Geraldine Court) one day playing the piano at the Wexler mansion where she worked. She started playing “Misty” Walk my way/And a thousand violins begin to play… We got wrapped up in the music, then out of nowhere we saw a gloved hand carrying a gold plated letter opener as the song went on. (I wish I could find the scene online but haven’t had any luck) I don’t want to give too much away but I love how they used the song first as a backdrop for young love, then for an attempted murder. Let’s face it, when someone is playing “Misty” on the piano, you don’t think you need to watch out for someone carrying a letter opener, wanting to kill you.
Pachelbel’s Canon in D: After Nola reinvented herself, she soon found a new love interest: Quintin McCord (Michael Tylo) They went to St. Croix and partook in scuba diving. The classical piece of music had become popular since it had been used in Ordinary People. As they went underwater, the song played. It fit for them; for months Nola called Quintin “Mr. McCord” and he called her “Miss Reardon” They were old fashioned and sweet with each other, so it made sense their song belonged to another time.
My memory is blanking, but did Marland use other songs in his writing? I know he used “Someone To Watch Over Me” but I don’t want to give too much away since it was connected to a mystery. If you know, let me know here or Twitter at @jenniferkate. Tune in next week, and as Casey Kasem used to say keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars!
