Sananda Maitreya, the singer formerly known as Terence Trent D'Arby, has revealed his honest playlist, steering clear of iconic artists like the Beatles, Bob Dylan, and Stevie Wonder. In a candid interview, he shared the songs that have shaped his life, from childhood favourites to party-ending tunes.
Maitreya recalled his first musical love: the Beatles' 'I Want to Hold Your Hand' and 'She Loves You', which he described as his 'villain origin story'. He was two years old, walking around his family's apartment in East Orange, New Jersey, singing those songs. His first album purchase was Stevie Wonder's 'Journey Through the Secret Life of Plants', bought with his aunt, as he grew up in a strict, fundamentalist Christian household reminiscent of the film 'Footloose'.
Among his other picks, Maitreya admitted to knowing every lyric to Bob Dylan's 'Gates of Eden', which he learned as a child, mesmerised by Dylan's prophetic voice. For karaoke, he once performed Tiny Tim's 'Tiptoe Through the Tulips' in Japan after drinking heavily. He also confessed a secret love for the Carpenters, a band he couldn't admit liking as a boy for fear of being beaten up.
Maitreya's choices include 'Get It Up' by the Time as the best song for sex, and 'I Love Onions' by Susan Christie as the ultimate party track—because it gets people to leave. He cited Stevie Wonder's 'Superstition' as a life-changing song, heard at age 10 in 1972, and Hank Williams' 'I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry' as a tearjerker. For his funeral, he would choose Beethoven's Triple Concerto, reflecting his belief in eternal spirit over death.
