Sign Your Name
{{short description|Song by Terence Trent D'Arby}}
{{selfref|For the guidelines on Wikipedia signatures, see Wikipedia:Signatures}}
{{Infobox song
| name = Sign Your Name
| cover = Sign your name.jpg
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = Terence Trent D'Arby
| album = Introducing the Hardline According to Terence Trent D'Arby
| B-side = Greasy Chicken
| released = December 28, 1987 (UK){{cite web|url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-Week/1987/Music-Week-1987-12-26.pdf|title=Music Week|page=10}}
May 1988 (US){{cite web|url=https://archive.org/details/greatrockdiscogr00stro/page/200/mode/2up?q=terence+trent|title=Great Rock Discography|pages=201}}
| recorded = 1987
| studio =
| venue =
| genre = Soul
| length = 4:37
| label = Columbia
| writer = Terence Trent D'Arby
| producer = Martyn Ware, Terence Trent D'Arby, Howard Gray
| prev_title = Dance Little Sister
| prev_year = 1987
| next_title = Rain
| next_year = 1988
| misc = {{External music video|{{YouTube|dluHzQhLcME|"Sign Your Name"}}}}
}}
{{Music ratings
| title = Professional ratings
| subtitle =
| rev1 = Number One
}}
"Sign Your Name" is a song written and performed by American singer-songwriter Terence Trent D'Arby (now known as Sananda Maitreya), released as the fourth single (third in the US) from his debut album, Introducing the Hardline According to Terence Trent D'Arby (1987). The song was an international success, reaching number two on the UK Singles Chart in early 1988 and number four on the US Billboard Hot 100. It was remixed by Lee "Scratch" Perry for some European releases. The music video was directed by Vaughan Arnell and was premiered in January 1988.{{cite web |url=http://www.mvdbase.com/video.php?id=7400 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051101135841/http://www.mvdbase.com/video.php?id=7400 |url-status=dead |archive-date=November 1, 2005 |title=Terence Trent d'Arby – "Sign your name" |publisher=www.mvdbase.com |access-date=18 April 2014}} The music video features model Kelly Brennan.{{cite web |url=https://80sneverend.com/sign-your-name/ |title=Sign your name - Terence Trent D'Arby - 80sneverend |publisher=www.80sneverend.com |access-date=1 September 2022}}
Critical reception
Max Bell from Number One noted that the song finds D'Arby "in his quiet, sensitive, loving disguise, as opposed to his crafty, naughty, whoopsadaisy ma'am alter ego." He also felt that "Sign Your Name" "testifies at least to a knowledge of soul", and concluded, "From a Heaven 17 influenced beginning a fair single starts to brood but this could be a sucker punch rather than a knockout."{{cite magazine|first=Max|last=Bell|url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/57779449@N02/50183347328/in/album-72157715342629681/|title=Singles|magazine=Number One|date=9 January 1988|page=42|access-date=11 March 2023}} Roger Morton from Record Mirror commented, "'Bop shoo wop wop/Bop shoo wap wap'. Terence has joined Showaddywaddy? Sadly not. This is the fourth single from the Hardline album, a crooner not a rasper, with some fine quavering from Tel's tonsils and a rhythm closely related to that of Scritti Politti's 'The Sweetest Girl'."{{cite magazine|first=Roger|last=Morton|url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/57779449@N02/51736130290/in/album-72157720272979535/|title=Singles|magazine=Record Mirror|date=16 January 1988|page=13|access-date=}} Another editor, James Hamilton, wrote in his dance column, "Moodily shuffling sad 109/{{frac|54|1|2}}-0bpm lament, not really for floors".{{cite magazine|first=James|last=Hamilton|url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/57779449@N02/51735487108/in/album-72157720272979535/|title=BPM|magazine=Record Mirror|date=16 January 1988|page=19|access-date=|author-link=James Hamilton (DJ and journalist)}}
Track listings
- 7" single
- "Sign Your Name" – 4:45
- "Greasy Chicken" – 4:40
Charts
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=Weekly charts=
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=Year-end charts=
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Certifications
{{Certification Table Top}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=United Kingdom|type=single|artist=Terence Trent D'arby|title=Sign Your Name|award=Silver|relyear=2004|certyear=2022|id=17989-599-1|access-date=April 8, 2022}}
{{Certification Table Bottom|nosales=true|noshipments=true|streaming=true}}
Sheryl Crow version
{{Infobox song
| name = Sign Your Name
| cover = Sheryl Crow Sign Your Name Single Cover.jpg
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = Sheryl Crow
| album = 100 Miles from Memphis
| released = September 15, 2010
| recorded =
| studio =
- Henson Recording Studios (Los Angeles, CA)
- Electric Lady Studios (New York, NY)
| venue =
| length = 5:38
| label = A&M
| writer = Terence Trent D'Arby
| producer = Sheryl Crow, Doyle Bramhall II, Justin Stanley
| prev_title = Summer Day
| prev_year = 2010
| next_title = Coal Miner's Daughter
| next_year = 2010
| misc = {{External music video|{{YouTube|3t3RHaDogHY|"Sheryl Crow - Sign Your Name (Official Music Video)"}}}}
}}
Sheryl Crow released her rendition of the song in 2010 as the second single from her eighth studio album, 100 Miles from Memphis. It features Justin Timberlake on background vocals.{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20100920080308/http://unrealityshout.com/blogs/sheryl-crow-sign-your-name-single-and-video-review Sign Your Name Single and Video]}} The music video, directed by Wayne Isham, was released on September 16, 2010 through Crow's VEVO account.[https://web.archive.org/web/20101031182739/http://interscope.com/artist/player/default.aspx?meid=6092&aid=409 Sign Your Name Music Video] Interscope Retrieved 2010-10-14
=Charts=
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Chart (2010)
!Peak |
|---|
| US Adult Album Alternative (Billboard)[http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/chart-beat/951872/reba-mcentire-extends-country-songs-record Reba McEntire Extends Country Songs Record | Billboard]
| style="text-align:center;"|18 |
References
{{Reflist|30em}}
{{Terence Trent D'Arby}}
{{Sheryl Crow}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:Columbia Records singles
Category:Irish Singles Chart number-one singles
Category:Songs written by Terence Trent D'Arby
Category:Music videos directed by Wayne Isham