A Halmark Special

This Sunday, CBS Presents the first edition of "The Halmark Hal of Fam" for 1976: Richard Widmark starring in "Love Is An Awful Thing", with Joey Heatherton as his long suffering trophy wife, Chloe, Jodie Foster as Jolie, their tomboy daughter and Rodney Allen Rippy as Jolly, the neighbor boy who helps them to overcome their pain. With a classic theme song, sure to be a massive hit, sung by the great Bob Storm, reminiscent of that great hit of yesteryear, "Let's Lay It On the Line". Have a listen, won't you?

Download: Bob Storm - Love is an Awful Thing
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(I also notice, in listening to the above, that Halmark clearly had multi-track tapes of their frequently used backing tracks. There are elements in this rendition that I don't hear in the other songs featuring this track, including the aforementioned "Lay it on the Line", nor in "The Ballad of Johnny Horton".)

Bob Storm's flip side owes more than a bit of its melody and setting to "The Birth of the Blues". Perhaps not enough for a lawsuit, but there's certainly a similarity. Please also notice the use of "Mrs." on the label, something that would likely key any serious collector (who wasn't aware of song-poems) into wondering just what was going on with this record - seriously, have you ever seen a legit release with a writer credit containing Mr., Mrs., Ms. or Miss?

Download: Bob Storm - The Scent of Roses 

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