“Think of Laura” – Christopher Cross
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On April 17, 1982, Denison University student Laura Carter was killed by a stray bullet in Columbus, Ohio while riding in a car with her parents. Singer-songwriter Christopher Cross knew Carter and was dating her best friend Paige McNinch at the time. He wrote “Think of Laura” as a tribute to Carter and as a way of offering solace to McNinch.
In 1983, the popular ABC soap opera General Hospital used the song as the theme for its “Luke and Laura” storyline. ABC never paid Cross for using “Think of Laura” and never asked for permission to use it. In fact, the songwriter said he asked them to stop playing it, but they refused.
As wrong as ABC was for not respecting Christopher Cross’s wishes (and not paying him), it still should be noted that the network’s soap opera gave his song a big boost. It had been released in Jan. 1983 as a track on his Another Page album. Only after the song had widespread exposure on General Hospital was it released as a single in Dec. 1983. It quickly became a hit, reaching #9 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart, where it remained in the top spot for four weeks.
On April 17, 1982, Denison University student Laura Carter was killed by a stray bullet in Columbus, Ohio while riding in a car with her parents. Singer-songwriter Christopher Cross knew Carter and was dating her best friend Paige McNinch at the time. He wrote “Think of Laura” as a tribute to Carter and as a way of offering solace to McNinch.
In 1983, the popular ABC soap opera General Hospital used the song as the theme for its “Luke and Laura” storyline. ABC never paid Cross for using “Think of Laura” and never asked for permission to use it. In fact, the songwriter said he asked them to stop playing it, but they refused.
As wrong as ABC was for not respecting Christopher Cross’s wishes (and not paying him), it still should be noted that the network’s soap opera gave his song a big boost. It had been released in Jan. 1983 as a track on his Another Page album. Only after the song had widespread exposure on General Hospital was it released as a single in Dec. 1983. It quickly became a hit, reaching #9 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart, where it remained in the top spot for four weeks.
