| Mary Christine Brockert was born on March 5, 1957 in Santa Monica California. Little Mary grew up in West Los Angeles in a neighborhood that was nicknamed "Venice Harlem" because of its heavy Black population. Her parents pushed her towards a career in entertainment, their choice was acting. As a youngster she went on many casting calls engineered by her loving stage mother. Her first taste of success came at the age of eight when she landed the role of a child in episode #-77 of "The Beverly Hillbillies" entitled "Doctor Jed Clampett." On the credits she is listed as Tina Marie Brockert which is a reversal of her two names. Her resume over the next few years included several television commercials, singing at weddings, bar mitzvahs, parties and restaurants. Two of the highlights of that period were singing with a 36-piece orchestra and performing at the wedding of Jerry Lewis' son, Gary Lewis (Gary Lewis & The Playboys). Just before her 18th birthday Teena caught Berry Gordy's eye and was signed to Motown Records in 1975. Between then and 1979 when her first album was released she was part of a failed Motown television pilot called "Orphanage Children" and recorded lots of material with different producers (Kenny Kerner, Richie Wise, etc.). Most of the material remains unreleased, but two of those tracks ("Don't Turn Your Back On Me" from 1977 and "Every Little Bit Hurts" from 1978) pop up on the Motown compilation "I Need Your Lovin': The Very Best Of Teena Marie." In 1978 Rick James was Motown's golden boy, fresh off his first hit ("You & I") and already a resident staff producer/writer. Rick had first met Teena when he heard her singing in a Motown office and was shocked to find out she was white. Rick turned down an offer to produce Diana Ross in order to work with Teena, it was James who was responsible for the excellence of her 1979 debut album, "Wild And Peaceful." Rick handles all of the producing and most of the writing, making everything from their flirtatious duet on her first 12" single "(I'm Just A) Sucker For Your Love" (a song originally intended for Ross), to the beautiful reflection on reincarnation, "Deja Vu (I've Been Here Before)" come alive. Also quite impressive is Teena's passionate cover of Smokey Robinson's "Don't Look Back." The album featured no pictures of Teena as Motown felt that the white singer with the black sounding voice would face some sort of backlash from either fact. Quite ridiculous to think that Motown didn't give enough credit to the record buying public at that late date. However by her 1979 release Motown reversed it's thinking and plastered the cover of "Lady T" with pictures of Marie on both sides. Marie's second album found her working with producer Richard Rudolph, husband of the late Minnie Riperton. "Lady T" was the album that introduced me to Teena, mainly through her second 12" single, the club smash "Behind The Groove." The second single "Can It Be Love" and "Aladdin's Lamp" were slices of pure fun that showed how charming a singer Teena could be. Besides Rudolph as producer Teena steps up as co-producer, from this point on she would produce all of her own material. Marie received encouragement from Rick James whom she was involved with at this point. It was he that convinced Teena to have more creative input into the recording process. Incidentally the compact disc release featured the nine original album tracks plus two previously unreleased Kerner-Wise tunes. Oddly enough "Why Can't I Get Next To You" and "Co-Pilot To Pilot" were not listed as bonus tracks or as previously unreleased, they were just tacked on to the CD. With her third album, 1980's "Irons In The Fire," Marie did something that was rare for a female R&B artist, she handled all of the producing and writing herself. Marie took on a lot of responsibility, and she knew she had done the right thing when the album became both a commercial and artistic triumph. By now, it was common knowledge that Marie was white, something that didn't seem to matter much to the many black R&B fans who bought this recording. Like so much of her work, the irresistible 12" single "I Need Your Lovin'" became a major R&B/club hit, but didn't do much on pop radio. Interestingly, Teena was having the same problem as Maze & Frankie Beverly in that she could have a gold album without any help from pop audiences. But then, she obviously realized that she didn't need their support in order to be legit. From the seductive "You Make Love Like Springtime" and the sweaty "First Class Love" to the moving title song, everything on this album is a gem. This compact disc did not offer any bonus or previously unreleased tracks. The last of Teena Marie's four albums for Motown, "It Be Must Magic" found the songstress continuing to do all of her own writing, producing and arranging, with magnificent results. "Irons In The Fire" proved that she didn't need the input of a big-name producer in order to deliver first-class albums, and Marie provided additional evidence of that fact on an album that gave us such gems as the playful 12" single "Square Biz" (one of her biggest hits), the thought-provoking "Revolution," and the gritty title song (also on a promotional-only 12" single). Marie has periodically shown a strong love of jazz, which is exactly what happens on the ballad "Yes Indeed" and the sexy "Portuguese Love." She even dabbles in bop with "Cradle Rob & Me." The album didn't do much in the pop market, but thanks to a large black and gay following, the album went gold. A fifth album was assigned a catalog number (6087-GL) but was never released. It was comprised of earlier unreleased material, mainly tracks that were recorded in her 1975 to 1978 period. Teena sued Motown in a landmark court case in 1982 for nonpayment of royalties. The lawsuit, and countersuit from Motown, took nearly 2 years to disolve and cost Marie nearly $1 million in legal fees. Teena, not wanting to record for them anymore because of an unfair recording contract (negotiated while she was still a minor, and signed without being allowed benefit of legal counsel) and not getting paid; Motown claimed she owed them one more album. But success was Teena's when Motown backed down and settled with her out of court, knowing that she'd won the case. Teena signed to Epic records where she continued to record (and have plenty of chart and critical success) until she left that company 1990. As a result of the Motown lawsuit, there was a "Teena Marie Bill" passed by US Congress which is still in legislation today to protect artists' rights. The bill states that a label cannot legally keep an artist contractually bound if they refuse to release their records. It also establishes that an artist under contract must be paid at least $6,000 per year. Resurfacing on Epic, Marie made a powerful return to the R&B charts with 1983's "Robbery," her fifth album, and the 12" single "Fix It." "Fix It" was also a turning point for Marie, mainly her dance material had previously been down to mid-tempo. With this club charter she proved that she could flex her talent in a more high energy mode. But there's a lot more to savor here than that funk hit, including the equally addictive "Playboy," the sexy ballad "Shadow Boxing," the incisive commentary on interracial romance "Ask Your Mama," and the singles "Dear Lover" and "Cassanova Brown," the latter an introspective jazz ballad reflecting on her romance with frequent musical partner Rick James. Her affair with James was kept quiet for many years, but fans had suspected and Teena herself confirmed it in a 1999 interview. "Robbery" is a cornucopia of R&B, pop, high energy, funk, jazz, and ballads. In fact, the risk-taking soul goddess' command of jazz singing is so strong that one wishes she wouldn't neglect that idiom. 1984's "Starchild" was the definitive album Teena Marie was never allowed to do while at Motown. She not only zoomed up the R&B charts, but even had a pop smash with "Lovergirl," and suddenly Motown executives went scrambling for cover. "Lovergirl" was an enormous club hit. It was released in two different 12" singles. The first was a remix of the album version and the second a remixed club-friendly version. Both were in identical jackets and hard to distinguish, both said special 12" dance mix and both were 5:53 in length. The second 12" has a small 'remixed version' under the matrix number. Another 12" from the album did almost equally as well. "Jammin' " was yet another supercharged high energy funk outing. "My Dear Mr. Gaye" was one of the better tribute songs done to Gaye, although it didn't generate the attention it deserved for Marie. "We've Got To Stop Meeting (Like This)" and "Help Youngblood Get To The Freaky Party" are prime examples of Marie's songwriting abilities. "Starchild" wound up being Marie's most successful album release. 1986's "Emerald City" was concept work, with thematically related songs and longer, jazz-influenced ballads. Many of them were well sung; some were a bit self-indulgent, but overall, it was a nicely performed work. But it flopped, indicating that her fans preferred short, to-the-point soul tunes and hard-hitting dance or funk to more introspective, slow-to-develop pieces. 1987's "Naked To The World" found her taking a more high-tech, contemporary-sounding approach to production without abandoning the classic soul and funk elements that made her so appealing to begin with. Among the treasures: the unapologetically sentimental, ballad "Ooo La La La." "Ooo La La La" is Teena's sole #1 single to date, hitting the peak position on the Billboard R&B chart for the week of April 9, 1988. The addictively funky "Work It" and the sassy, clever "Trick Bag" dress the package up nicely. Sparks usually flew when Lady T formed a duet with Rick James, and the sweaty "Call Me (I Got Yo Number)" and the ballad "The Once And Future Dream" are no exceptions. An overall moving and powerful release that showcases Teena's artistic abilities. 1990's "Ivory," Lady T's last album for a major label, has an intentionally ironic title in that she's a white singer who sounds convincingly black (much to her credit), has a largely African-American following and has enjoyed little support from pop audiences. Teena's use of hip-hop elements comes across as forced, cliched and contrived on "Mr. Icecream" and "Here's Looking at You." But she has definite treasures in the infectious funk number "The Sugar Shack," the seductive "Just Us Two" and "If I Were A Bell," a fine example of the type of heart-on-her-sleeve, soul balladry she'd long since mastered. With a folk-rock appeal not unlike Edie Brickell, believe it or not, "How Can You Resist" is a major departure for her. Marie had been producing and writing her own albums since 1980, a claim few other female soul divas can make, but turns to Soul II Soul founder Jazzie B with likeable results on "Since Day One." The overall album should have done better. But with a changing market many of the fine female singers who began in the 1970's found themselves without labels in the 1990's Teena was another. In 1994 Teena released "Passion Play" on her own newly formed Sarai label. The album is one of her finest. The single "Warm As Momma's Oven" was only a prelude to the wickedly delightful sexually charged tracks on this, her most personal album. Listen to the groove she throws down on "Parking Music-The Baby Maker" or "Wild Horses." Like the ebb and flow of a great sexual encounter this album has it's orgasmic peaks ("Slow Grind," "Climb The Walls") and it's romantic valleys ("Breakfast In Bed," "Hypnotized"). The 14 tracks represented are some of the finest work she has ever produced and makes us salivate for "Black Rain" her long-awaited follow-up release. She continues to keep us informed of her intentions to release it but as of 2000 it's still not finished. As Lady T herself retorts "I have not even scratched the surface of my capabilities." We can hardly wait for what she has in store for us. Teena continues to tour internationally. Although during her tour for "Naked To The World" in 1988, Teena was performing "Ooo La La La" at a show in Dallas and walked to the side of the stage. She didn't fall off, but through a hole in the stage that wasn't covered. A security guard grabbed her hand in time to prevent her from plummetting eight feet down. But she was knocked unconscious, broke several ribs, and took six months to recover in the hospital. This has limited her touring in recent years. Lady T's list of credits is quite impressive: a three-time Grammy nominated artist, ten albums of original material and fourteen compilations/best of's/greatest hits releases. Music videos for: "Lovergirl," "Robbery," "Lips To Find U," "Work It," "Here's Looking At You," and "Warm As Momma's Oven." Also, Teena appeared in the video for the King Dream Holiday Chorus' "King Holiday" in 1986. National tours with: Rick James, Prince, G.Q., and Shaun Cassidy. Besides her duets with James she can be heard on recordings by: Domino, Eve, Grady Harrell, Danny Tenaglia, Pamela Williams, The Nils, Yo-Yo and Nancy Wilson. Her songs appear on the soundtracks of: "New Jack City," "Goonies" and "Top Gun." She appeared on the HBO special, "Sinbad Funk and Soul Fest," and was featured on the television hit "New York Undercover." The "Black Rain" album that was rumoured to be released over four years ago has been finally completed and released. Retitled "La Dona" the album hit stores on May 11, 2004. The delicious 17 track outing features duets with ex-lover/mentor Rick James, Gerald Levertt and rapper Lady Levi. The first single, "I'm Still In Love" has already shot up the charts and returned "Lady T" to her reign as the white-chocolate diva of funk. After ten years of no new product, the wait was worth it. In support of her latest release Marie is back on the concert trail with James in a cross country tour. She is one powerhouse of talent! |
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| Teena Marie |
| Teena Marie |
| Teena Marie |
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