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obitoftheday:

Obit of the Day: How the US Made a Porn Star a Disco Queen

Andrea True was a pornography film performer. Born Andrea Truden, she did not have that as her original career ambition but after failing to make inroads in mainstream films she found herself in the porn industry.

She still managed to find some outside acting work including a 1976 commercial in Jamaica. Now here’s where it gets crazy. The Jamaicans had elected Michael Manley as Prime Minister in 1972. Manley was a well-known socialist who aligned himself with Fidel Castro. The United States who had already sanctioned Cuba now placed economic sanctions on the island of Jamaica.

Well after Ms. True had filmed her commercial and was paid for her work, the Jamaican government, in response to the US sanctions. forbid her and other Americans, from taking their money home. So, True came up with the brilliant idea to use the money in Jamaica to record a song that she had written with her friend Gregg Diamond.

Released in ‘76, “More, More, More” was a song about working in the pornography industry. The song, performed by “The Andrea True Connection,” premiered at various discos around New York City and it quickly exploded in popularity. It hit #4 on the Billboard charts in the U.S. and #5 on the UK charts.

Ms. True never had another hit and found herself bouncing from career to career. She did, however, earn a nice return on her investment as “More, More, More” is frequently used in advertising campaigns including commercials for Oreos, Honey Bunches of Oats and Sex in the City. (Which again since the song is about pornography is oddly funny and uncomfortable.) True’s song was also sampled by the group Len in their 1999 hit, “Steal My Sunshine.”

Ms. True was 68 years old.

(Audio is copyright of Entertainment Weekly which gave away the Disco Collection to subscribers in the 1990s. I know because that’s how I got it.)

(Source: The New York Times)