Terre Roche and her sisters were substantially more than a flash in the rock ‘n roll pan in the late 1970’s. Their debut album, The Roches, was number one on the New York Times list for the year 1979. But as she describes in this moving article, massive critical acclaim does not always translate into vast wealth. The band of sisters parted ways with their high-powered manager without ever delivering the commercial triumph he wanted.

Now in her sixties, Terre has long since come to terms with that chapter of her life, and has grown in her art. Now the music is for the music, and she is excited about the quality of her new song, Maxwell. (You’ll find a link to the song in the article.)

“Maxwell is complete. It’s not a hit song. It’s probably not going to make any money. I’d rather listen to it, as if it were a teacher. I have friends whose songs have made lots of money. I envy them. But personally, I’ve given up on the idea of writing a commercial song. And when I did that, I entered into a deeper, more fulfilling relationship with songwriting, unencumbered by the demands of the marketplace.” (Bolding ours – ed.)

Terre focuses on the creative process now, not being driven by the validation of any external party or a fixation on the finished product. Ironically, this attitude usually leads to a higher quality of finished product! Ask yourself, how many novels and movies have been made about arriving at a destination, and how many more have been made about “the journey?”