Andrea Marie Truden (July 26, 1943 – November 7, 2011),[3] better known by her pseudonym Andrea True, was an American former 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, 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]
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 WLAC.[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 David L. Wolfe at age 19, leaving college to follow her husband 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. Her first prominent role was in the film Head Nurse in 1972.[8] She also appeared as an extra in non-adult films The Way We Were and 40 Carats.[12] In 1975, she directed her first pornographic film, Once Over Nightly.[8] 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.[13]
Under the administration of Prime Minister Michael Manley, the Jamaican government banned money transfers in retaliation to sanctions imposed by the U.S., forcing True to invest her pay into recording a demo of "More, More, More"
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 had to either forfeit her pay or spend the money before she went home.[13] 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 U.S. Billboard Hot 100, no. 1 on the U.S. disco chart,[14] and no. 1 on the national singles chart in Canada. It also peaked at no. 5 in the UK[6] and no. 9 in Germany.[4] A full album with the same title followed, which performed moderately in North America and spawned the second single, "Party Line", a minor chart hit.
"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."
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". She was performing extensively and went on to play around 300 shows within a year from June 1976.[8] Andrea True Connection came fifth in ASCAP's ranking of disco artists of the year.[16]
In early 1977, True released the single "N.Y., You Got Me Dancing". It became a considerable hit, reaching no. 27 on Billboard's pop chart and no. 4 on the disco chart. In early 1978, she had another hit with "What's Your Name, What's Your Number", which peaked at no. 56 in the U.S. and no. 34 in the UK.[6] Both singles were included in her second album, White Witch. It was a commercial flop and did not chart due to a lack of promotion from Buddah Records as the label was struggling financially at the time.[8] In 1980, she released her third and final album, War Machine, promoted by the anti-war title song. A more rock and new wave-oriented album, it was released only in Europe, but it flopped.[17]
True never returned to adult film industry and for some time performed in clubs in Florida.[18] After that, a growth developed on her vocal cords that required surgery, essentially ending her singing ability.[13] She did, however, perform two sold-out shows at the Paramount Theater in New York City in 1994, and worked on new music, which eventually never materialised.[17] True received a renewed burst of publicity in 1999 when the Canadian group Lensampled 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.[19]
Later years
In her later years, she was reported as working as a counselor for people struggling with substance abuse, and as an astrologer.[2][8] "More, More, More" remained a popular song on television and in movies, and True was eventually able to claim outstanding royalties from the track's usage and sales.[8] She spent her final years living in Woodstock, New York, suffering from declining health.[11]
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][20]
Discography
Albums
List of studio albums, with selected chart positions
^ abcArena, James (2013). First Ladies of Disco: 32 Stars Discuss the Era and Their Singing Careers. Jefferson, North Carolina, and London: McFarland. pp. 41–56. ISBN978-0-7864-7581-0.
