More, More, More

Song: More, More, More
Artist: The Andrea True Connection
Album: More, More, More




Disco, as a genre, has been appointed as THE guilty pleasure type of music pretty much since the early 80’s after the “death of disco” movement. It was very UNCOOL to be into disco for many many years and it wasn’t until the mid 90’s re-explosion of 70’s chic did it make a resurgence, in an ironic way. In the past few years, with electro and underground dance becoming hip, the artists and producers of the disco era are getting more respect for their groundbreaking contributions to the dance music movement.

But for the most part, despite Madonna having hits recently with her most disco laced work (“Confessions on a Dancefloor,”) vintage disco is still much maligned. And while ABBA may have had a resurgence due to “Mama Mia” on Broadway and the collective soundtracks of “Adventures of Priscilla Queen of the Desert” and “Muriel’s Wedding,” it’s still pretty uncool in our hip hop and rock lead music industry to dig disco.

For me, disco was something I vaguely remember enjoying when I was a little kid, (I remember listening to “Funkytown” over and over, another guilty pleasure. P.S. they never actually MAKE it to Funkytown do they? They just keep asking for directions,) and then in college it was something my circle of friends were really into on a very kitsch level. And while there are tons of goofy-fun songs from ABBA, KC and the Sunshine Band, on and on… for me the entire era of disco and NYC based Studio 54 lifestyle of it all is pretty well encapsulated in The Andrea True Connection’s “More, More, More.” The song brings to life images of polyester, disco balls, and all-night sleazy parties teeming with drugs, sex, and the grand search for the ultimate in escapism.

And speaking of escaping, this song has an interesting history…

Andrea True moved to New York City as a teenager from Nashville to become a movie star. With no stand-up roles in sight and desperate for money she decided to become a different kind of star… a porn star. At the height of this popularity she was offered on camera work for a real estate businessman in Jamaica. She went, but due to political unrest at the time she was unable to leave with any of the money she earned during this venture. Her solution? Why not call up her producer friend Gregg Diamond to come down and use the money to record a disco song that she could go back to the states with and have it become a hit. (so obvious!) That song was “More, More, More.”

“More, More, More” is irresistible, and all the more fun when you know her history. I remember this song from my youth but only when finding out she was a porn star did some of the wink-wink lyrics and sexy undertones of the song become clear. “Get the camera’s rolling, get the action going.” She sings over the pulsing beat… a classic! The album of the same name came out after the song was a hit in the clubs and on radio, reaching #4 on Billboards Hot 100. The album went platinum, but like many “one hit wonders” of the era, she never reclaimed that glory.

The song was also sampled by the Canadian band Len for their summer hit from 1999 “Steal My Sunshine.” They also, unfortunately, only were able to have that one moment in the sun. Bananarama and British singer Rachel Stevens have released covers of the song as singles. It remains one of my favorite disco guilty pleasures.

Enjoy!

The video:


Bananarama’s even GAYER take:


Len’s “Steal My Sunshine”:

What a blast from the fairly recent past!