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Today, the sad story of songwriter Janna Allen, who co-wrote several hits for Hall & Oates--including today's Great Song of 1981: "Kiss On My List." . Janna was the sister of Sara Allen, Daryl Hall's longtime girlfriend (and the Sara referred to in the song "Sara Smile.")
Janna was interested in becoming a solo artist, so Daryl helped her write "Kiss On My Lips" with an eye on having her record it.
In fact, he recorded a demo version for Janna as sort of a guide for how it should sound...but when his manager heard it, he insisted that it should be recorded by Hall and Oates, with NO Janna.
In fact, the production team just added John and some extra instrumentation to the demo, and released it as a single.
At least Janna got a songwriting credit for it.
According to Daryl, the song is almost universally misunderstood. In an interview with Songfacts.com, he said, "Everyone thinks it's 'I love you and without you I would die.' It's exactly the opposite of that. The lyric, "Your kiss is on my list of the best things in life" means that the kiss is simply another item on the guy's list, and certainly not the best thing."
As for Janna, she went on to co-write several other Hall and Oates hits (including "Private Eyes," (which we will highlight in the future).
Unfortunately, her future aspirations for a solo career were cut short. In 1993, she died of Leukemia at Daryl and Sara's home in New York. She was only 36.
"Kiss On My List" by Hall & Oates & Janna Allen: A Great Song of 1981! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pIHILw_ekA
Tomorrow: Alabama Crossing
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