Earworms: The Roches - Losing True

Three Magical Sisters and Their Ability to Transcend Heartbreak

Certain songs take hold in my head, sometimes old, sometimes new, for reasons which may or may not be obvious. So, I’ll write stuff about them.

My friend Steve Leftridge pointed out to me a few years back that many of my favorite songs don’t have choruses. Now, mind you, I know I love a good chorus, but it is true that I also fall hard for songs that stay away from that sort of thing.

Before I continue that thought, a bit of background on the Roches is probably in order. Maggie, Terre, and Suzzy Roche were sisters who kinda sorta worked on the folk circuit in the 1970s. Actually, Maggie and Terre were a duo for a number of years, and they released an album in 1975 produced by none other than Paul Simon, who had used them as backing singers on one of his records. Youngest sister Suzzy joined them near the end of that decade, and they became possibly the last of the fabled Warner Brothers artist-first signings under the regime of Mo Ostin. (I’m not sure if they were before or after Rickie Lee Jones.)

Their first record as a trio was produced by Robert Fripp, of all the unexpected possibilities in the world. Each sister turned out to be a remarkable, idiosyncratic songwriter, and Fripp’s production put all the focus on their sibling harmonies and completely original personalities. Their second album, Nurds, was a little sullied by attempts to rein in their sound, but you can’t blame them for bringing in Patti Smith’s drummer Jay Dee Dougherty and husband/former MC5 bassist Fred Smith. 1982’s Keep On Doing brought back Fripp, and was the first Roches album I ever heard.

Maggie Roche wrote “Losing True,” and she didn’t need no stinking chorus to make this song of heartbreak work. The lyrics actually read really well on the printed page, and could easily have been a poem first. But, to make it feel like this loss is deserving of all the anguish, pain, anger, and sweet memories it covers, Maggie came up with a melody for the ages. “Im loo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo-sing you,” down two steps, up one, then down again, before that simple declarative “you.” Even better, it’s sung by all three sisters together, with harmonies that bring further insight into the power of that loss.

The song starts with two acoustic guitars strumming hard and steady, and a simple, deep bass part below. There is a lead instrument, which I can’t quite tell if it’s Maggie on a keyboard or a guitar part added by Fripp or somebody else. The Roches sing closely together in three-part harmony that captures all the complex emotions of the entire relationship described in the song. Terre’s soprano, Suzzy’s middle part, and Maggie’s alto create the effects of questioning, suffering, remembering, and loving. And, it’s all exquisitely beautiful. It’s a goose-bump inducing song for sure.

But, wait, there’s more! Fripp himself jumps in a little more than halfway through the song, with some of the most elegantly sweet and mournful contrapuntal guitar I know. That tone he was using a lot in those days, a warm, electric, sweeping sound is extraordinary here. His guitar brings this already brilliant song into an all-time Hall of Fame in my book. This song is all emotional resonance and pure light.

As a bonus today, here’s another all-time fave by the Roches, this one written by a guy named Marc Johnson. In the hands of these sisters, “Love Radiates Around” is one of the most all-enveloping love songs I know. Suzzy sings most of it solo, but near the end, when the three harmonize wordlessly, the heavens just plain open up. Also, this cut contains possibly the most effective use ever made of the 80s Miami Vice synthesizer and guitar sounds.