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Andrea True

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Andrea True
True performing in 1976
True performing in 1976
Background information
Birth nameAndrea Marie Truden[1] (alternative: Andreja Marija Truden)[2]
Born(1943-07-26)July 26, 1943
Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.
DiedNovember 7, 2011(2011-11-07) (aged 68)
Kingston, New York, U.S.
GenresDisco
Occupation(s)Pornographic actress, singer, producer
Years active1972–1995
LabelsBuddah Records

Andrea Marie Truden[3] (July 26, 1943 – November 7, 2011),[3] better known by her pseudonym Andrea True, was an American pornographic actress and singer from the disco era.[4] In addition to her given name, she had multiple stage names, including Inger Kissin, Singe Low, Sandra Lips,[1] Andrea Travis, and Catherine Warren.

As a singer, she is best known for the 1976 pop-disco hit "More, More, More" (performed as part of her recording project, The Andrea True Connection), which peaked at No. 4 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and No. 5 on the UK Singles Chart.[5][6]

Early life

Andrea Marie Truden was born in Nashville, Tennessee,[3] where she attended St. Cecilia Academy, a Catholic school for girls dedicated to the performing arts.[7] She studied music at George Peabody College at Vanderbilt University.[7] Her father, Frank, was an engineer, who died when True was 16 years old.[8] Her mother, Anne, owned a silver plating business and was a professional singer, specializing in polka, and had recorded her own record and had performed with Frankie Yankovic's band.[8] Her parents were immigrants from Slovenia.[8]

As a child, True studied classical piano[8] and was given a high rating for her piano audition for St. Cecilia Academy in 1954.[9] At age 15, she hosted her own television program, Teen Beat, for Nashville station WTVF.[7] While a junior at St. Cecilia, True participated in Junior Achievement, serving as vice-president of a TV production enterprise.[10] In 1960, she received an award for her work from the Radio and Television Council of Middle Tennessee.[10]

In a recorded interview published by The Rialto Report, True stated that she married at age 19, leaving college to follow her husband (David L. Wolfe) for his academic career, first to Oklahoma and then eventually to New York City in the late 1960s.[11]

Career

True performed in a few pornographic films in Scandinavia in the 1960s and, by the end of the decade, began appearing in American adult films. Eventually, she performed in more than fifty hardcore porn films throughout the 1970s and early to mid-1980s in the early New York adult film industry.[12]

During her heyday as a porn actress, around 1975, True was hired by a real estate business in Jamaica to appear in their commercials. While she was working there, the Jamaican government banned asset transfers in response to sanctions imposed by the U.S. after the election of Michael Manley, a supporter of Fidel Castro. In order to return to the U.S., True would have either to forfeit her pay or spend the money before she went home.[12] True, who by this time was trying to break into the music industry, chose to invest the money in recording a demo of "More, More, More", a song she had been working on with record producer Gregg Diamond, her partner in a project called The Andrea True Connection. Remixed by recording engineer Tom Moulton, "More, More, More" became a favorite in nightclubs. It reached No. 4 on the US Billboard Hot 100, and a full album with the same title followed. The single also reached the charts in the UK (where it peaked at No. 5),[6] Germany (where it reached No. 9)[4] and Italy (where it reached No. 11).[13]

"Forget Donna Summer—this is the real disco porn. She's covered on the cover right up to the clavicle, her rhythms sound more binary than her producer's, and she can't sing a lick. But even if you haven't seen her movies, she projects an exhibitionistic suck-and-fuck tractability that links the two pervasive fantasy media of our time, and from such conjunctions Great Art arises."

— More, More, More, reviewed in Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies (1981)[14]

By the time of her singing career, True admitted she was burned out and tired of porn, saying, "I'd rather be a waitress or a typist than make another adult film", and also, "Don't think of me as a porn star any more, think of me as a recording star. I just want to record and perform". In early 1977, True released the single "N.Y., You Got Me Dancing", from her follow-up album, White Witch. The single became True's second biggest hit, reaching No. 27 on Billboard's pop chart. In 1978, she had a second hit in the UK with "What's Your Name, What's Your Number", which peaked at No. 34 in the UK.[6] Both albums included studio musicians with a new band assembled for the tour, the second line-up, which included future Kiss guitarist Bruce Kulick. In 1980, she released her third and final album, War Machine. A more hard rock-oriented album, it was released only in Europe, but it flopped.[15]

After True's third album failed, a goiter developed on her vocal cords that required surgery, essentially ending her singing ability.[16] She continued receiving royalties from her music, and "More More More" remained a popular song on TV and movies. True received a renewed burst of publicity in 1999 when the Canadian group Len sampled the instrumental break from "More, More, More" in their single, "Steal My Sunshine". Subsequently, True appeared on several VH1 specials including 100 Greatest Dance Songs in 2000 ("More, More, More" was the No. 45 greatest dance song), Where Are They Now and 100 Greatest One-hit Wonders (both in 2002), in which she said she wanted to be remembered as a person who "gave people pleasure" — then emphasized the words — "with my music". She also made an appearance in the 2005 documentary movie Inside Deep Throat.[17]

Death

True died on November 7, 2011, at a hospital in Kingston, New York. She was 68 years old. The cause was given as heart failure. In line with her wishes, True's body was cremated.[3][18]

Discography

Albums

List of studio albums, with selected chart positions
Title Album details Peak chart positions
U.S.
[19] 		U.S.
Black
[19] 		AUS
[20] 		CAN
[21]
More, More, More 47 49 57 39
White Witch
  • Released: 1977
  • Label: Buddah Records
  • Formats: LP, cassette, CD, digital download
 — — — —
War Machine
  • Released: 1980
  • Label: Ricordi International
  • Formats: LP, cassette
 — — — —

Singles

Year Single Peak chart positions B-Side Album
US
[22] 		US
Black
[19] 		US
Club
[19] 		US
Disco
[19] 		AUS
[20] 		CAN
[23] 		GER
[24] 		NZ
[25] 		SPA
[26] 		UK
[27]
1976 "Call Me" — — — 5 — — — — — — "Party Line" (A-side) More, More, More
"Keep It Up Longer" — — — 5 — — — — — — "N.Y., You Got Me Dancing" (A-side)
"More, More, More" 4 23 2 1 19 1 9 25 23 5 "More, More, More (Pt. II)"
"Party Line/Fill Me Up/Call Me" — — 9 — — — — — — —
"Party Line" 80 95 4 — — 90 — — — — "Call Me"
1977 "N.Y., You Got Me Dancing" 27 — 4 — — 89 — — — — "Keep It Up Longer" White Witch
"What's Your Name, What's Your Number" 56 — 9 — 78 — — — — 34 "Fill Me Up (Heart To Heart)"
1980 "War Machine" — — — — — — — — — — "The Unkindest Cut" War Machine
"Make My Music For Me" — — — — — — — — — — "Whatever Happened To Love"

Partial filmography

  • Meatball, 1972 (as Singe Low)
  • Hot Channels, 1973
  • Devil's Due, 1973
  • Madame Zenobia, 1973 (as Inger Kissen)
  • Deep Throat Part II, 1974
  • Illusions of a Lady, 1974
  • Lady on the Couch, 1974
  • The Chamber Maids, 1974
  • The Seduction of Lynn Carter, 1974
  • Christy, 1975
  • Keep on Truckin, 1975
  • Summer Session, 1975
  • Every Inch a Lady, 1975
  • Mash'd, 1976 (also director)[citation needed]

References

  1. ^ a b Pierre Perrone Obituary: Andrea True, The Independent, November 26, 2011.
  2. ^ Marcel Štefančič jr. Amerika: Dekle, ki sem jo ljubil, Mladina, November 18, 2011 (in Slovenian).
  3. ^ a b c d "Disco singer Andrea True, 68, dies in Kingston". Daily Freeman. Dailyfreeman.com. Archived from the original on April 6, 2012. Retrieved November 20, 2011.
  4. ^ a b Jason Ankeny (July 7, 2007). "Biography: Andrea True". Allmusic. Retrieved July 1, 2007.
  5. ^ Bronson, Fred (August 2, 2018). The Billboard Book of Number One Hits. Billboard Books. ISBN 9780823076772 – via Google Books.
  6. ^ a b c Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London, UK: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 568. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  7. ^ a b c Arena, James (2013). "The Andrea True Connection," First Ladies of Disco: 32 Stars Discuss the Era and Their Singing Careers. Jefferson, North Carolina, and London: McFarland. pp. 41–56. ISBN 978-0-7864-7581-0.
  8. ^ a b c d ""More, More, More": The Search for Andrea True, and the Creation of a Disco Sensation (Podcast 69)". The Rialto Report: Oral history, audio, photo, and documentary archives from the golden age of adult film in New York, and beyond. The Rialto Report. Retrieved July 19, 2020.
  9. ^ "Music Scholarship Winners Announced". Nashville Tennessean. No. p. 12-F. May 9, 1954.
  10. ^ a b Taylor, Sarah (May 14, 1960). "Young Business Standouts Cited: 5 Junior Achievement Leaders Honored at Annual Banquet". Nashville Tennessean. No. p. 8.
  11. ^ "Andrea True: Her Last Interview (Podcast 70)". The Rialto Report: Oral history, audio, photo, and documentary archives from the golden age of adult film in New York, and beyond. The Rialto Report. Retrieved July 19, 2020.
  12. ^ a b Vitello, Paul (November 24, 2011). "Andrea True, Singer of Disco Hit, Dies at 68". New York Times. Retrieved August 3, 2016.
  13. ^ Dario Salvatori. Storia dell'Hit Parade. Gramese, 1989.
  14. ^ Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: T". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved March 16, 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
  15. ^ Paloetta, Michael (January 16, 1999). "Billboard: True Fans Can Get 'More, More, More' As Disco Queens Return". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc.: 28–. ISSN 0006-2510.
  16. ^ "Hearst Magazines". celebrity.elle.com.
  17. ^ Dargis, Manohla (February 11, 2005). "A Cautionary Tale Arguing for Freedom of Expression". The New York Times.
  18. ^ "Andrea True, who sang More More More, dies aged 68". BBC News. November 27, 2011. Retrieved May 30, 2016.
  19. ^ a b c d e "Andrea True Connection - Awards and Charts (Allmusic)". www.allmusic.com. Archived from the original on May 23, 2013. Retrieved July 4, 2014.
  20. ^ a b Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 314. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  21. ^ "Top Albums/CDs - Volume 25, No. 19". RPM. Walt Grealis. August 7, 1976. Archived from the original on February 2, 2017. Retrieved March 6, 2016.
  22. ^ "Andrea True Album & Song Chart History - Hot 100". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved December 11, 2010.
  23. ^ Peak positions for Canada:
  24. ^ "GfK Entertainment Charts > Andrea True". offiziellecharts.de. Retrieved June 4, 2016.
  25. ^ "Official New Zealand Music Chart > Andrea True". charts.nz. Retrieved June 4, 2016.
  26. ^ Fernando Salaverri (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
  27. ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 587. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
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