{"id":4383,"date":"2023-02-20T14:41:14","date_gmt":"2023-02-20T22:41:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chiccompass.com\/?p=4383"},"modified":"2026-08-30T21:23:56","modified_gmt":"2026-08-31T04:23:56","slug":"d-train-flying-on-the-wings-of-his-faith","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chiccompass.com\/wordpress\/d-train-flying-on-the-wings-of-his-faith\/","title":{"rendered":"D TRAIN - Flying on the Wings of His Faith"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Chic<\/span><\/div>
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This article was printed in<\/em>
\nChic Compass Magazine - Issue 13<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>

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\"D-TRAIN\"<\/span><\/div><\/div>

D TRAIN. Photo by Ed Foster<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>

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D TRAIN - Flying on the Wings of His Faith<\/h1>\n

BY SHERYL ARONSON<\/p>\n<\/div>

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D TRAIN, a singer, songwriter, producer, and actor, constructed a prolific career in the entertainment industry for over 40 years. At the center of this artist\u2019s creative being is his relationship with God \u2013 a soulful purpose to inspire and melt the hearts of the audience when singing on stage. Growing up in the church in Brooklyn, NY, D TRAIN sang in the church choir, where his musical and ethical education was formulated.<\/p>\n

\u201cI sang in the choir where my voice was groomed. It was a great spiritual foundation, and I carried it over to the music industry,\u201d said D TRAIN.<\/p>\n

Music wasn\u2019t D TRAIN\u2019s first love \u2013 it was football. At Erasmus Hall High School, he played defensive tackle on the football team, and this is where he received the nickname D TRAIN after the MTA Brooklyn subway \u2026 the team\u2019s captain said of him, \u201cWhen he hits you, it\u2019s like being hit by a train.\u201d<\/p>\n

Seemingly guided by the hand of God to a career in music \u2013 D TRAIN fell into fate\u2019s hands when he sang backup vocals for his pal Will Downing at a recording session and caught the attention of musician and producer Hubert Eaves. The two became a group, and in 1981 they had their first hit single, \u201cYou\u2019re the One For Me.\u201d From top billboard hits to six albums, touring the world, performing in films and television, to hosting radio shows \u2026 D TRAIN has flown on the wings of success where he recommits his faith in God every day.<\/p>\n<\/div>

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D TRAIN. Photo by Ed Foster<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>

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Chic Compass: How did you begin your singing career?<\/strong><\/p>\n

D TRAIN: I grew up in the church and sang in the choir where singer Ronnie Dyson (who had the song \u201cIf You Let Me Make Love\u201d) attended. Reverend Al Sharpton was my junior church minister. Growing up in a Christian home, there were lines you did not cross, and I\u2019m grateful for those lines because they kept me out of a lot of trouble.<\/p>\n

Chic Compass: As a young man, did you know that being a professional musician was your destiny?<\/strong><\/p>\n

D TRAIN: I wanted to be a football player. I didn\u2019t want to be a singer even though I could sing.<\/p>\n

Chic Compass: Will Downing, an amazing vocalist, was responsible for jump-starting your singing career.<\/strong><\/p>\n

D TRAIN: I\u2019ve known Will since the 10th grade at Erasmus High School. One day, I went into the Chapel, and these three guys were standing around the piano singing. Will says, \u201cHey man, how are you doing? Are you a singer?\u201d I said, \u201cI\u2019m a football player, but I can sing.\u201d<\/p>\n

I started singing, and their jaws dropped because I was captain of the football team. They asked me to join the Choral Academy. I said, \u201cNo, I\u2019m not doing that.\u201d However, I ended up joining both choral choirs, and Will and I have remained friends since that time.<\/p>\n

After graduating from Erasmus, Will did song demos and songwriting for people like Melba Moore. One day he called me into the studio and said he had a song he was working on and would like me to sing background vocals. During the recording session, a guy walks into the studio and was listening to the music. The next thing I know, Will tells me that this big producer loves my voice and wants me to come to his house and write some songs. I\u2019m flabbergasted. The next day I jumped on the train and went to the producer\u2019s house. The rest is history! The name of this gentleman was Hubert Eaves III, and we became partners in writing music and performing.<\/p>\n<\/div>

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D TRAIN with fans. Photo courtesy of D TRAIN.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>

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Chic Compass: Working on that first song with Hubert Eaves got your first record deal.<\/strong><\/p>\n

D TRAIN: That\u2019s right. Hubert said, \u201cI got this track I\u2019m working on, and it\u2019s called \u201cYou\u2019re the One For Me,\u201d but I don\u2019t have any lyrics.\u201d I said, \u201cPlay it again and give me a pen.\u201d I started writing, and within an hour, we recorded the demo with the lyrics. It wound up in the hands of Prelude Records. They signed us to a deal, and I was 19 years old.<\/p>\n

Chic Compass: How did you handle the lifestyle of becoming a recording star at such a young age?<\/strong><\/p>\n

D TRAIN: Actually, I got married, bought a house, and started raising my family. However, I kept hearing \u201cYou\u2019re 20 years old, and you\u2019re supposed to be the sex symbol. You\u2019re ruining your career.\u201d I did not care about that. I was on the road with Parliament Funkadelic and making good money, and I had a wonderful family that I came home to after I got off the road.<\/p>\n

Chic Compass: How have you developed emotionally and spiritually while dealing with being a celebrity?<\/strong><\/p>\n

D TRAIN: When you\u2019re young, it\u2019s about ego. It\u2019s not that you\u2019re a millionaire, but you\u2019re making money at 21 years old that most kids don\u2019t make. People are recognizing you on the street, and people in your neighborhood and church are proud of you. Luckily, I was grounded in my faith, and my faith kept my ego grounded - my family kept me grounded. I still had to go home and change diapers and shovel snow.<\/p>\n

Now at 60 years old, it\u2019s not so much about how good or great you are\u2026 it\u2019s about who you can bless. Every morning I pray and meditate for an hour from 5:30 to 6:30. I talk to God. I can deal with anything outside that door in the world around me because I\u2019ve established my communication with God. I do not take any days off.<\/p>\n

When I get on stage, I ask God to use me because everybody that comes to my show has different emotions: some of them are going through a bad divorce, lost their jobs, or lost their husbands, and I want them to feel better. I do that by allowing God to use me as his vessel every time I open my mouth. I take myself out of the equation and check my ego at the door. I\u2019ve seen breakthroughs. I\u2019ve seen miracles. I\u2019ve seen tough dudes like my friend John Leto, a private investigator in Long Island, New York, start crying. I\u2019ve had this experience over and over with families and individuals. I want to break through the walls of whatever people are going through. It\u2019s a spiritual approach because some people who are not religious and do not believe in God know they were touched by something.<\/p>\n<\/div>

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D TRAIN. Photo by Ed Foster<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>

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Chic Compass: You\u2019ve had hit songs, and hit albums, have toured the world, worked in television and film, and been a producer \u2026 look at your career and talk about the highlights.<\/strong><\/p>\n

D TRAIN: My first big highlight was in 1985 when I opened for Smokey Robinson at the Radio City Music Hall. My mom, dad, aunts, and uncles were in the front row. The second big highlight was performing at Wembley Arena in 1986 in front of a crowd of more than 17,000 people opening for Chaka Khan. Also working with Michael Jackson in the studio on his album \u201cInvincible,\u201d working on \u201cDance with My Father\u201d with Luther Vandross in the studio, and working with Bette Midler. I was invited to perform at the Kennedy Center Honors from 2012 to 2014. I was called by the Catholic Church to sing for Pope Francis in 2015 at Madison Square Garden.<\/p>\n

Now, here\u2019s a story \u2026 Prince\u2019s keyboard player called me and asked if Prince could sing my song \"You're the One For Me\" at the LA forum, saying \"we're doing it for 21 nights.\" I said, \u201cGod bless him, and tell Prince I thank him very much for doing my song.\u201d Later that same year, Prince died. I get a phone call a year after he died, and it was my friend Rob Mathes who told me that the Boston Pops Symphony Orchestra would like me to go on tour with them to sing \u201cPurple Rain.\u201d I was shocked. Then I realized Prince got me the gig. It was another huge spiritual moment for me. The first time I sang \u201cPurple Rain,\u201d I got a standing ovation.<\/p>\n

Chic Compass: What are you working on now?<\/strong><\/p>\n

D TRAIN: I\u2019ve been touring Greece and London, then I did Lyon, France, about 2-3 weeks ago. Last week I was in Detroit, and this coming week I\u2019m in Purchase, NY. I just finished recording my 7th studio album. I\u2019m going to release it in probably April of 2023. I\u2019m shooting the music videos now. I\u2019m starting my podcast and interviewing big-name artists like Michael McDonald, Vanessa Williams, etc. I have already done my interview with Will Downing. The podcast will be global.<\/p>\n

I want to go to a higher spiritual level by being alone with God, which is my primary purpose, and everything I do goes forward with Him.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

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D TRAIN, a singer, songwriter, producer, and actor, constructed a prolific career in the entertainment industry for over 40 years. At the center of this artist\u2019s creative being is his relationship with God \u2013 a soulful purpose to inspire and melt the hearts of the audience when singing on stage.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4384,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4520,3859],"tags":[3322,3873,3874,3009,3687,3007,3005],"class_list":["post-4383","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment","category-issue-13","tag-actor","tag-d-train","tag-ed-foster","tag-music","tag-sheryl-aronson","tag-singer","tag-songwriter"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chiccompass.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4383","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chiccompass.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chiccompass.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chiccompass.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chiccompass.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4383"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/chiccompass.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4383\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4388,"href":"https:\/\/chiccompass.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4383\/revisions\/4388"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chiccompass.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4384"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chiccompass.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4383"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chiccompass.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4383"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chiccompass.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4383"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}