Warning: this article contains video of Ron Jeremy rapping.
Current It Girl of porn Sasha Grey just announced she’ll be releasing an album of lo-fi experimental noise music come April. Initially, this seems like a strange foray, but the truth is that porn stars have been invading music for years. (Think of Dirk Diggler singing “The Touch” in Boogie Nights.) From Ron Jeremy to Marilyn Chambers and all points in-between, the history of adult film features an extensive soundtrack. Here now, a look back at some of the most infamous examples of porn pop.
1) Marilyn Chambers — “Benihana”
Marilyn Chambers was porn royalty, a striking beauty who broke down barriers in her kinky 1972 debut Behind the Green Door. The Rhode Island native wore many hats throughout her career — Ivory Snow spokesmodel, Vice Presidential candidate, and even disco songbird. In 1976, Chambers invaded the charts with her danceable ode to a lover with the same name as a Japanese restaurant chain. “Benihana” was produced by the prolific Michael Zager and featured the expected moans of orgasmic pleasure towards the end.
2) Andrea True — “More, More, More”
Political strife in Jamaica lead to the recording of “More, More, More,” the disco smash that elevated Andrea True into the mainstream from a respectable underground living as a hardcore porn star. In 1976, True was already established in the world of porn. She’d flown to Jamaica to appear in real-estate commercials; during her stay, the island became engulfed in an attempted coup. Unable to legally return to the U.S. with her acting wages, True dialed up songwriter Gregg Diamond to whip up something equally profitable. The result was “More, More, More.” The song rose all the way up to #2 on the charts (possibly aided by the singer’s backstory) and has been covered/sampled numerous times since its inception.
3) Traci Lords — “Control”
Underage sex queen Traci Lords made the most of her notoriety in the early nineties, immersing herself in all manner of mainstream film and television projects. Lords also recorded a bonafide #1 hit single entitled “Control” in 1994. The Hi-NRG dance track (which also appeared on the Mortal Kombat soundtrack) kept club kids dancing long into the night and brought about Lords’ well-received 1995 album, 1,000 Fires. Techno wasn’t the only musical territory Lords invaded, though: the video vixen also contributed vocals to the 1992 Manic Street Preachers album Generation Terrorists and the 1993 Ramones effort Acid Eaters.
4) Ron Jeremy — “Freak Of The Week”
In 1998, DJ Polo, former partner of Kool G Rap, released his debut solo album Polo’s Playhouse. Tracks included “Money, Cars & The Bitches,” “Where You From,” and “Playaz Lounge,” but the cut that garnered the most attention was Polo’s incredible duet with Ron Jeremy, “Freak Of The Week.” A typical slab of Miami porn rap, “Freak” found the industry’s beloved “Hedgehog” awkwardly trading verses about “smackin’ ’em up” and “yankin’ it out.” A crime against the genre and an embarrassment to fat slobs everywhere.
5) India — “Get It Girl”
Named after her country of birth, India has appeared in nearly two-hundred adult films, including Rub The Muff 6, Shut Up And Blow Me 9, and It Doesn’t Matter, Just Don’t Bite It 3. But outside of sex on camera, her passion is music. In the mid-nineties, she sang in a soul group called Harmony Innocents; in 2006, she released a solo album, Role Play, that boasted the breathy single “Get It Girl.” But the multitalented India hasn’t given up porn yet. In 2008, she became a three-time Adult Video Network nominee for her supporting role in Aphrodite Superstar.
6) Bobby Blake — “Booty Ain’t Got No Face”
Retired gay-porn actor Bobby Blake is a walking contradiction. The star of such films as Ebony Knights and Black Sex Party #3 is an ordained Christian minister who opposes same-sex marriage and claims he “never turned [his] back on God” in all the years he was having sex with men for money. God only knows how the church reacted when Blake lent his vocal talents to the album Booty Ain’t Got No Face by self-described “homo rapper” Trudog.
7) Sky Lopez — “Moodswingz”
Vivid Entertainment star Sky Lopez appeared in seventy-four films and directed two before retiring from the adult industry, which she called “a long, exhausting, emotional winding road that leads to nowhere but self-destruction.” Now a devout Christian, she’s changed her middle name to “Spring Break” in an attempt to kick-start a career in hip-hop. She cites “the voices in [her] head” as a main influence on her Myspace page, which makes sense once you hear her bargain-basement Gwen Stefani impression. “Moodswingz” is almost as grating as anything Stefani’s produced, but at least there’s no marching band.
8) Jessica Sweet (a.k.a. “Britney Rears”) — “I Wanna Get Laid”
There was a time, not so long ago, when the world hadn’t seen Britney Spears’ lady stuff, and she was still sort of successfully clinging to that good-girl image. In 2005, VCA Pictures gave us Britney’s porn doppleganger in the memorable film Britney Rears. The title character was played by Jessica Sweet, who also performed the film’s bouncy and explicit theme “I Wanna Get Laid.” The tune got frequent play on Howard Stern’s radio show and became the centerpiece of a national tour wherein Sweet lip-synched “Laid” in character. Creative differences forced Jessica out of the role of Britney Rears after the first sequel and the actress was replaced by Hillary Scott. We now have a Curly Howard vs. Curly Joe thing going on in the porn word.
9) Barrett Blade — Dial 7
Barrett Blade racked up multiple AVN nominations in the mid-aughts and began directing films such as House Party 1 and Keepers the same year. But a few years before that, Barrett played bass in California party band Dial-7. The group had something of a Red Hot Chili Peppers/Sugar Ray vibe. (As was the style at the time.) Dial-7 gained enough momentum to get signed by Warner Bros. Records and spit out two albums, 1998’s Never Enough Time and 2001’s Groovy Galactic, before splitting up. In 2007, Blade stepped away from his porn career to play a reunion show with his former band. By all accounts, the performance absolutely happened.
10) Paris Hilton — “Stars Are Blind”
A technicality, sure — Paris Hilton was never contractually hired to make an adult movie. But her cultural infamy was sealed in 2004 when former flame Rick Salomon released 1 Night in Paris, a sex tape for which Hilton reportedly received a significant chunk of money. In that sense, Paris is a porn star — someone who had consensual sex on camera and was later paid for it. Many attempts to distance herself from such seedy proceedings followed, including a dubious 2006 pop album, Paris. The first single, “Stars Are Blind,” was serviceable fluff that was still torn apart by all of Paris’ detractors. Really, the song is no worse than anything Madonna’s put out in recent years, but society really has it out for overprivileged zillionaire reality-TV stars.