Andrea Marie Truden, better known by her stage name Andrea True, was a disco-era American pornographer and singer. She assumed several stage names, including Inger Kissin, Singe Low, Sandra Lips, Andrea Travis, and Catherine Warren. She is also the singer behind the disco mega-hit More More More. But did you know that True had to pay or choose to forfeit her rights to the song?
Andrea True recorded the disco mega-hit “More, More, More” in Jamaica in the 1970s. She was supposed to film some commercials there, but a diplomatic spat with the United States forced her to choose between spending her pay or forfeiting it. She decided to pay for a demo tape.
Who is Andrea True?
Andrea Marie Truden was born in Nashville, Tennessee. Her father, Frank, was an engineer who died when she was just 16 years old. Her mother, Anne, owned a silver plating business and was a professional singer. She had performed with Frankie Yankovic’s band.
As a child, True studied classical piano and was highly rated for her piano audition. At age 15, she hosted the Nashville station’s television program, Teen Beat. In 1960, she received an award from the Radio and Television Council of Middle Tennessee. (Source: NY Times)
Andrea True’s Life and Career
True appeared in a few pornographic films in Scandinavia during the 1960s, and by the end of the decade, she had begun to star in adult films in the US. Eventually, she appeared in over fifty hardcore porn films in the early New York adult film industry during the 1970s and early to mid-1980s.
A real estate company engaged True in Jamaica to perform in commercials during her peak as a porn actor, about 1975. While she was there, the Jamaican government outlawed wealth transfers in reaction to US sanctions following the election of Michael Manley, a Fidel Castro enthusiast. True would have had to either forfeit her compensation or spend the money before returning to the United States.
True, seeking to break into the music industry then, decided to use the money to record a demo of More, More, More, a song she had been working on with Gregg Diamond, her partner in the Andrea True Connection project. More, More, More, reworked by recording engineer Tom Moulton, became a nightclub staple. It peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States and was followed by a full-length album of the same name.
In 1977, True released the single N.Y.; You Got Me Dancing, which became her second-biggest hit. She had a second hit in the UK with What’s Your Name, What’s Your Number. In 1980, she released her final album, War Machine, which flopped.
After True’s third album failed, a goiter developed on her vocal cords that required surgery. She continued receiving royalties from her music, and More More More remained a popular song.
True died in a Kingston, New York hospital, on November 7, 2011. She was 68 at the time. Heart failure was the suspected cause of her death. True’s body was cremated following her wishes. (Source: NY Times)