There are certain songs, like ’em or loathe ’em, that have the ability to transport you back to the time when they were popular. For me, even though, as Elton John says, “I was just a kid,” and a kid who felt obliged to hate disco reflexively, one of those songs is the timeless “More More More” by Andrea True Connection. Thus, when I read last week that she had died, I felt a real pang of sadness. Like most everyone else at this point, I think, I knew the basics of her story–porn actress turned disco diva turned one-hit wonder–but reading about her life and her aspirations was more poignant than I would have expected. Anyway, there you have it.
I also want to know if anyone else (or everyone else) associates this song with the similarly memorable “Fly Robin Fly” by Silver Connection. My assumption is that they must have been hits simultaneously, but I haven’t checked on that.
Had no idea she died – thanks for covering this. And yes, I connect those songs. As a kid I preferred Silver Connection, but today I may prefer True’s hit.
One of the all-time great cowbell songs. Mod, you may be interested to learn that the backing track for “More, More, More” was written and produced by the same dude who wrote/produced “Rock Your baby” by George McRae. There’s a reason it sounds so good!
I heard that the other day. That song is at any given time the song I probably have stuck in my head. It’s constant, and I’ve never figured out how to make it stop. I never much cared for disco and I wouldn’t say I like or don’t like this song, but if you ever meet me and we’re talking and I seem to not be paying attention, it’s probably because I’m going, “More, more more, how do you like it, how do you like it” in my head.
“Fly, Robin, Fly” hit #1 on Billboard in November 1975. Andrea True peaked in July 1976.
But I thought Casey & Finch, i.e., KC and the Sunshine Band, produced “Rock Your Baby”? And is that a cowbell or a wood block or something? Not to get all pince-nez-y or anything.
Interesting–well, not quite simultaneous. I bet they are back to back on some K-Tel collection I have somewhere.
I’ll second all of that, it’s a song I hum a lot to myself, even though I’ve never liked it particularly it sure is catchy.
That’s a cowbell, baby! Also: I would expect somebody who f*cked for a living to be a better dancer. Not sure why those things are connected in my brain, but I do find it weird. She sticks her ass out nicely, though — gotta give her that.
“Presenting Andrea True”
When I first saw that video years ago, I wondered why she seemed almost stationary. I think the reason was because when she filmed this clip she had to stay within a set boundary because of the mirrors on either side of her.
Actually, it was written and produced by Gregg Diamond. While Casey/Finch were responsible for “Rock Your Baby,” Diamond did write and produce a disco hit for McRae called “Love In Motion.”
Welcome aboard, ATrueFan, and nice use of the patented RTH Pince Nez on a founding member! Seriously, that hrrundivbakshi cat had it coming to him.
I would throw in my 2 cents worth that dancers are generally good at f*cking but good f*ckers are not necessarily good at dancing. Just a guess.
And this does rate as one of my favorite disco songs. Just add on “You Can Ring My Bell” and I’m all set. Hrrundivbakshi, would you say that this is an actual bell?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=URAqnM1PP5E&feature=related
I had a pathological hatred for disco when I was growing up–which has subsided. There is some of it that I enjoy now. But even when I hated disco the most, I still loved “More, More, More.” I really can’t say why. But I spent a lot of fruitless hours in record stores trying to find a CD that had the original recording. I was so happy when a fellow member of my defunct band let me burn his Rhino “Disco Years” compilation over the summer.
The last I checked on iTunes you could only download a much inferior re-recorded version of the tune.
LMKR, you should know better than most that that “bell” noise was the work Washington “Boooow” Barry. In the mid- to late-70s, he was much in studio demand for his ability to yell “boooow!” in key, on demand and with metronomic precision. I heard he passed away last year during the halftime event of a Canadian Basketball League game; a cerebral hemmorhage brought on by the strain of yelling “boooow!” all those years. He was a great man.
Just how many bands sampled this song? I could think of one (horrible) example: Len’s “Steal My Sunshine.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2JKHfkRxp8
I prefer her film work, particularly her performance as Hot Puss in MASH’d (1976).