Two Forgotten Friday Favorites: Terence Trent D'Arby

Friday, June 03, 2011
When I heard Sheryl Crow's cover of "Sign Your Name" I knew I had to eventually choose Terence Trent D'Arby for Two Forgotten Friday Favorites. And in case hearing his name makes you wonder, "Yeah, I remember him...whatever happened to Terence Trent D'Arby?"...well, in the singer's own words, he's dead. In 2001 after legally changing back to his birth name, Sananda Maitreya, he told an interviewer that "Terence Trent D'Arby (is) dead...he watched his suffering as he died a noble death." Unfortunately, Maitreya's attempt to reinvent himself in the shifting music business hasn't created the same level of fame he experienced in the 80s as his original stage name. I'm not sure why he wasn't a much bigger sensation than he was, because his debut album (Introducing the Hardline According to Terence Trent D'Arby) contained several chart toppers written by him, he has a smooth voice, and he can play many instruments. 

Maitreya trained as a boxer early on and also joined the army before developing a musical career. He now lives in Milan, Italy with his family.

Without a doubt my favorite D'Arby song is "Sign Your Name" which hit #4 on the U.S. Billboard charts. Without a doubt I think it's one of the sexiest songs ever written. I'm also choosing D'Arby's only number-one hit, "Wishing Well." Enjoy!




8 comments:

  1. My first memory of Terrence Trent D'Arby was when I was riding in my car with my high school drama group, and "Wishing Well' first came on the radio. Someone said, oh thats Terrence Trent D'Arby. It was the first time I heard of him.

    Shortly after he became very popular. I remember he initailly boasted that his album was better than Sgt. Pepper. Thats going a bit far, but it was catchy album... had "Wishing Well" and "Sign Your Name." And then, he faded back into obscurity.

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  2. His second album wasn't as good as the first, and then he went further away from "pop" and I don't think his music was as accessible. I thought he had a fantastic voice and great potential, but the music business is very fickle. If you don't have what people want when they want it, you're out.

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  3. I saw D'Arby in concert in the early 90s, when he opened up for Duran Duran. The comment by Anon was correct, he was a very boastful person and his overconfidence kind of left me cold. But I have to admit, he brought down the house. It was an incredible performance. I'm sorry he didn't go on to bigger fame.

    Great choice. He had some wonderful songs.

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  4. That's too bad that he thought he was "all that" - perhaps that contributed to the downfall of his career. I just had to look him up because I liked his songs and wondered whatever happened to him.

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  5. I love love this blog, don't know if I've mentioned that before ; ) My first memory of Terence was when "Wishing Well" came out around the time my family and I went to Disney World. I remember sitting in the rental car down in Disney and hearing the song each time we got into the car. I remember asking, "Why is this song on everytime we get in the car?" Lol. I have not heard Sheryl's version, I'll have to check it out.

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  6. I do remember Wishing Well but actually did forget about Sign Your Name until hearing it here. Both are good songs. I'll have to go to You Tube and listen to Sheryl's version of the latter.

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  7. t.t d'arby is an amazing soul singer if u want to watch & listen to his "Hide your love away" version on UTUBE:

    http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=hide+your+love+away+tt+d%27arby&aq=f

    Pretty rare piece!

    Raphael G. Cohen, Israel

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  8. Watch t.t D'arby, a great soul version of the Beatles

    "You've Got To Hide Your Love Away - Sananda Maitreya"

    on UTUBE at
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVhGkpaEzYw

    Love and peace all

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