Terence Trent D’Arby “Wishing Well” hit #1

Wishing Well Terence Trent D’Arby

Writer(s): Terence Trent D’Arby, Sean Oliver (see lyrics here) Released: June 1987 First Charted: June 20, 1987 Peak: 11 US, 11 CB, 3 RR, 44 AC, 11 RB, 1 CO, 4 UK, 12 CN, 9 AU, 1 DF (Click for codes to singles charts.) Sales (in millions): 0.5 US Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 23.2 video, 53.16 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: When Terence Trent D’Arby released his debut album, Introducing the Hardline, in 1987, he proclaimed himself a genius who’d made an album “that was better than Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.” SG He later said, “A lot of it is what I truly believed, but a lot of it was exaggerated to make a point. You have to hit people over the head to make them notice.” FB Genius or not, the “’Wishing Well’ video makes it clear: D’Arby was a rare and special talent. He could sing. He could move. He could dress. “ SG “He was a star “D’Arby was an old-school ’60s-style soul rasper…[who] drew on gospel and on the soul singers – Al Green, Sam Cooke, James Brown – who had drawn on gospel in earlier decades.” SG The Manhattan-born singer was embraced much quicker in the UK where “Wishing Well” charted nearly a year before it topped the Billboard Hot 100. In fact, when “Wishing Well” debuted on the chart in January 1988, D’Arby was already working on his third top-10 hit in the UK. By the time he’d reached #1 four months later, D’Arby had been nominated for Best New Artist and performed the song at the Grammys. The song “has a slick, simple groove anchored to a big drum sound, with sparkly bluesy guitars and evocative little synth drones. The song is both playful and portentous, and it’s got an extremely catchy whistled hook that’ll bounce around the inside of your skull. D’Arby sings the absolute hell out of it, screaming and grunting and hitting heavenly falsetto runs.” SG “Lyrically, ‘Wishing Well’ is basically a love song, though its lyrics are flowery romantic-poet gibberish…D’Arby sings of a wishing well that’s full of both butterfly tears and crocodile cheers, which doesn’t make any sense.” SG He said, it “was written when I was in a half-asleep, half-awake state of mind. I like the feel of the words on that song. Actually, most of my lyrics are written in about 10 minutes.” FB Resources: DMDB encyclopedia entry for Terence Trent D’Arby FB Fred Bronson (2007). The Billboard Book of Number One Hits (4th edition). Billboard Books: New York, NY. Page 697. SG Stereogum (4/30/2021). “The Number Ones” by Tom Breihan Related Links: First posted 8/5/2022.

 

Terence Trent D’Arby’s debut released

Introducing the Hardline According to… Terence Trent D’Arby

Released: July 13, 1987 Peak: 4 US, 13 RB, 19 UK, -- CN, 15 AU Sales (in millions): -- US, -- UK, -- world (includes US and UK) Genre: R&B

Tracks: Song Title (Writers) [time] (date of single release, chart peaks) Click for codes to singles charts. If You All Get to Heaven [5:17] If You Let Me Stay [3:14] (3/14/87, 68 US, 19 RB, 7 UK, 36 AU) Wishing Well (D’Arby/Oliver) [3:30] (6/20/87, 1 US, 1 RB, 44 AC, 4 UK, 9 AU, gold single) I’ll Never Turn My Back on You (Father’s Words) [3:37] Dance Little Sister [3:55] (10/10/87, 30 US, 9 RB, 20 UK, 41 AU) Seven More Days [4:34] Let’s Go Forward [5:32] Rain [2:58] Sign Your Name [4:37] (1/9/88, 4 US, 2 RB, 13 AC, 2 UK, 3 AU) As Yet Untitled [5:33] Who’s Lovin’ You (Robinson) [4:24] Songs written by Terence Trent D’Arby unless noted otherwise. Total Running Time: 47:11

Rating: 4.155 out of 5.00 (average of 12 ratings) Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Album: Terence Trent D’Arby burst out of the gates with what has been called “one of the best debuts ever.” AL The album debuted atop the UK album chart and sold a million copies within its first three days of release. WK Three singles from the album reached the top 10 in the UK. However, it wasn’t until Wishing Well, the album’s second single, that the album took off in the U.S. It peaked at #4 the same week that “Wishing Well” reached #1. In an all-time hype-worthy move, the “young, cocky black British singer” RB “claimed that this was the most important album since the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper.” RB Introducing the Hardline… certainly isn’t that essential, but it is still “a stunning, soulful approach to merging old influences and new realities.” AL “Although the production is quite modern, D’Arby shows his roots in the work of older artists, borrowing a page or two from Michael Jackson and Stevie Wonder, while James Brown appears to have had the strongest influence on d'Arby's stage presence.” RB D’Arby may not have have changed the world with this album, but it still had its influence. D’Arby, “who wrote virtually every note [and] played a multitude of instruments,” RB crafted an an “egomaniacal/lover stance” AL without which “it’s hard to fathom Maxwell, Tony Toni Tone, or any other neo-soul boys.” AL The BBC called the album “a soundtrack to the turning point when the ‘80s turned from austerity to prosperity. It’s…central to that decade…It remains one big, infectiously glorious record.” WK

Resources and Related Links: DMDB Encyclopedia entry for Terence Trent D’Arby RB Rob Bowman, All Music Guide AL Amy Linden, Amazon.com WK Wikipedia First posted 3/4/2008; last updated 8/24/2021.