Teena Marie
Encyclopedia
Mary Christine Brockert, better known by her stage name Teena Marie, (March 5, 1956 – December 26, 2010) was an American singer, songwriter
and producer
. She was known as Tina before taking the stage name Teena Marie, then she later acquired the nickname of Lady Tee (sometimes spelled as Lady T), given to her by collaborator and friend, Rick James
.
She was known for her distinctive soulful vocals which initially caused many listeners to believe she was African-American. Her success in R&B
and soul and loyalty to these genres would earn her the title Ivory Queen of Soul. She played rhythm guitar
, keyboards and congas. She also wrote, produced, sang and arranged virtually all of her songs since her 1980 release, Irons in the Fire
, which she later said was her favorite album.
to construction worker Thomas Leslie Brockert and his wife, home renovator Mary Anne. She spent her early childhood in Mission Hills. Her ethnic heritage was Portuguese, Italian, Irish and Native American. In 2005, while visiting Louisiana
, she had discovered that her paternal ancestors once lived in New Orleans. Brockert took to singing naturally, performing Harry Belafonte
's Banana Boat Song
by age two. She also developed a fondness for singing the songs of Motown, and her self-professed “gift from God” would become fine-tuned as the years progressed.
Brockert's parents began sending her out on auditions when she was eight years old, which netted an acting role on The Beverly Hillbillies
, credited as Tina Marie Brockert. She also sang at the wedding of actor Jerry Lewis
' son when she was 10 years old. Reared in a Roman Catholic household, she learned to play the piano under the tutelage of two nuns and later taught herself the guitar, bass, and congas. She would go on to form a semi-professional R&B band with her younger brother Anthony and their cousin.
In the early 1970s, after the family moved to Venice, Los Angeles, Brockert spent her adolescent years in the historically black Venice enclave of Oakwood, nicknamed "Venice Harlem". There, she would acquire a strong spiritual influence from neighborhood matriarch Berthalynn Jackson, an African American
who would become her godmother
.
While attending Venice High School, Brockert joined the Summer Dance Production, and also had the female lead in the school's production of The Music Man
. She also fronted a local Venice rock band "Truvair" in 1974-1975; the band's members were her fellow high school students.
After graduating, Brockert juggled auditioning for various record companies with studying English Literature at Santa Monica College
. She credited her love of reading with helping her to write the lyrics she's known for.
(best known for his work with Brenda Holloway
and the Jackson 5). This led to an audition for a film about orphans being developed by Motown. The project was shelved, but label boss Berry Gordy
decided to sign her as a solo act, impressed with her singing but having no need for a musical group. She recorded unreleased material with a number of different producers over the next few years, before being spotted by labelmate Rick James
who was immediately impressed with her sound. (Some of the earlier unreleased material has since been made available on the compilation album First Class Love: Rare Tee.) At the time, James, already established as a successful recording artist, was on tap to produce for Diana Ross
but changed his mind and decided to work with Brockert. The result was debut album release, Wild and Peaceful
. The album was, at one point, due to be credited to "Teena Tryson", but ultimately was put out under "Teena Marie", the name by which she would be known throughout her career. It scored Teena Marie her first top-ten R&B hit, "I'm Just a Sucker for Your Love" (#8 Black Singles Chart), a duet with James. Neither the album nor its packaging had her picture on it, and many radio programmers assumed she was African-American during the earliest months of her career. This myth was disproved when she performed her debut hit with James on Soul Train
in 1979, becoming the show's first white female guest (she would appear on the show eight more times, more than any other white act).
In 1980, her second album, Lady T
, would have her portrait on the cover upon its release. It's also noted for having production from Richard Rudolph
(husband of R&B singer Minnie Riperton
, who died a year earlier). Teena Marie had asked Berry Gordy to contact Rudolph and secure his input as Rick James was unavailable and she felt unprepared to be sole producer of her own material. Rudolph intended for the song he penned, "Now That I Have You", to be sung by his wife, but it was later given to Teena Marie. Rudolph also co-composed the single "Behind The Groove", which reached number 21 on the black singles chart and reaching #6 on the U.K. singles chart in 1980. The song would also be included on the soundtrack of Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
on the Fever 105 soundtrack. Another notable track, "Too Many Colors," featured Rudolph and Riperton's then 7-year-old daughter, Maya Rudolph
, who became Teena Marie's god-daughter.
Also in 1980, Teena Marie released her third LP, Irons in the Fire
, for which she handled all writing and production herself, including the horn and rhythm arrangements of her band and all backing vocals, all considered rare at the time for a female artist. The single "I Need Your Lovin'" (#37 Pop, #9 Black Singles) brought Teena Marie her first top 40 hit. This single also peaked at #28 in the UK chart. That same year, Teena Marie appeared on James' hugely successful album, Street Songs
, with the duet "Fire and Desire". In an interview, Teena Marie said she had a fever at the time yet managed to record her vocals in one take. After the session, she was driven to a hospital. The two would perform the single at the 2004 BET Awards
, which would be their last TV appearance with one another as Rick James died later that year.
Teena Marie continued her success with Motown in 1981, with the release of It Must Be Magic
(#2 Black Albums Chart), her first gold record, which included her then biggest hit on R&B, "Square Biz
" (#3 Black Singles). Other notable tracks include "Portuguese Love" (featuring a brief, uncredited cameo by James, #54 Black Singles), the title track "It Must be Magic" (#30 Black Singles), and album only track "Yes Indeed", which she cited as a personal favorite.
In 1982, Teena Marie got into a heated legal battle with Motown Records over her contract and disagreements about releasing her new material. The lawsuit resulted in "The Brockert Initiative", which made it illegal for a record company to keep an artist under contract without releasing new material for that artist. In such instances, artists are able to sign and release with another label instead of being held back by an unsupportive one. Teena Marie commented on the law in an LA Times article, saying, "It wasn't something I set out to do. I just wanted to get away from Motown and have a good life. But it helped a lot of people, like Luther Vandross
and the Mary Jane Girls
, and a lot of different artists, to be able to get out of their contracts." She left Motown as the label's most successful white solo act.
in the Fall of 1982 after expressing dismay over her Motown contract, Teena Marie signed a worldwide deal with the Columbia Records
subsidiary that also allowed her to establish her own publishing company, Midnight Magnet. Epic released the concept album Robbery
, which featured the hit "Fix It" (#21 R&B), as well as "Shadow Boxing" and "Casanova Brown." The latter was one of a number of tracks Teena Marie would write over the years about her real-life romance with one-time mentor Rick James. The relationship had ended by that point, but the two would continue a sometimes tempestuous friendship, until James' death in August 2004. In 1984, Teena Marie released her biggest-selling album, Starchild
. It yielded her biggest hit "Lovergirl
", which peaked at #4 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100
chart in March 1985. It also peaked at #9 on the R&B chart. The label also released the moderate R&B hit "Out on a Limb", which peaked at #56 on the R&B chart, but didn't break the Hot 100. "14k" was featured on the soundtrack of the film Goonies (1985) but was not a hit (only making the U.S. R&B charts at #87).
In 1986, Teena Marie released a rock music
-influenced concept album
titled Emerald City
. It was controversial with her established fan base and not as successful as its predecessors. She also recorded another rock-influenced track, "Lead Me On", co-produced by Giorgio Moroder
, for the soundtrack of the box office
hit film, Top Gun
(1986). In 1988, however, she returned to her R&B and funk
roots, releasing the critically acclaimed album Naked to the World
. That album contained the hit "Ooo La La La
", which reached the top of Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart and was her only #1 single on that chart. During her 1988 Naked to the World concert tour, she suffered a fall and was hospitalized for six months.
Teena Marie released Ivory
in the fall of 1990 and it scored no pop hits, but it did experience two R&B hits: "Here's Looking at You" (#11 R&B) and "If I Were a Bell" (#8 R&B).
, Shakespeare, Maya Angelou
, and Nikki Giovanni
, "just to name a few". In 1996, the Fugees paid tribute to her by interpolating the chorus of her 1988 hit, "Ooo, La, La, La", into its own "Fu-Gee-La".
In the fall of 1994, Teena Marie released Passion Play
on her independent label, Sarai Records. Lacking the backing of a major label, this album sold less well than her earlier work, but was well received by fans.
Subsequently, Teena Marie devoted most of her time to raising her daughter Alia Rose (who has since adopted the stage name "Rose Le Beau" and is pursuing her own singing career). During the late 1990s, Teena Marie made appearances (as herself) on the TV sitcoms, The Steve Harvey Show
and The Parkers
. She also began work on a new album, titled Black Rain. She was unable to secure a major label deal for this, and did not want to put it out on her own Sarai label in light of the modest sales of Passion Play. However, a version pressed for promotional purposes was widely bootlegged
among fans. This contained the tracks, "The Mackin' Game", "I'll Take the Pressure", "Baby, I'm Your Fiend", "My Body's Hungry", "Ecstasy", "I'm on Fire", "Watcha Got 4 Me", "Black Rain", "1999", "Butterflies", "Spanish Harlem", "Blackberry Playa", "The Perfect Feeling", and "Rainbow Outro". Some of these tracks resurfaced on the later albums: La Doña, Sapphire, and Congo Square; in some cases (e.g. "The Mackin Game") in significantly reworked versions.
Her "Square Biz" was remade as "Hollywood Square Biz" on the hit TV game show Hollywood Squares
from 2002-2004.
. She released her comeback album, La Doña
, in 2004, and follow up Sapphire, in 2006. La Doña became a gold-certified success (and the highest-charting album of her career, peaking at #6 on the Billboard 200
chart) on the basis of the Al Green
-sampled "I'm Still In Love" (#23 R&B, #70 Pop) and a duet with the late Gerald Levert
, "A Rose by Any Other Name". Teena Marie was nominated for a 2005 Grammy Award for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance for "Still in Love". Teena Marie quickly followed this success with the release of Sapphire
in 2006. While sales were not as strong this time (the album peaked at #24 on the Pop Chart), the release did give her yet another R&B Top-40 hit, "Ooh Wee" (#32); it also reunited her (on "God Has Created" and "Cruise Control") with Smokey Robinson
, the early Motown mentor whose style she had emulated on early hits such as "Young Love". Teena Marie parted ways with Ca$h Money records after the release of Sapphire.
On September 19, 2008, Teena Marie performed in concert at B.B. King's Blues Club in New York City. Teena took this time to play a couple of finished tracks from her upcoming album, Congo Square, and she received a positive response from the crowd. Congo Square was released on June 9, 2009 on Stax/Concord Records
. She has described the album as "personal and spiritual" and indicated that it was more jazz-influenced than most of her previous work. "Can't Last a Day", a duet with Faith Evans
, leaked to the Internet in March 2009. Teena Marie says of Evans, "It was after I had recorded the song ("Can't Last a Day") I got the idea to put Faith on it. I’ve always loved Faith and her vocal style. She reminds me of me. Her correlation with Biggie — having a career with him and without him — reminds me of me and Rick
. I feel like she’s a younger me. Of the younger ladies, she’s the one I love most.”
Meanwhile, with regard to her early-life inspirations for Congo Square, in January 2010 Teena Marie told Lee Tyler, editor of Blues & Soul
magazine: "I wanted to do songs that reflected the things that I loved when I was growing up. Every single song on the record is dedicated to someone, or some musical giant that I loved. 'The Pressure' is dedicated to Rick James; 'Can't Last a Day' is dedicated to the Gamble & Huff sound - the Philly International sound'. Then 'Baby I Love You' and 'Ear Candy' are dedicated to Marvin Gaye and Curtis Mayfield - with memories of riding down Crenshaw in LA in jeeps and bumping to music on ``the 808 i.e. Roland TR-808 drum machine. While 'Miss Coretta' is, of course, dedicated to Mrs. Coretta Scott King, the late wife of Martin Luther King."
Sales-wise, the album proved another success, reaching the Top 20 on Billboard's Top 200, and giving Teena Marie yet another Top 10 R&B chart entry. In 2010, Teena Marie continued to be a headliner on the Las Vegas Strip
, appearing regularly at the Las Vegas Hilton
and other venues until just before her death.
At the time of her death, Teena Marie had completed her 14th CD and was also working on jazz and inspirational CDs. In addition, she was in the midst of her writing her memoir
.
Throughout her career, Teena Marie had lived in Inglewood, California
and Encino before settling in Pasadena
in the mid-1980s.
In addition to Maya Rudolph
, Teena Marie was godmother to Marvin Gaye
's daughter Nona Gaye
. She also cared for Rick James' son, Rick Jr. and family friend Jeremiah O'Neal. Lenny Kravitz
posted a video in which he said that Teena Marie had taken him into her home and helped him when he was struggling early in his career. Teena's hobbies included archery, drawing, and writing poetry.
On the afternoon of December 26, 2010, Teena Marie was found unresponsive by daughter Alia Rose at her home in Pasadena, California.
On December 30, 2010, an autopsy was performed by the Los Angeles County
coroner, who found no signs of apparent trauma or discernible cause of death and concluded she had died from natural causes.
A memorial service was held at Forest Lawn Cemetery
on January 10, 2011. Among the luminaries who attended were Smokey Robinson
, LisaRaye, Sinbad
, Tichina Arnold
, Stevie Wonder
, Shanice Wilson and Tata Vega
.
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
and producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
. She was known as Tina before taking the stage name Teena Marie, then she later acquired the nickname of Lady Tee (sometimes spelled as Lady T), given to her by collaborator and friend, Rick James
Rick James
James Ambrose Johnson, Jr. , better known by his stage name Rick James, was an American singer, songwriter, musician and record producer. James was a popular performer in the late 1970s and 1980s, scoring four number-one hits on the U.S. R&B charts performing in the genres of funk and R&B...
.
She was known for her distinctive soulful vocals which initially caused many listeners to believe she was African-American. Her success in R&B
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
and soul and loyalty to these genres would earn her the title Ivory Queen of Soul. She played rhythm guitar
Rhythm guitar
Rhythm guitar is a technique and rôle that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with singers or other instruments; and to provide all or part of the harmony, ie. the chords, where a chord is a group of notes played together...
, keyboards and congas. She also wrote, produced, sang and arranged virtually all of her songs since her 1980 release, Irons in the Fire
Irons in the Fire
Irons in the Fire is the third album by Teena Marie, released in 1980 on Motown. Her first self produced effort, it was dedicated to her father, Thomas Leslie Brockert. It received positive reviews on its release.-Reception:...
, which she later said was her favorite album.
Early life (1956–1978)
Mary Christine, or Tina as she was called, was the fourth of five children born in Santa Monica, CaliforniaSanta Monica, California
Santa Monica is a beachfront city in western Los Angeles County, California, US. Situated on Santa Monica Bay, it is surrounded on three sides by the city of Los Angeles — Pacific Palisades on the northwest, Brentwood on the north, West Los Angeles on the northeast, Mar Vista on the east, and...
to construction worker Thomas Leslie Brockert and his wife, home renovator Mary Anne. She spent her early childhood in Mission Hills. Her ethnic heritage was Portuguese, Italian, Irish and Native American. In 2005, while visiting Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
, she had discovered that her paternal ancestors once lived in New Orleans. Brockert took to singing naturally, performing Harry Belafonte
Harry Belafonte
Harold George "Harry" Belafonte, Jr. is an American singer, songwriter, actor and social activist. He was dubbed the "King of Calypso" for popularizing the Caribbean musical style with an international audience in the 1950s...
's Banana Boat Song
Banana Boat Song
"Day-O " is a traditional Jamaican mento folk song, the best-known version of which was sung by Harry Belafonte. Although it is really Jamaican mento, the song is widely known as an example of calypso music. It is a song from the point of view of dock workers working the night shift loading bananas...
by age two. She also developed a fondness for singing the songs of Motown, and her self-professed “gift from God” would become fine-tuned as the years progressed.
Brockert's parents began sending her out on auditions when she was eight years old, which netted an acting role on The Beverly Hillbillies
The Beverly Hillbillies
The Beverly Hillbillies is an American situation comedy originally broadcast for nine seasons on CBS from 1962 to 1971, starring Buddy Ebsen, Irene Ryan, Donna Douglas, and Max Baer, Jr....
, credited as Tina Marie Brockert. She also sang at the wedding of actor Jerry Lewis
Jerry Lewis
Jerry Lewis is an American comedian, actor, singer, film producer, screenwriter and film director. He is best known for his slapstick humor in film, television, stage and radio. He was originally paired up with Dean Martin in 1946, forming the famed comedy team of Martin and Lewis...
' son when she was 10 years old. Reared in a Roman Catholic household, she learned to play the piano under the tutelage of two nuns and later taught herself the guitar, bass, and congas. She would go on to form a semi-professional R&B band with her younger brother Anthony and their cousin.
In the early 1970s, after the family moved to Venice, Los Angeles, Brockert spent her adolescent years in the historically black Venice enclave of Oakwood, nicknamed "Venice Harlem". There, she would acquire a strong spiritual influence from neighborhood matriarch Berthalynn Jackson, an African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
who would become her godmother
Godparent
A godparent, in many denominations of Christianity, is someone who sponsors a child's baptism. A male godparent is a godfather, and a female godparent is a godmother...
.
While attending Venice High School, Brockert joined the Summer Dance Production, and also had the female lead in the school's production of The Music Man
The Music Man
The Music Man is a musical with book, music, and lyrics by Meredith Willson, based on a story by Willson and Franklin Lacey. The plot concerns con man Harold Hill, who poses as a boys' band organizer and leader and sells band instruments and uniforms to naive townsfolk before skipping town with...
. She also fronted a local Venice rock band "Truvair" in 1974-1975; the band's members were her fellow high school students.
After graduating, Brockert juggled auditioning for various record companies with studying English Literature at Santa Monica College
Santa Monica College
Santa Monica College is a two-year, public, junior college located in Santa Monica, California.Santa Monica College was first opened in 1929 as Santa Monica Junior College. Current enrollment is over 30,000 students in more than 90 fields of study...
. She credited her love of reading with helping her to write the lyrics she's known for.
Motown era (1979–1982)
In 1976, Brockert (as the lead singer member of a band she assembled which included long time friend Mickey Boyce) gained an introduction to Motown Records staff producer Hal DavisHal Davis
Harold Edward "Hal" Davis was an African American songwriter and record producer, best known as the key figure in the latter part of the Motown career of The Jackson 5....
(best known for his work with Brenda Holloway
Brenda Holloway
Brenda Holloway is an American singer and songwriter, a recording artist for the Motown label during the 1960s...
and the Jackson 5). This led to an audition for a film about orphans being developed by Motown. The project was shelved, but label boss Berry Gordy
Berry Gordy
Berry Gordy, Jr. is an American record producer, and the founder of the Motown record label, as well as its many subsidiaries.-Early years:...
decided to sign her as a solo act, impressed with her singing but having no need for a musical group. She recorded unreleased material with a number of different producers over the next few years, before being spotted by labelmate Rick James
Rick James
James Ambrose Johnson, Jr. , better known by his stage name Rick James, was an American singer, songwriter, musician and record producer. James was a popular performer in the late 1970s and 1980s, scoring four number-one hits on the U.S. R&B charts performing in the genres of funk and R&B...
who was immediately impressed with her sound. (Some of the earlier unreleased material has since been made available on the compilation album First Class Love: Rare Tee.) At the time, James, already established as a successful recording artist, was on tap to produce for Diana Ross
Diana Ross
Diana Ernestine Earle Ross is an American singer, record producer, and actress. Ross was lead singer of the Motown group The Supremes during the 1960s. After leaving the group in 1970, Ross began a solo career that included successful ventures into film and Broadway...
but changed his mind and decided to work with Brockert. The result was debut album release, Wild and Peaceful
Wild and Peaceful (Teena Marie album)
Wild and Peaceful is the debut album by Teena Marie, released in 1979 on Motown, and featuring significant contributions from Rick James. He provided co-vocals on "I'm a Sucker For Your Love". The packaging of the album is renowned for not including an image of Marie...
. The album was, at one point, due to be credited to "Teena Tryson", but ultimately was put out under "Teena Marie", the name by which she would be known throughout her career. It scored Teena Marie her first top-ten R&B hit, "I'm Just a Sucker for Your Love" (#8 Black Singles Chart), a duet with James. Neither the album nor its packaging had her picture on it, and many radio programmers assumed she was African-American during the earliest months of her career. This myth was disproved when she performed her debut hit with James on Soul Train
Soul Train
Soul Train is an American musical variety show that aired in syndication from October 1971 to March 2006. In its 35-year history, the show primarily featured performances by R&B, soul, and hip hop artists, although funk, jazz, disco, and gospel artists have also appeared.As a nod to Soul Trains...
in 1979, becoming the show's first white female guest (she would appear on the show eight more times, more than any other white act).
In 1980, her second album, Lady T
Lady T (Teena Marie album)
-Reception:Released in 1980. The album was produced by Richard Rudolph, and the track "Too Many Colors" features the then 7 year-old Maya Rudolph, daughter of Rudolph and his late wife Minnie Riperton. The album was dedicated to Minnie Riperton. Lady T was the nickname of Marie at Motown Records...
, would have her portrait on the cover upon its release. It's also noted for having production from Richard Rudolph
Richard Rudolph
Richard "Dick" Rudolph is an American composer, guitarist, musician, songwriter, and producer. He was the husband of late soul singer icon Minnie Riperton, and he co-wrote many of her songs including her hits "Lovin' You" and "Memory Lane" . He produced Teena Marie's second album, Lady T...
(husband of R&B singer Minnie Riperton
Minnie Riperton
Minnie Julia Riperton was an American singer-songwriter best known for her 1975 single "Lovin' You". She was married to songwriter and music producer Richard Rudolph from 1972 until her death in the summer of 1979. They had two children - music engineer Marc Rudolph and actress/comedienne Maya...
, who died a year earlier). Teena Marie had asked Berry Gordy to contact Rudolph and secure his input as Rick James was unavailable and she felt unprepared to be sole producer of her own material. Rudolph intended for the song he penned, "Now That I Have You", to be sung by his wife, but it was later given to Teena Marie. Rudolph also co-composed the single "Behind The Groove", which reached number 21 on the black singles chart and reaching #6 on the U.K. singles chart in 1980. The song would also be included on the soundtrack of Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City is a 2002 open world action computer and video game developed by British games developer Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. It is the second 3D game in the Grand Theft Auto video game franchise and sixth original title overall...
on the Fever 105 soundtrack. Another notable track, "Too Many Colors," featured Rudolph and Riperton's then 7-year-old daughter, Maya Rudolph
Maya Rudolph
Maya Khabira Rudolph is an American actress, comedienne and singer known for her comedic roles as a cast member on Saturday Night Live from 2000 to 2007, and for appearing in films such as Away We Go, Bridesmaids, Grown Ups, A Prairie Home Companion and MacGruber...
, who became Teena Marie's god-daughter.
Also in 1980, Teena Marie released her third LP, Irons in the Fire
Irons in the Fire
Irons in the Fire is the third album by Teena Marie, released in 1980 on Motown. Her first self produced effort, it was dedicated to her father, Thomas Leslie Brockert. It received positive reviews on its release.-Reception:...
, for which she handled all writing and production herself, including the horn and rhythm arrangements of her band and all backing vocals, all considered rare at the time for a female artist. The single "I Need Your Lovin'" (#37 Pop, #9 Black Singles) brought Teena Marie her first top 40 hit. This single also peaked at #28 in the UK chart. That same year, Teena Marie appeared on James' hugely successful album, Street Songs
Street Songs (album)
-Track listing:All tracks composed and arranged by Rick James; except where indicated# "Give It to Me Baby" # "Ghetto Life" # "Make Love to Me" # "Mr...
, with the duet "Fire and Desire". In an interview, Teena Marie said she had a fever at the time yet managed to record her vocals in one take. After the session, she was driven to a hospital. The two would perform the single at the 2004 BET Awards
BET Awards
The BET Awards were established in 2001 by the Black Entertainment Television network to celebrate African Americans and other minorities in music, acting, sports, and other fields of entertainment over the past year. The awards are presented annually and broadcast live on BET...
, which would be their last TV appearance with one another as Rick James died later that year.
Teena Marie continued her success with Motown in 1981, with the release of It Must Be Magic
It Must Be Magic
It Must Be Magic is the fourth studio album by Teena Marie, released in 1981. It was her last album for Motown and the highest-selling of Marie's tenure with Motown...
(#2 Black Albums Chart), her first gold record, which included her then biggest hit on R&B, "Square Biz
Square Biz
"Square Biz" is a song by American R&B singer, Teena Marie. The song was released as a single in 1981 from the album It Must Be Magic. It would go on to become one of Marie's signature songs.- Chart performance :...
" (#3 Black Singles). Other notable tracks include "Portuguese Love" (featuring a brief, uncredited cameo by James, #54 Black Singles), the title track "It Must be Magic" (#30 Black Singles), and album only track "Yes Indeed", which she cited as a personal favorite.
In 1982, Teena Marie got into a heated legal battle with Motown Records over her contract and disagreements about releasing her new material. The lawsuit resulted in "The Brockert Initiative", which made it illegal for a record company to keep an artist under contract without releasing new material for that artist. In such instances, artists are able to sign and release with another label instead of being held back by an unsupportive one. Teena Marie commented on the law in an LA Times article, saying, "It wasn't something I set out to do. I just wanted to get away from Motown and have a good life. But it helped a lot of people, like Luther Vandross
Luther Vandross
Luther Ronzoni Vandross was an American singer-songwriter and record producer. During his career, Vandross sold over twenty-five million albums and won eight Grammy Awards including Best Male R&B Vocal Performance four times...
and the Mary Jane Girls
Mary Jane Girls
The Mary Jane Girls were an American R&B, soul, funk and disco group in the 1980s. They were protégées of singer Rick James. They are known for their hit songs "All Night Long", "Candyman" and "In My House".-Formation:...
, and a lot of different artists, to be able to get out of their contracts." She left Motown as the label's most successful white solo act.
Epic era (1983–1990)
Contacted by Epic RecordsEpic Records
Epic Records is an American record label, owned by Sony Music Entertainment. Though it was originally conceived as a jazz imprint, it has since expanded to represent various genres. L.A...
in the Fall of 1982 after expressing dismay over her Motown contract, Teena Marie signed a worldwide deal with the Columbia Records
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
subsidiary that also allowed her to establish her own publishing company, Midnight Magnet. Epic released the concept album Robbery
Robbery (Teena Marie album)
Robbery is the fifth album by Teena Marie, released in 1983. It is her first album for Epic Records, following her acrimonious departure from Motown the previous year. The album was written and produced by Teena Marie herself and features contributions from Patrice Rushen, Paulinho da Costa, and...
, which featured the hit "Fix It" (#21 R&B), as well as "Shadow Boxing" and "Casanova Brown." The latter was one of a number of tracks Teena Marie would write over the years about her real-life romance with one-time mentor Rick James. The relationship had ended by that point, but the two would continue a sometimes tempestuous friendship, until James' death in August 2004. In 1984, Teena Marie released her biggest-selling album, Starchild
Starchild (Teena Marie album)
Starchild is the sixth album by Teena Marie, released in 1984. Following the relative commercial failure of her previous album, Robbery, Starchild became the highest-selling album of Marie's career. It peaked at #9 on the US Black Albums chart and #31 on the Billboard Albums chart...
. It yielded her biggest hit "Lovergirl
Lovergirl
"Lovergirl" is the first single from Teena Marie's 1984 album, Starchild. The song became Marie's biggest hit, peaking at #4 on the Billboard Hot 100. She wrote and produced the song....
", which peaked at #4 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
chart in March 1985. It also peaked at #9 on the R&B chart. The label also released the moderate R&B hit "Out on a Limb", which peaked at #56 on the R&B chart, but didn't break the Hot 100. "14k" was featured on the soundtrack of the film Goonies (1985) but was not a hit (only making the U.S. R&B charts at #87).
In 1986, Teena Marie released a rock music
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
-influenced concept album
Concept album
In music, a concept album is an album that is "unified by a theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, narrative, or lyrical." Commonly, concept albums tend to incorporate preconceived musical or lyrical ideas rather than being improvised or composed in the studio, with all songs contributing...
titled Emerald City
Emerald City (Teena Marie album)
Emerald City is the seventh album by Teena Marie. It was released in 1986. The album is a stylistic departure for Marie, with strong rock and jazz influences favored over her established soul/funk style, and is a concept album. This proved puzzling for fans and critics, and the album sold poorly,...
. It was controversial with her established fan base and not as successful as its predecessors. She also recorded another rock-influenced track, "Lead Me On", co-produced by Giorgio Moroder
Giorgio Moroder
Hansjörg "Giorgio" Moroder is an Italian record producer, songwriter and performer based in Los Angeles. When in Munich in the 1970s, he started his own record label called Oasis Records, which several years later became a subdivision of Casablanca Records...
, for the soundtrack of the box office
Box office
A box office is a place where tickets are sold to the public for admission to an event. Patrons may perform the transaction at a countertop, through an unblocked hole through a wall or window, or at a wicket....
hit film, Top Gun
Top Gun
Top Gun may refer to:* Top Gun is a 1986 film starring Tom Cruise.**Top Gun , soundtrack to the movie**Top Gun , a number of games based on the movie...
(1986). In 1988, however, she returned to her R&B and funk
Funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in the mid-late 1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music. Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground...
roots, releasing the critically acclaimed album Naked to the World
Naked to the World
Naked to the World is the eighth album by Teena Marie, released in 1988. The album is a return to Marie's Soul/Funk roots following the experimentation of her previous album Emerald City, which had been a critical and commercial disappointment...
. That album contained the hit "Ooo La La La
Ooo La La La
"Ooo La La La" is a single by American R&B singer Teena Marie, which was released in 1988 and is featured on her album Naked to the World, released during the same year...
", which reached the top of Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart and was her only #1 single on that chart. During her 1988 Naked to the World concert tour, she suffered a fall and was hospitalized for six months.
Teena Marie released Ivory
Ivory (Teena Marie album)
Ivory is the ninth album by Teena Marie, released in 1990. It was Marie's last album for Epic Records and was a commercial failure, only reaching #27 on the US Black Albums chart and #132 on the Billboard Albums chart...
in the fall of 1990 and it scored no pop hits, but it did experience two R&B hits: "Here's Looking at You" (#11 R&B) and "If I Were a Bell" (#8 R&B).
Hiatus, Passion Play and Black Rain (1991–2003)
During the 1990s, Teena Marie's classic R&B, soul, and funk records were either sampled by hip-hop artists or covered by R&B divas. Teena Marie herself is regarded as something of a pioneer in helping to bring hip-hop to the mainstream by becoming one of the first artists of her time to rap one of her singles—the aforementioned "Square Biz". In the hip-hop portion of that song, she mentions some of her inspirations: Sarah Vaughn, Johann Sebastian BachJohann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity...
, Shakespeare, Maya Angelou
Maya Angelou
Maya Angelou is an American author and poet who has been called "America's most visible black female autobiographer" by scholar Joanne M. Braxton. She is best known for her series of six autobiographical volumes, which focus on her childhood and early adult experiences. The first and most highly...
, and Nikki Giovanni
Nikki Giovanni
Yolande Cornelia "Nikki" Giovanni is an American poet, writer, commentator, activist, and educator. Her primary focus is on the individual and the power one has to make a difference in oneself and in the lives of others. Giovanni’s poetry expresses strong racial pride, respect for family, and her...
, "just to name a few". In 1996, the Fugees paid tribute to her by interpolating the chorus of her 1988 hit, "Ooo, La, La, La", into its own "Fu-Gee-La".
In the fall of 1994, Teena Marie released Passion Play
Passion Play (Teena Marie album)
Passion Play is the tenth album by Teena Marie, released in 1994. Marie had parted company with Epic Records following disappointing sales of her 1990 album Ivory, and Passion Play was released on her own independent label, Sarai...
on her independent label, Sarai Records. Lacking the backing of a major label, this album sold less well than her earlier work, but was well received by fans.
Subsequently, Teena Marie devoted most of her time to raising her daughter Alia Rose (who has since adopted the stage name "Rose Le Beau" and is pursuing her own singing career). During the late 1990s, Teena Marie made appearances (as herself) on the TV sitcoms, The Steve Harvey Show
The Steve Harvey Show
The Steve Harvey Show is an American sitcom that aired for six seasons from August 25, 1996 to February 17, 2002 on The WB Television Network. It was created by Winifred Hervey and directed by Stan Lathan.-Synopsis:...
and The Parkers
The Parkers
The Parkers is an American sitcom . A spin-off of UPN's Moesha, The Parkers featured the mother-daughter team of Nikki and Kim Parker . The Parkers' signature "Heeyyy" greeting made its way into popular vernacular in the early 2000s.-Premise:The series centered around a mother and daughter who...
. She also began work on a new album, titled Black Rain. She was unable to secure a major label deal for this, and did not want to put it out on her own Sarai label in light of the modest sales of Passion Play. However, a version pressed for promotional purposes was widely bootlegged
Bootleg recording
A bootleg recording is an audio or video recording of a performance that was not officially released by the artist or under other legal authority. The process of making and distributing such recordings is known as bootlegging...
among fans. This contained the tracks, "The Mackin' Game", "I'll Take the Pressure", "Baby, I'm Your Fiend", "My Body's Hungry", "Ecstasy", "I'm on Fire", "Watcha Got 4 Me", "Black Rain", "1999", "Butterflies", "Spanish Harlem", "Blackberry Playa", "The Perfect Feeling", and "Rainbow Outro". Some of these tracks resurfaced on the later albums: La Doña, Sapphire, and Congo Square; in some cases (e.g. "The Mackin Game") in significantly reworked versions.
Her "Square Biz" was remade as "Hollywood Square Biz" on the hit TV game show Hollywood Squares
Hollywood Squares
Hollywood Squares is an American panel game show in which two contestants play tic-tac-toe to win cash and prizes. The "board" for the game is a 3 × 3 vertical stack of open-faced cubes, each occupied by a celebrity seated at a desk and facing the contestants...
from 2002-2004.
La Doña to Congo Square, and her final years (2004–2010)
After a 14-year sabbatical from the national spotlight, Teena Marie returned to her musical career by signing with the Classics sub-label of the successful hip-hop label, Cash Money RecordsCash Money Records
Cash Money Records is a record label founded by brothers Bryan "Birdman" Williams and Ronald "Slim" Williams. Today it operates as a subsidiary of Universal Music Group, and is distributed by Universal Republic Records as of 2011...
. She released her comeback album, La Doña
La Doña
- Track listing :All songs written by Teena Marie, except where noted.# "La Doña Intro" – 2:15# "I'm Still In Love With You"[Al Green]], Marie, Byron Thomas) – 4:16# "Honey Call" – 4:21# "Baby I'm Your Fiend" – 4:56...
, in 2004, and follow up Sapphire, in 2006. La Doña became a gold-certified success (and the highest-charting album of her career, peaking at #6 on the Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
chart) on the basis of the Al Green
Al Green
Albert Greene , better known as Al Green, is an American gospel and soul music singer. He reached the peak of his popularity in the 1970s, with hit singles such as "You Oughta Be With Me", "I'm Still In Love With You", "Love and Happiness", and "Let's Stay Together"...
-sampled "I'm Still In Love" (#23 R&B, #70 Pop) and a duet with the late Gerald Levert
Gerald Levert
Gerald Levert was an American R&B singer. Gerald Levert sang with his brother, Sean Levert, and friend Marc Gordon in the R&B trio LeVert. He was also a part of LSG, an R&B supergroup comprising Keith Sweat, Johnny Gill, and Levert...
, "A Rose by Any Other Name". Teena Marie was nominated for a 2005 Grammy Award for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance for "Still in Love". Teena Marie quickly followed this success with the release of Sapphire
Sapphire
Sapphire is a gemstone variety of the mineral corundum, an aluminium oxide , when it is a color other than red or dark pink; in which case the gem would instead be called a ruby, considered to be a different gemstone. Trace amounts of other elements such as iron, titanium, or chromium can give...
in 2006. While sales were not as strong this time (the album peaked at #24 on the Pop Chart), the release did give her yet another R&B Top-40 hit, "Ooh Wee" (#32); it also reunited her (on "God Has Created" and "Cruise Control") with Smokey Robinson
Smokey Robinson
William "Smokey" Robinson, Jr. is an American R&B singer-songwriter, record producer, and former record executive. Robinson is one of the primary figures associated with Motown, second only to the company's founder, Berry Gordy...
, the early Motown mentor whose style she had emulated on early hits such as "Young Love". Teena Marie parted ways with Ca$h Money records after the release of Sapphire.
On September 19, 2008, Teena Marie performed in concert at B.B. King's Blues Club in New York City. Teena took this time to play a couple of finished tracks from her upcoming album, Congo Square, and she received a positive response from the crowd. Congo Square was released on June 9, 2009 on Stax/Concord Records
Stax Records
Stax Records is an American record label, originally based in Memphis, Tennessee.Founded in 1957 as Satellite Records, the name Stax Records was adopted in 1961. The label was a major factor in the creation of the Southern soul and Memphis soul music styles, also releasing gospel, funk, jazz, and...
. She has described the album as "personal and spiritual" and indicated that it was more jazz-influenced than most of her previous work. "Can't Last a Day", a duet with Faith Evans
Faith Evans
Faith Renée Evans is an American singer-songwriter, recording artist, record producer, actress and author. Born in Florida and raised in New Jersey, Evans relocated to Los Angeles during 1993 for a career with the music business. After working as a backing vocalist for Al B...
, leaked to the Internet in March 2009. Teena Marie says of Evans, "It was after I had recorded the song ("Can't Last a Day") I got the idea to put Faith on it. I’ve always loved Faith and her vocal style. She reminds me of me. Her correlation with Biggie — having a career with him and without him — reminds me of me and Rick
Rick James
James Ambrose Johnson, Jr. , better known by his stage name Rick James, was an American singer, songwriter, musician and record producer. James was a popular performer in the late 1970s and 1980s, scoring four number-one hits on the U.S. R&B charts performing in the genres of funk and R&B...
. I feel like she’s a younger me. Of the younger ladies, she’s the one I love most.”
Meanwhile, with regard to her early-life inspirations for Congo Square, in January 2010 Teena Marie told Lee Tyler, editor of Blues & Soul
Blues & Soul
Blues & Soul is a British music magazine covering black music. Genres covered include soul, R&B, jazz, hip hop, reggae and world music. It was first published in 1966 and is known for first using the term Northern Soul....
magazine: "I wanted to do songs that reflected the things that I loved when I was growing up. Every single song on the record is dedicated to someone, or some musical giant that I loved. 'The Pressure' is dedicated to Rick James; 'Can't Last a Day' is dedicated to the Gamble & Huff sound - the Philly International sound'. Then 'Baby I Love You' and 'Ear Candy' are dedicated to Marvin Gaye and Curtis Mayfield - with memories of riding down Crenshaw in LA in jeeps and bumping to music on ``the 808 i.e. Roland TR-808 drum machine. While 'Miss Coretta' is, of course, dedicated to Mrs. Coretta Scott King, the late wife of Martin Luther King."
Sales-wise, the album proved another success, reaching the Top 20 on Billboard's Top 200, and giving Teena Marie yet another Top 10 R&B chart entry. In 2010, Teena Marie continued to be a headliner on the Las Vegas Strip
Las Vegas Strip
The Las Vegas Strip is an approximately stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard in Clark County, Nevada; adjacent to, but outside the city limits of Las Vegas proper. The Strip lies within the unincorporated townships of Paradise and Winchester...
, appearing regularly at the Las Vegas Hilton
Las Vegas Hilton
The Las Vegas Hilton is a hotel, casino, and convention center in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is a joint venture between Colony Capital, which owns 60 percent, and New York City-based REIT Whitehall Street Real Estate Funds, which owns the remaining 40 percent...
and other venues until just before her death.
At the time of her death, Teena Marie had completed her 14th CD and was also working on jazz and inspirational CDs. In addition, she was in the midst of her writing her memoir
Memoir
A memoir , is a literary genre, forming a subclass of autobiography – although the terms 'memoir' and 'autobiography' are almost interchangeable. Memoir is autobiographical writing, but not all autobiographical writing follows the criteria for memoir set out below...
.
Personal life
Teena Marie, who never wed, gave birth to a daughter in 1991, named Alia Rose. As of 2009, Alia Rose sang under the name Rose LeBeau.Throughout her career, Teena Marie had lived in Inglewood, California
Inglewood, California
Inglewood is a city in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, southwest of downtown Los Angeles. It was incorporated on February 14, 1908. Its population stood at 109,673 as of the 2010 Census...
and Encino before settling in Pasadena
Pasadena, California
Pasadena is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Although famous for hosting the annual Rose Bowl football game and Tournament of Roses Parade, Pasadena is the home to many scientific and cultural institutions, including the California Institute of Technology , the Jet...
in the mid-1980s.
In addition to Maya Rudolph
Maya Rudolph
Maya Khabira Rudolph is an American actress, comedienne and singer known for her comedic roles as a cast member on Saturday Night Live from 2000 to 2007, and for appearing in films such as Away We Go, Bridesmaids, Grown Ups, A Prairie Home Companion and MacGruber...
, Teena Marie was godmother to Marvin Gaye
Marvin Gaye
Marvin Pentz Gay, Jr. , better known by his stage name Marvin Gaye, was an American singer-songwriter and musician with a three-octave vocal range....
's daughter Nona Gaye
Nona Gaye
Nona Marvisa Gaye is an American singer, former fashion model, and screen actress. The daughter of soul music legend Marvin Gaye and granddaughter of jazz great Slim Gaillard, she began her career as a vocalist in the early 1990s...
. She also cared for Rick James' son, Rick Jr. and family friend Jeremiah O'Neal. Lenny Kravitz
Lenny Kravitz
Leonard Albert "Lenny" Kravitz is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and arranger, whose "retro" style incorporates elements of rock, soul, R&B, funk, reggae, hard rock, psychedelic, folk and ballads...
posted a video in which he said that Teena Marie had taken him into her home and helped him when he was struggling early in his career. Teena's hobbies included archery, drawing, and writing poetry.
Death and memorials
Around 2004, Teena Marie lay sleeping in a hotel room when a large picture frame fell and struck her in the head. The blow caused a serious concussion that would result in momentary seizures for the rest of her life. She had suffered a Grand mal seizure just one month before her death.On the afternoon of December 26, 2010, Teena Marie was found unresponsive by daughter Alia Rose at her home in Pasadena, California.
On December 30, 2010, an autopsy was performed by the Los Angeles County
Los Angeles County, California
Los Angeles County is a county in the U.S. state of California. As of 2010 U.S. Census, the county had a population of 9,818,605, making it the most populous county in the United States. Los Angeles County alone is more populous than 42 individual U.S. states...
coroner, who found no signs of apparent trauma or discernible cause of death and concluded she had died from natural causes.
A memorial service was held at Forest Lawn Cemetery
Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills)
Forest Lawn – Hollywood Hills Cemetery is part of the Forest Lawn chain of Southern California cemeteries. It is at 6300 Forest Lawn Drive in the Hollywood Hills neighborhood in the Hollywood district of Los Angeles, California, on the lower north slope at the far east end of the Santa Monica...
on January 10, 2011. Among the luminaries who attended were Smokey Robinson
Smokey Robinson
William "Smokey" Robinson, Jr. is an American R&B singer-songwriter, record producer, and former record executive. Robinson is one of the primary figures associated with Motown, second only to the company's founder, Berry Gordy...
, LisaRaye, Sinbad
Sinbad (entertainer)
David Adkins better known by his professional name of Sinbad, is an American stand-up comedian and actor. He became well known in the 1990s from being featured on his own HBO specials, appearing on several television series, and starring in the films Necessary Roughness, Houseguest, First Kid,...
, Tichina Arnold
Tichina Arnold
Tichina Rolanda Arnold is an American actress and singer. She is best known for having portrayed the roles of Pamela James on the FOX sitcom Martin and the family matriarch Rochelle on the UPN/CW sitcom Everybody Hates Chris....
, Stevie Wonder
Stevie Wonder
Stevland Hardaway Morris , better known by his stage name Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and activist...
, Shanice Wilson and Tata Vega
Tata Vega
Táta Vega is an American vocalist whose career spans theater, film, and a variety of musical genres.-Early life:...
.
Studio albums
- Wild and PeacefulWild and Peaceful (Teena Marie album)Wild and Peaceful is the debut album by Teena Marie, released in 1979 on Motown, and featuring significant contributions from Rick James. He provided co-vocals on "I'm a Sucker For Your Love". The packaging of the album is renowned for not including an image of Marie...
(1979) - Lady TLady T (Teena Marie album)-Reception:Released in 1980. The album was produced by Richard Rudolph, and the track "Too Many Colors" features the then 7 year-old Maya Rudolph, daughter of Rudolph and his late wife Minnie Riperton. The album was dedicated to Minnie Riperton. Lady T was the nickname of Marie at Motown Records...
(1980) - Irons in the FireIrons in the FireIrons in the Fire is the third album by Teena Marie, released in 1980 on Motown. Her first self produced effort, it was dedicated to her father, Thomas Leslie Brockert. It received positive reviews on its release.-Reception:...
(1980) - It Must Be MagicIt Must Be MagicIt Must Be Magic is the fourth studio album by Teena Marie, released in 1981. It was her last album for Motown and the highest-selling of Marie's tenure with Motown...
(1981) - RobberyRobbery (Teena Marie album)Robbery is the fifth album by Teena Marie, released in 1983. It is her first album for Epic Records, following her acrimonious departure from Motown the previous year. The album was written and produced by Teena Marie herself and features contributions from Patrice Rushen, Paulinho da Costa, and...
(1983) - StarchildStarchild (Teena Marie album)Starchild is the sixth album by Teena Marie, released in 1984. Following the relative commercial failure of her previous album, Robbery, Starchild became the highest-selling album of Marie's career. It peaked at #9 on the US Black Albums chart and #31 on the Billboard Albums chart...
(1984) - Emerald CityEmerald City (Teena Marie album)Emerald City is the seventh album by Teena Marie. It was released in 1986. The album is a stylistic departure for Marie, with strong rock and jazz influences favored over her established soul/funk style, and is a concept album. This proved puzzling for fans and critics, and the album sold poorly,...
(1986) - Naked to the WorldNaked to the WorldNaked to the World is the eighth album by Teena Marie, released in 1988. The album is a return to Marie's Soul/Funk roots following the experimentation of her previous album Emerald City, which had been a critical and commercial disappointment...
(1988) - IvoryIvory (Teena Marie album)Ivory is the ninth album by Teena Marie, released in 1990. It was Marie's last album for Epic Records and was a commercial failure, only reaching #27 on the US Black Albums chart and #132 on the Billboard Albums chart...
(1990) - Passion PlayPassion Play (Teena Marie album)Passion Play is the tenth album by Teena Marie, released in 1994. Marie had parted company with Epic Records following disappointing sales of her 1990 album Ivory, and Passion Play was released on her own independent label, Sarai...
(1994) - La DoñaLa Doña- Track listing :All songs written by Teena Marie, except where noted.# "La Doña Intro" – 2:15# "I'm Still In Love With You"[Al Green]], Marie, Byron Thomas) – 4:16# "Honey Call" – 4:21# "Baby I'm Your Fiend" – 4:56...
(2004) - SapphireSapphire (Teena Marie album)Sapphire is the twelfth album by Teena Marie, released in 2006 on the Cash Money label. The album includes guest contributions from Smokey Robinson, George Duke, Gerald Albright, rapper Kurupt and Marie's daughter, Alia Rose. The track "You Blow Me Away" pays tribute to Rick James, while...
(2006) - Congo Square (2009)
External links
- Teena Marie – official website
- Teena Marie at BBC MusicBBC MusicBBC Music is a team working in the department of Audio and Music Interactive at the BBC. Responsible for the BBC Music website - the portal site to music content across the BBC website....
- Teena Marie discography at DiscogsDiscogsDiscogs, short for discographies, is a website and database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. The Discogs servers, currently hosted under the domain name discogs.com, are owned by Zink Media, Inc., and are...
- Teena Marie at BillboardBillboard (magazine)Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
- Teena Marie at Find A GraveFind A GraveFind a Grave is a commercial website providing free access and input to an online database of cemetery records. It was founded in 1998 as a DBA and incorporated in 2000.-History:...
- Teena Marie 2010 interview with DJ Soulswede