Friday, January 1, 2010

"No-o My Brother; You Got To Buy Your Own."



You remember the commercial for "Hey Love," a mid-1980s late-night spot that advertised 1960s and 1970s slow jams? You probably can't recall the songs offered. But what you do remember--no doubt--is when one actor in the commercial asks to borrow the compliation and is rebuffed by the second actor with a line that became immortal:

"No-o My Brother; You Got To Buy Your Own."

The line became a part of pop culture lexicon for years, turning up with a wink on the tv show "Martin" and the movie "House Party." Even in 1989's "Say Anything," John Cusack's Lloyd Dobler character asks, "Hey my brother, can I borrow a copy of your "Hey Soul Classics"? Dobler's young brother replies: "No, my brother, you have to go buy your own." The line still resonates. I was at a gathering two weeks ago of 30- and 40-something black folks and the line was mentioned, bringing a laugh.

The commercial is still fun to watch. The guy who utters the line is John Canada Terrell, who would become better known as the pretty boy Greer Childs character in Spike Lee's 1987 breakthrough film "She's Gotta Have It."

3 comments:

Julia said...

Love this! all i can see, however, is that little white kid with a mullet reciting these lines in 'say anything.' Mulleted-white kid. sigh.

Art said...

It's back again! in a new commercial for Gillette Fusion Glide.

Anonymous said...

Lee, you are a cultural treasure--a repository of invaluable information. lol When do you find time to sleep?