''Shades of Love'' is a collection of romantic and dramatic

made-for-television A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

and

direct-to-video Direct-to-video or straight-to-video refers to the release of a film, TV series, short or special to the public immediately on home video formats rather than an initial theatrical release or television premiere. This distribution strategy was p ...

films. The films paired well-known leading men with lesser known Canadian actresses. Aired in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

and sold individually on VHS in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

, the ''Shades of Love'' film series was geared towards females who bought romance novels. Each title featured a popular love song that appeared as part of the soundtrack. Some of the later titles were paired with older ones and sold as "A Double Feature Romance". It was distributed on home video by Lorimar Home Video (formerly Karl/Lorimar Home Video) in the United States, and aired on television on Astral's First Choice cable channel, and had novelization tie-ins from Cloverdale Press, and had a budget of $1 million per episode from the series. It was produced by L/A House Productions, which paid $400,000 million to make the movies.

Titles

Soundtrack

soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack o ...

released on

vinyl Vinyl may refer to: Chemistry * Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a particular vinyl polymer * Vinyl cation, a type of carbocation * Vinyl group, a broad class of organic molecules in chemistry * Vinyl polymer, a group of polymers derived from vinyl m ...

and

cassette tape The Compact Cassette or Musicassette (MC), also commonly called the tape cassette, cassette tape, audio cassette, or simply tape or cassette, is an analog magnetic tape recording format for audio recording and playback. Invented by Lou Ottens ...

featured songs from many of the films in the series. Track Listing: * "

Tonight, I Celebrate My Love "Tonight, I Celebrate My Love" is a romantic ballad written by lyricist Gerry Goffin with Michael Masser and recorded by Peabo Bryson and Roberta Flack for their 1983 album of duets, '' Born to Love'', issued as the lead single. The track—produ ...

" –

Peabo Bryson Robert Peapo "Peabo" Bryson (born April 13, 1951) is an American singer and songwriter. He is known for singing soul ballads (often as a duet with female singers) including the 1983 hit "Tonight, I Celebrate My Love" with Roberta Flack. Bryson ...

and

Roberta Flack Roberta Cleopatra Flack (born February 10, 1937) is a retired American singer. She topped the Billboard Magazine, ''Billboard'' charts with the No. 1 singles "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face", "Killing Me Softly with His Song", "Feel Like M ...

(from ''Sincerely, Violet'') * " Baby, Come to Me" –

James Ingram James Edward Ingram (February 16, 1952 – January 29, 2019) was an American singer, songwriter and record producer. He was a two-time Grammy Award-winner and a two-time Academy Awards, Academy Award nominee for Academy Award for Best Original ...

Patti Austin Patti Austin (born August 10, 1950) is an American R&B, pop, and jazz singer and songwriter. Music career Austin was born in Harlem, New York, to Gordon Austin, a jazz trombonist. She was raised in Bay Shore, New York on Long Island. Quincy ...

(from ''Lilac Dream'') * "

You are My Lady You Are My Lady is a 1985 single by Freddie Jackson that followed his debut single, "Rock Me Tonight (For Old Times Sake)." It was the second single from his debut album, ''Rock Me Tonight''. Like his debut single, "You Are My Lady" hit number ...

" –

Freddie Jackson Frederick Anthony Jackson (born October 2, 1956) is an American singer. Originally from New York, Jackson began his professional music career in the late 1970s with the California funk band Mystic Merlin. Among his well–known R&B/soul hits are ...

(from ''The Garnet Princess'') * "You're A Part Of Me" –

Gene Cotton Gene Cotton (born June 30, 1944 in Columbus, Ohio) is an American pop and folk singer-songwriter. He is best known for his four ''Billboard'' top 40 entries during the years 1976–1978. In the UK, he is most famous for the song "Me and the E ...

Kim Carnes Kim Carnes (; born July 20, 1945) is an American singer and songwriter. Born and raised in Los Angeles, California, she began her career as a songwriter in the 1960s, writing for other artists while performing in local clubs and working as a sess ...

(from ''The Rose Cafe'') * "Every Time I See Your Picture" –

Luba Luba may refer to: Geography *Kingdom of Luba, a pre-colonial Central African empire *Ľubá, a village and municipality in the Nitra region of south-west Slovakia *Luba, Abra, a municipality in the Philippines *Luba, Equatorial Guinea, a town o ...

(from ''Champagne For Two'') * "

We've Got Tonight "We've Got Tonite" is a song written by American rock music artist Bob Seger, from his album '' Stranger in Town'' (1978). The single record charted twice for Seger, and was developed from a prior song that he had written. Further versions chart ...

" –

Kenny Rogers Kenneth Ray Rogers (August 21, 1938 – March 20, 2020) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2013. Rogers was particularly popular with country audiences but also charted mo ...

and

Sheena Easton Sheena Shirley Easton (; born 27 April 1959) is a Scottish singer and actress. Easton came into the public eye in an episode of the first British musical reality television programme '' The Big Time: Pop Singer'', which recorded her attempts to ...

(from ''Make Mine Chartreuse'') * "

The Sweetest Thing (I've Ever Known) "The Sweetest Thing (I've Ever Known)" is a country- pop song written by Otha Young for Juice Newton in the mid-1970s. Newton was known for charting hits on the Hot 100, Adult Contemporary, and Hot Country charts - and this song has the distincti ...

" –

Juice Newton Judith Kay "Juice" Newton (born February 18, 1952) is an American pop and country singer, songwriter, and musician. Newton has received five Grammy Award nominations in the Pop and Country Best Female Vocalist categorieswinning once in 1983as well ...

(from ''Echoes In Crimson'') * "Wildflower" –

Skylark ''Alauda'' is a genus of larks found across much of Europe, Asia and in the mountains of north Africa, and one of the species (the Raso lark) endemic to the islet of Raso in the Cape Verde Islands. Further, at least two additional species are ...

* "Always Saying Goodbye" – Rex Smith lyrics by Kenneth Atchity (from ''The Ballerina and The Blues'') * "Moonlight Flight" – lyrics by Kenneth Atchity (from ''Moonlight Flight'') * "The Queen of Walls" – lyrics by Kenneth Atchity (from ''The Garnet Princess'') * "Shades of Love (Theme)" –

Lewis Furey Lewis Furey, born Lewis Greenblatt (born 7 June 1949) is a Canadian composer, singer, violinist, pianist, actor and director. Career Born in Montreal, Quebec to French and American parents, Furey trained as a classical violinist, and at age 11 ...

* "

Joy to the World "Joy to the World" is an English Christmas carol. The carol was written in 1719 by the English minister and hymnwriter Isaac Watts, and its lyrics are an interpretation of Psalm 98 celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ. Today, the carol is usua ...

" is used in ''Echoes In Crimson''. * "

Good King Wenceslas "Good King Wenceslas" is a Christmas carol that tells a story of a Bohemian king who goes on a journey, braving harsh winter weather, to give alms to a poor peasant on the Feast of Stephen (December 26, the Second Day of Christmas). During the ...

" is used in ''Midnight Magic''. * Music from the operas ''Mefistophile'' and ''

Madama Butterfly ''Madama Butterfly'' (; ''Madame Butterfly'') is an opera in three acts (originally two) by Giacomo Puccini, with an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It is based on the short story "Madame Butterfly" (1898) by John Luther ...

'' was featured in ''Little White Lies'' * "

Jamaica Farewell "Jamaica Farewell" is a Jamaican-style folk song (mento). The lyrics for the song were written by Lord Burgess (Irving Burgie), an American-born, half- Barbadian songwriter. It is about the beauties of the West Indian Islands. Harry Belafonte ...

", a traditional calypso tune, was used in ''Make Mine Chartreuse * The 3rd movement of the Haydn Trumpet Concerto in E flat was used in ''Sincerely, Violet''. * The 1st movement of

Vivaldi Antonio Lucio Vivaldi (4 March 1678 – 28 July 1741) was an Italian composer, virtuoso violinist and impresario of Baroque music. Regarded as one of the greatest Baroque composers, Vivaldi's influence during his lifetime was widespread a ...

's Violin Concerto in A minor RV356 was used in ''Midnight Magic''. * The song "Nothing Can Stand In Your Way" by

Zappacosta Alfredo Peter "Alfie" Zappacosta (born July 5, 1953), also known by just his surname, is an Italian-born Canadian musician. Career Zappacosta's first band was Surrender, a five-piece group that recorded three albums in the late 1970s and earl ...

was featured in ''Sunset Court'' but not included in the soundtrack release. * The song " Cruisin'" – by

Smokey Robinson William "Smokey" Robinson Jr. (born February 19, 1940) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and former record executive director. He was the founder and front man of the Motown vocal group the Miracles, for which he was also chief ...

was featured in ''The Emerald Tear'' but not included in the soundtrack release. * The song "I Just Fall In Love Again" – by

Anne Murray Morna Anne Murray (born June 20, 1945) is a retired Canadian singer. Her albums, consisting primarily of pop, country, and adult contemporary music, have sold over 55 million copies worldwide during her over 40-year career. Murray was the fir ...

was featured in ''Tangerine Taxi'' but not included in the soundtrack release. * The song "The One By Your Side" by Chantal Condor was featured in ''Little White Lies'' but not included in the soundtrack release. * The song " When a Man Loves a Woman" – covered by

, was featured in ''Midnight Magic'' but not included in the soundtrack release. *The song "Riptide" – by Robert Palmer was featured in ''Indigo Autumn'' but not included in the soundtrack release. * The song "Can't We Try" – by

Dan Hill Daniel Grafton Hill IV (born 3 June 1954) is a Canadian pop singer and songwriter. He had two major international hits with his songs "Sometimes When We Touch" and "Can't We Try", a duet with Vonda Shepard, as well as a number of other charting ...

and

Vonda Shepard Vonda Shepard (born July 7, 1963) is an American singer, songwriter, music director and actress. She appeared as a regular in the television show '' Ally McBeal'', as a resident performer in the bar where the show's characters drank, danced and c ...

was featured in ''The Man Who'' ''Guards The Greenhouse'' but not included in the soundtrack release. * In addition to performing "Always Saying Goodbye", Rex Smith also performed "Bourbon Street" in ''The Ballerina and the Blues''.

Allusions

* In ''Echoes In Crimson'' Grant mentions the film '' Duck Soup'', does an impersonation of

Groucho Marx Julius Henry "Groucho" Marx (; October 2, 1890 – August 19, 1977) was an American comedian, actor, writer, stage, film, radio, singer, television star and vaudeville performer. He is generally considered to have been a master of quick wit an ...

, and reads lines to Anne from

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

's ''

Twelfth Night ''Twelfth Night'', or ''What You Will'' is a romantic comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written around 1601–1602 as a Twelfth Night's entertainment for the close of the Christmas season. The play centres on the twins Vio ...

''. * In ''Echoes In Crimson'' the film ''

It's a Wonderful Life ''It's a Wonderful Life'' is a 1946 American Christmas by medium#Films, Christmas Fantasy film, fantasy drama film produced and directed by Frank Capra, based on the short story and booklet ''The Greatest Gift'', which Philip Van Doren Stern se ...

'' plays on the television.

References

External links

The Great Canadian Guide To The Movies & TV
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * {{IMDb title, id=0236732, title=The Man Who Guards The Greenhouse Direct-to-video film series Canadian drama television films Canadian film series